A programmable read-only memory (PROM) is a form of digital memory where the contents can be changed once after manufacture of the device. The data is then permanent and cannot be changed. It is one type of read-only memory (ROM). PROMs are used in digital electronic devices to store permanent data, usually low level programs such as firmware or microcode. The key difference from a standard ROM is that the data is written into a ROM during manufacture, while with a PROM the data is programmed into them after manufacture. Thus, ROMs tend to be used only for large production runs with well-verified data. PROMs may be used where the volume required does not make a factory-programmed ROM economical, or during development of a system that may ultimately be converted to ROMs in a mass produced version.
Synopsys, Inc. is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Synopsys supplies tools and services to the semiconductor design and manufacturing industry. Products include tools for logic synthesis and physical design of integrated circuits, simulators for development, and debugging environments that assist in the design of the logic for chips and computer systems. As of 2023, the company is a component of both the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 indices.
Cypress Semiconductor was an American semiconductor design and manufacturing company. It offered NOR flash memories, F-RAM and SRAM Traveo microcontrollers, PSoCs, PMICs, capacitive touch-sensing controllers, Wireless BLE Bluetooth Low-Energy and USB connectivity solutions.
Silvaco Group, Inc., develops and markets electronic design automation (EDA) and technology CAD (TCAD) software and semiconductor design IP (SIP). The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and has offices in North America, Europe, and throughout Asia. Founded in 1984, Silvaco is a publicly traded EDA company. The company has been known by at least two other names: Silvaco International, and Silvaco Data Systems.
VLSI Technology, Inc., was an American company that designed and manufactured custom and semi-custom integrated circuits (ICs). The company was based in Silicon Valley, with headquarters at 1109 McKay Drive in San Jose. Along with LSI Logic, VLSI Technology defined the leading edge of the application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) business, which accelerated the push of powerful embedded systems into affordable products.
Microchip Technology Incorporated is a publicly listed American corporation that manufactures microcontroller, mixed-signal, analog, and Flash-IP integrated circuits. Its products include microcontrollers, Serial EEPROM devices, Serial SRAM devices, embedded security devices, radio frequency (RF) devices, thermal, power, and battery management analog devices, as well as linear, interface and wireless products.
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXP) is a Dutch semiconductor designer and manufacturer with headquarters in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The company employs approximately 31,000 people in more than 30 countries. NXP reported revenue of $11.06 billion in 2021.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc., is an American multinational technology and computational software company. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Cadence was formed in 1988 through the merger of SDA Systems and ECAD. Initially specialized in electronic design automation (EDA) software for the semiconductor industry, currently the company makes software and hardware for designing products such as integrated circuits, systems on chips (SoCs), printed circuit boards, and pharmaceutical drugs, also licensing intellectual property for the electronics, aerospace, defense and automotive industries, among others.
Sonic Focus Inc was a software development company located in South Lake Tahoe, California. It was founded in 1995 with the aim of improving the quality of live concerts broadcast over the Web. It later provided audio post processing technologies that recreate the original sound of digital recordings which have been reduced in quality by compression. Their products can be used to enhance the sound in many electronic products, including mobile phones, car audio, PCs, laptops, MP3 players, TVs and home theatre systems.
MQX is a real-time operating system (RTOS) developed by Precise Software Technologies, Inc., and currently sold by Synopsys, Embedded Access, Inc., and NXP Semiconductors.
LSI Logic Corporation, was an American company founded in Santa Clara, California, was a pioneer in the ASIC and EDA industries. It evolved over time to design and sell semiconductors and software that accelerated storage and networking in data centers, mobile networks and client computing.
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is an Israeli company that manufactures integrated circuits using specialty process technologies, including SiGe, BiCMOS, Silicon Photonics, SOI, mixed-signal and RFCMOS, CMOS image sensors, non-imaging sensors, power management (BCD), and non-volatile memory (NVM) as well as MEMS capabilities. Tower Semiconductor also owns 51% of TPSCo, an enterprise with Nuvoton Technology Corporation Japan (NTCJ).
Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT), was an American semiconductor company headquartered in San Jose, California. The company designed, manufactured, and marketed low-power, high-performance mixed-signal semiconductor products for the advanced communications, computing, and consumer industries. The company marketed its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Founded in 1980, the company began as a provider of complementary metal-oxide semiconductors (CMOS) for the communications business segment and computing business segments. The company focused on three major areas: communications infrastructure, high-performance computing, and advanced power management. Between 2018 and 2019, IDT was acquired by Renesas Electronics.
Arteris, Inc. is a multinational technology firm headquartered in Campbell, California. It develops the Network-on-Chip (NoC) on-chip interconnect IP and System-on-Chip (SoC) integration automation software used to create semiconductor designs for a variety of devices, particularly in automotive electronics, artificial intelligence/machine learning and consumer markets. The company specializes in the development and distribution of Network-on-Chip (NoC) interconnect Intellectual Property (IP) and SoC integration automation products used in the development of systems-on-chip.
ARC embedded system processors are a family of 32-bit and 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) central processing units (CPUs) originally designed by ARC International.
Kalray is a French fabless semiconductor company headquartered in Montbonnot, France.
Adesto Technologies is an American corporation founded in 2006 and based in Santa Clara, California. The company provides application-specific semiconductors and embedded systems for the Internet of Things (IoT), and sells its products directly to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and original design manufacturers (ODMs) that manufacture products for its end customers. In 2020, Adesto was bought by Dialog Semiconductor.
MOSAID is a semiconductor technology company incorporated in Ottawa, Canada. It was founded in 1975 as a DRAM design company, and later branched out into other areas including EDA software, semiconductor reverse engineering, test equipment manufacturing and intellectual property licensing. MOSAID went public in 1994 with a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange under ticker symbol "MSD". By 2011 the business was based exclusively on patent licensing and the company was acquired by Sterling Partners, a US-based private equity firm. MOSAID was renamed Conversant Intellectual Property Management in 2013. In 2021, the company announced it was changing its name back to MOSAID.
Weebit Nano is a public semiconductor IP company founded in Israel in 2015 and headquartered in Hod Hasharon, Israel. The company develops Resistive Random-Access Memory technologies. Resistive Random-Access Memory is a specialized form of non-volatile memory (NVM) for the semiconductor industry. The company’s products are targeted at a broad range of NVM markets where persistence, performance, and endurance are all required. ReRAM technology can be integrated in electronic devices like wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints, smartphones, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and 5G cellular communications, among other products. Weebit Nano’s IP can be licensed to semiconductor companies and semiconductor fabs.
