Rochester Electronics

Last updated
Rochester Electronics, LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryElectronics
Founded1981 Rochester, New Hampshire, United States
FounderCurt Gerrish
Headquarters
Newburyport, Massachusetts
,
United States
Key people
Curt Gerrish, Founder & CEO

Chris Gerrish, Co-President

Paul Gerrish, Co-President
ProductsSemiconductors
Number of employees
700+
Website https://www.rocelec.com/

Rochester Electronics, LLC is a privately owned American technology company headquartered in Newburyport, MA, United States that manufactures and globally distributes semiconductors that are either obsolete or nearing the end of their product lifecycle. The company is authorized by over 70 semiconductor manufacturers and is licensed to manufacture and distribute semiconductors that are no longer produced by the original manufacturer.

Contents

History

Rochester Electronics was founded in 1981 by Curt Gerrish. Gerrish started his career at Motorola where he remained for two decades. It was at Motorola that he learned of the challenge major corporations and government agencies face when a semiconductor nears the end of its product lifecycle. [1]

Gerrish found that a semiconductor's product lifecycle is much shorter than that of the product in which it is placed. Realizing there was a need for the distribution of end-of-life semiconductor products when no longer supported by the original manufacturer, he left his position at Motorola and started Rochester Electronics. [1] [2]

In March 1998, Rochester Electronics signed a Discontinued Parts Agreement with Cypress Semiconductor Corp (acquired by Infineon Technologies), which gave Rochester rights to distribute discontinued Cypress products. [3]

Digi-Key, an electronic components distributor, and Rochester Electronics partnered in 2021 to continue the supply of critical and authentic components despite the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain uncertainties, and the rise of counterfeit components. [4] In June 2021, the company joined the Digi-Key Marketplace to continue the supply chain for Digi-Key customers. [5]

The company signed a collaboration agreement with STMicroelectronics in September 2021 for the purpose of enhancing and providing a broader range “of both active and end-of-life stocked products.” [6]

In March 2022, Rochester Electronics partnered with Kyoto Semiconductor, an optical device manufacturer. This agreement allowed for Rochester customers to receive Kyoto Semiconductor optical device solutions. [7]

Licensed manufacturing

Rochester Electronics owns more than 12 billion silicon die which are stored in nitrogen-purged dry boxes, and billions more finished devices warehoused in temperature and humidity-controlled facilities, giving them the capability to manufacture over 70,000 device types. [8] In addition to distributing discontinued semiconductors, they assemble and test products as a semiconductor manufacturer licensed under the original manufacturer. [9]

They also have the ability to replicate parts that no longer have available silicon or design documents. [10] These methods and abilities, for example, can help extend the life of components such as those in medical devices. [11]

Locations

Semiconductor anti-counterfeit awareness

Since semiconductors are engineered within an incalculable number of critical systems and products such as airplanes, trains, lifesaving health equipment, etc. a failure of one has the potential to pose considerable risk to the health and safety of people around the globe. [13] There have been several documented incidents of counterfeit semiconductors causing and/or potentially causing serious health and safety issues. [14] [15] In 2006, Rochester Electronics initiated the formation of the Semiconductor Industry Association's [SIA] Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force (ACTF). They remain an active participant promoting best procurement practices and the importance of avoiding counterfeit and substandard semiconductors. [16] [17] [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronics</span> Branch of physics and electrical engineering

The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification and rectification, which distinguishes it from classical electrical engineering, which only uses passive effects such as resistance, capacitance and inductance to control electric current flow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorola 6800</span> 8-bit microprocessor

The 6800 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System that also included serial and parallel interface ICs, RAM, ROM and other support chips. A significant design feature was that the M6800 family of ICs required only a single five-volt power supply at a time when most other microprocessors required three voltages. The M6800 Microcomputer System was announced in March 1974 and was in full production by the end of that year.

Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011. Motorola Solutions is the legal successor to Motorola, Inc., as the reorganization was structured with Motorola Mobility being spun off. Motorola Mobility was acquired by Lenovo in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STMicroelectronics</span> Semiconductor device manufacturer

STMicroelectronics N.V. commonly referred as ST or STMicro is a Dutch multinational corporation and technology company of French-Italian origin headquartered in Plan-les-Ouates near Geneva, Switzerland and listed on the French stock market. ST is the largest European semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. The company resulted from the merger of two government-owned semiconductor companies in 1987: Thomson Semiconducteurs of France and SGS Microelettronica of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cypress Semiconductor</span> Defunct American semiconductor company

Cypress Semiconductor was an American semiconductor design and manufacturing company. It offered NOR flash memories, F-RAM and SRAM Traveo microcontrollers, PSoC programmable system-on-chip solutions, analog and PMIC Power Management ICs, CapSense capacitive touch-sensing controllers, Wireless BLE Bluetooth Low-Energy and USB connectivity solutions.

The semiconductor industry is the aggregate of companies engaged in the design and fabrication of semiconductors and semiconductor devices, such as transistors and integrated circuits. It formed around 1960, once the fabrication of semiconductor devices became a viable business. The industry's annual semiconductor sales revenue has since grown to over $481 billion, as of 2018. The semiconductor industry is in turn the driving force behind the wider electronics industry, with annual power electronics sales of £135 billion as of 2011, annual consumer electronics sales expected to reach $2.9 trillion by 2020, tech industry sales expected to reach $5 trillion in 2019, and e-commerce with over $29 trillion in 2017. In 2019, 32.4% of the semiconductor market segment was for networks and communications devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mostek</span> American electronics company

Mostek was a semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturer, founded in 1969 by L. J. Sevin, Louay E. Sharif, Richard L. Petritz and other ex-employees of Texas Instruments. Initially their products were manufactured in Worcester, Massachusetts in cooperation with Sprague Electric, however by 1974 most of its manufacturing was done in the Carrollton, Texas facility on Crosby Road. At its peak in the late 1970s, Mostek held an 85% market share of the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) memory chip market worldwide, until being eclipsed by Japanese DRAM manufacturers who offered equivalent chips at lower prices by dumping memory on the market.

An integrated device manufacturer (IDM) is a semiconductor company which designs, manufactures, and sells integrated circuit (IC) products.

Digi International is an American Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology company headquartered in Hopkins, Minnesota. The company was founded in 1985 and went public as Digi International in 1989. The company initially offered intelligent ISA/PCI boards with multiple asynchronous serial interfaces for PCs. Multi-port serial boards are still sold, but the company focuses on embedded and external network communications as well as scalable USB products. The company also sells radio modems and embedded modules based on LTE (4G) communications platforms.

ARM9 is a group of 32-bit RISC ARM processor cores licensed by ARM Holdings for microcontroller use. The ARM9 core family consists of ARM9TDMI, ARM940T, ARM9E-S, ARM966E-S, ARM920T, ARM922T, ARM946E-S, ARM9EJ-S, ARM926EJ-S, ARM968E-S, ARM996HS. Since ARM9 cores were released from 1998 to 2006, they are no longer recommended for new IC designs, instead ARM Cortex-A, ARM Cortex-M, ARM Cortex-R cores are preferred.

Soitec is an international company, based in France, that manufactures high performance substrates used in the manufacture of semiconductors.

RF Micro Devices, was an American company that designed and manufactured high-performance radio frequency systems and solutions for applications that drive wireless and broadband communications. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, RFMD traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol RFMD. The Company was founded in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1991. RF Micro has 3500 employees, 1500 of them in Guilford County, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NXP Semiconductors</span> Dutch semiconductor manufacturer

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXP) is a Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company employs approximately 29,000 people in more than 30 countries. NXP reported revenue of $11.06 billion in 2021.

onsemi is an American semiconductor supplier company, based in Phoenix, Arizona and ranked #483 on the 2022 Fortune 500 based on its 2021 sales. Products include power and signal management, logic, discrete, and custom devices for automotive, communications, computing, consumer, industrial, LED lighting, medical, military/aerospace and power applications. onsemi runs a network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and design centers in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions. Based on its 2016 revenues of $3.907 billion, onsemi ranked among the worldwide top 20 semiconductor sales leaders.

GlobalFoundries Inc. is a multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Malta, New York. Created by the divestiture of the manufacturing arm of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the company was privately owned by Mubadala Investment Company, the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates, until an initial public offering (IPO) in October 2021.

MikroElektronika is a Serbian manufacturer and retailer of hardware and software tools for developing embedded systems. The company headquarters is in Belgrade, Serbia.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to electronics:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering</span>

The Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) is a university research facility focused on risk assessment, management, and mitigation for electronic products and systems. CALCE is the largest electronic products and systems research center focused on electronics reliability and is dedicated to providing a knowledge and resource base to support the development of competitive electronic components, products, and systems. CALCE is located at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, and was founded by Professor Michael Pecht.

References

  1. 1 2 Hendrickson, Dyke. "Endicott business school named for Newburyport CEO". The Salem News . Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  2. ↑ Sullivan, Laurie (2003-06-30). "Rochester Electronics carves niche with end-of-life parts". EE Times.
  3. ↑ "Cypress Semiconductor and Rochester Electronics Sign Discontinued Products Agreement". EETimes. 1998-03-06.
  4. ↑ "Digi-Key partners with Rochester Electronics to supply critical components". New Electronics. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  5. ↑ Williams, Alun (2021-06-10). "Digi-Key partners Rochester Electronics for component supply". Electronics Weekly. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  6. ↑ "Rochester Electronics collaborates with STMicroelectronics". Semiconductor for You. 2021-09-14. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  7. ↑ Sowery, Kiera (2022-03-04). "Rochester Electronics partners with Kyoto Semiconductor". www.electronicspecifier.com. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  8. ↑ "Avnet: Quality Electronic Components & Services". www.avnet.com. Retrieved 2022-09-07.
  9. ↑ "Overcoming Component Obsolescence | Electronics360". electronics360.globalspec.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  10. ↑ "Combating Component Obsolescence &#151 A Visit to Rochester Electronics | Solid State Technology". electroiq.com. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  11. ↑ Greenwood, Ken (2021-10-18). "Breathing Life into Obsolete Medical-Device Designs". www.electronicdesign.com. Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  12. ↑ "Rochester Electronics, LLC" . Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  13. ↑ "Semiconductor Counterfeiting is a Global Problem - SiliconExpert Blog". SiliconExpert Blog. 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  14. ↑ "Anti-Counterfeiting". www.semiconductors.org. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
  15. ↑ "- THE COMMITTEE'S INVESTIGATION INTO COUNTERFEIT ELECTRONIC PARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SUPPLY CHAIN". www.govinfo.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  16. ↑ “Winning the Battle Against Counterfeit Semiconductor Products. A report of the SIA Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force.”, Semiconductors.org. August 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  17. ↑ Media, OpenSystems. "Life cycle management, semiconductor re-creation, and mitigating counterfeit parts - Military Embedded Systems". militaryembedded.com. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  18. ↑ "Combating Counterfeit Chips". Semiconductor Engineering. 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
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