Maxim Integrated

Maxim Integrated Products

Company type	Public (Nasdaq: MXIM)
Industry	Semiconductors
Founded	1983
Headquarters	Sunnyvale, California United States
Products	Integrated Circuits 28 Product Lines 5900 Products
Revenue	$2.051 Billion USD (2008)
Number of employees	10,000 (2008)
Website	www.maxim-ic.com

Maxim Integrated Products (Nasdaq: MXIM) is a publicly traded company that designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance semiconductor products. The company’s stated mission is to deliver innovative analog and mixed-signal engineering solutions that add value to its customers’ products. To date, Maxim has developed over 5900 integrated circuits (ICs) serving the industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California (USA), Maxim has design centers, manufacturing facilities, and sales offices throughout the world. With over $2 billion in annual sales, 10,000 employees, and 35,000 customers worldwide, Maxim is among the most profitable companies in the semiconductor industry.

History

Maxim Integrated Products was founded in 1983 by nine semiconductor professionals who believed that the market needed a well-managed, innovative supplier of high-quality analog and mixed-signal ICs.

Based on a two-page business plan, they obtained $9 million in venture capital to establish the company. In the first year, the company aggressively developed 24 high-quality, second-source products to provide a revenue base for future growth. After that, Maxim transitioned to designing proprietary products that offered greater differentiation and higher profits. Today, the company has over 5900 ICs in 28 product categories.

Maxim recorded its first profitable fiscal year in 1987, and has posted a profit every year since it went public in 1988, except the Dec 2008 quarter. Annual revenue reached $500 million in fiscal year 1998 and now exceeds $2 billion (fiscal year 2008).

Stock Option Backdating and Delisting

Maxim's common stock was delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and was traded Over-the-Counter and quoted on the Pink Sheets. This occurred due to an inability for the company to file financial statements related to stock option backdating. Maxim's founder and CEO, Jack Gifford and CFO Carl Jasper resigned due to an investigation into the issue by Maxim's board of directors.

Maxim was able to restate its earnings in 2008 and was re-listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange on October 8, 2008.

Acquisitions

Maxim has historically eschewed a strategy of growth through acquisition. Nonetheless, the company has made a modest number of strategic acquisitions to expand its technology portfolio, increase manufacturing capacity, or gain experienced engineering talent.

1990: Purchased first wafer fabrication facility in Sunnyvale, California.

1994: Acquired Tektronix Semiconductor Division in Beaverton, Oregon, giving Maxim high-speed bipolar processes for wireless RF and fiber-optic products.

1997: Purchased an additional wafer fab from IC Works in San Jose, California, to increase fab capacity.

2001: Acquired Dallas Semiconductor in Dallas, Texas, to gain valuable expertise in digital and mixed-signal CMOS design, as well as an additional wafer fab.

2003: Purchased submicrometre CMOS fab from Philips in San Antonio, Texas, to ramp up capacity and support processes down to the 0.25-micrometre level.

2007: Purchased 0.18-micrometre fab from Atmel in Irving, Texas, approximately doubling fab capacity.

2007: Acquired Vitesse Semiconductor’s Storage Products Division in Colorado Springs, Colorado, adding advanced Serial Attached ATA (SATA), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), and enclosure management products to Maxim’s product portfolio .

2008: Acquired Mobilygen in Santa Clara, California, to add advanced H.264 video-compression technology to its portfolio.

2009: Acquired Innova Card, headquartered in La Ciotat, France, to bolster Maxim's presence in the financial transaction terminal semiconductor market.

2009: Acquired two product lines from Zilog, Inc. Maxim purchased the Secure Transactions product line, featuring the Zatara® 32-bit ARM®-based fully integrated single-chip solution, further enhancing Maxim's offerings in the secure transactions market, and the hardware portion of the Wireless Control product line, whose Crimzon and classic IR solutions are commonly found in universal remote controls. The software portion of the Wireless Control product line was simultaneously acquired by Universal Electrionics Inc., famous for their One-For-All brand of universal remote controls.

Products

Maxim designs, manufactures, and sells analog, mixed-signal, high-frequency, and digital circuits. Its product portfolio includes over 5900 ICs in 28 major product categories serving the industrial, communications, consumer, and computing markets.

Product Lines

1-Wire and iButton Devices
Amplifiers and Comparators
Analog Switches and Multiplexers
Audio
Automotive
Clock Generation and Distribution
Data Converters, Sample-and-Holds
Digital Potentiometers
Display Drivers and Display Power
Filters (Analog)
High-Frequency ASICs
Hot-Swap and Power Switching
Interface and Interconnect
Memories: Volatile, NV, Multifunction
Microcontrollers
Military/Aerospace
Optoelectronics
Power and Battery Management
Powerline Networking
Protection and Isolation
Real-Time Clocks
Storage Products (SAS/SATA/Enclosure Management)
Supervisors, Voltage Monitors, Sequencers
T/E Carrier and Packetized Communications
Thermal Management, Sensors, Sensor Conditioners
Video
Voltage References
Wireless, RF, and Cable

Innovations

Process Technologies

Throughout its history, Maxim has invested in process technology research and development. The company currently utilizes over 160 proprietary, analog and mixed-signal processes in its wafer fabrication facilities. These processes enable the company to differentiate its products from competitors, and provide customized solutions that meet customer requirements for performance, integration, and cost.

Award-Winning Products

Every year, Maxim receives numerous innovation awards for its breakthrough technologies. Below is a selection of awards for 2007.

Award: Best Analog-to-Digital Converter of 2007
Publication: Electronic Design
Product: MAX109, 2.2Gsps, 8-Bit ADC

Award: Best High-Speed, 8-Bit and Best Progress in High-Speed ADCs
Website: En-Genius Network
Product: MAX109, 2.2Gsps, 8-Bit ADC

Award: Top Product of 2007
Publication: Microwaves & RF
Product: MAX2837, The Industry's First Production-Ready, Single-Chip WiMAX RF Transceiver for 2.3 GHz to 2.7 GHz Wireless-Broadband Systems

Award: Hot 100 Products of 2007, Analog ICs Category
Publication: EDN
Product: MAX13486E, The Industry's Smallest Half-Duplex RS-485 Transceiver

Award: Hot 100 Products of 2007, Analog ICs Category
Publication: EDN
Product: MAX9730, The Industry’s First Inductorless Class G Amplifier

Award: 2007 Analog/Mixed-Signal IC Editors' Choice Award, Technology Innovation Category
Publication: EEPW
Product: MAX8647, Ultra-Efficient Negative Charge Pump for Driving Six White/RGB LEDs Independently

Award: 2007 Analog/Mixed-Signal IC Editors' Choice Award, Marketing Application Category
Publication: EEPW
Product: MAX9775, High-Efficiency, Stereo, Class D Audio Subsystem

Award: 2008 Editors Choice Award, Power Management Category
Publication: Portable Design
Product: MAX8902A/MAX8902B, The Industry's Smallest 500mA, Low-Noise, Low-Dropout (LDO) Linear Regulators

External links

• Official Company Website
• Engineering Resources (including application notes, tutorials, design tools, and software)
• Products
• Locations
• Dallas Semiconductor History and Products
• "Engineering Success: 25 Years of Growth and Innovation," San Jose Magazine Article
• Maxim Stock Price