18 August 2011

RFMD celebrates twenty year anniversary by ringing the NASDAQ opening bell

RF Micro Devices Inc (RFMD) of Greensboro, NC, USA, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance radio frequency components and compound semiconductor technologies, rang the NASDAQ stock market opening bell today, celebrating the firm’s twenty year anniversary.

Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, said, "It is a pleasure to commemorate RFMD's twentieth anniversary and celebrate RFMD's twenty years of RF product and technology leadership by ringing the NASDAQ opening bell. RFMD is a recognized pioneer and innovator in the semiconductor industry, and our sharp focus on product and technology leadership is equally as evident today — with the continued ramp of multiple industry-leading, new products — as it was with the commercialization of the world's first GaAs HBT PA."

Founded by William Pratt (original CEO), Jerry D. Neal (the firm's first marketing executivet), and Powell Seymour (original VP of operations), RFMD was incorporated on 27 February 1991. A pioneer in the commercialization of RF components using gallium arsenide (GaAs), in the 1990s RFMD was a primary contributor to the rapid growth in the cellular handset market, and in 2000 it was identified by Fortune magazine as the second-fastest growing company in the USA. In 2004, the firm became the first semiconductor company to ship 1 billion cellular power amplifiers (PAs), and currently routinely ships more than 3 million RF components per day.

RFMD was the first firm to introduce integrated power control for cellular power amplifiers, or PAs, (PowerStar); the first to introduce integrated power management for PAs (PowerSmart); the first to exceed 50% peak efficiency in 3G/4G PAs; the first to commercialize high-performance silicon CMOS for cellular switches; and the first to introduce gallium nitride (GaN) for CATV amplifier applications, says the firm.

Tags: RFMD

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