SAN FRANCISCO — One of Silicon Valley’s founding companies, Fairchild Semiconductor, is refocusing its efforts on integrated power components for mobile and green electronics, promising to tighten lead times for its products.
Today, 50 to 60% of Fairchild’s products are MOSFETS, and 30 to 40% are higher-level integrated circuits. Fairchild plans to integrate MOSFET and insulated-gate bipolar transistors into advanced power modules.
"Our vision is clear -- anticipate the power efficiencies demanded by tomorrow's electronic products and deliver an amazing design experience," said Vijay Ullal, Fairchild's president and Fairchild COO.
A new brand campaign and logo, the "Power to Amaze," symbolizes the company's renewed efforts to tackle today's hot markets in energy, mobility, and the cloud.
Fairchild updated its brand with a new logo.
With its new focus, Fairchild will transition from niche standalone products to higher integration products for mobile devices. For the cloud, the company will provide power-supply solutions for datacenters and low-power networked sensors.
Fairchild will maintain its focus on motor control, automotive, and lighting markets. Specific automotive targets include electronic power steering, ignition, and electric vehicles. It also is developing a portfolio of building blocks for LED lighting.
Fairchild's mWSaver technology helps power-supply designers achieve lower standby power in applications such as battery chargers, adapters, and switch-mode power supplies for LCD TVs and printers. The company hopes to develop a universal adapter that can be used for various portable devices.
The company is also developing brushless DC (BLDC) motor control, an advanced, variable-frequency control technology that will reduce household power consumption. Fairchild aims to accelerate the transition from AC induction to BLDC motors by introducing modular motor-control algorithms to help home appliance manufacturers implement BLDC motor-control applications.
Meanwhile, Fairchild aims to tighten its lead times for delivering new products. A spokesman said the company now can provide six-week lead times, with 95% of its products in stock with minimal lead times.
— Jessica Lipsky, Associate Editor, EE Times