RF & Analog Company Name Change History
RF Cafe Quiz #67

This quiz challenges your knowledge of the history of familiar electronics products companies' name changes (aka etymology). Many of you have lived through the plethora of acquisitions, mergers, and name changes represented here. There might be more than one correct answer. You might need a motion sickness pill when navigating all the changes. Wikipedia is used as the reference because I know the historical information presented there is accurate (enough).

1.  Skyworks Solutions designs and manufactures a wide variety of amplifiers, switches, front-end modules, and other ICs and modules for wireless systems. From which company(s) did it come?

a)  Emerson Radio
b)  Conexant Systems
c)  TriQuint Semiconductor
d)  Alpha Industries

2.  Keysight Technologies is a premier maker of test equipment of all types. It has undergone multiple name changes. What was its original name?

a)  Tektronix
b)  Agilent Technologies
c)  Hewlett Packard
d)  Rohde & Schwarz

3.  Qorvo manufactures RFICs and components for the cellphone and wireless markets. Whence came it?

a)  RF Micro Devices
b)  Hittite Microwave
c)  Magnavox
d)  TriQuint Semiconductor

4.  Freescale Semiconductor makes many types of RFICs for applications like oscillators, amplifiers, and radio tuners. Which company recently bought it?

a)  NXP Semiconductors
b)  Motorola
c)  Nokia
d)  Samsung

5.  Fairchild Semiconductor's wide array of IC products includes those for analog and RF applications. Can you name the company that most recently acquired it?

a)  Tandy Corporation
b)  Qualcomm
c)  Sony Corporation
d)  ON Semiconductor

6.  Texas Instruments recently bought a very famous analog and analog IC producer. Which company was it?

a)  National Semiconductor
b)  Renesas Electronics Corporation
c)  Westinghouse Electric Company
d)  Hitachi

7.  Avago Technologies bought which well-known WiFi and Bluetooth RFIC product company?

a)  Newark Electronics
b)  Broadcom Limited
c)  Boeing Commercial Electronics
d)  Northrop Grumman Corporation

8.  Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) was an early player in the fabless chip business, making WiFi, Bluetooth, and GPS RFICs. Which company most recently bought CSR?

a)  Qualcomm
b)  Jameco Electronics
c)  Radio Shack
d)  British Aerospace Electronics Systems

9.  Linear Technology, a decades-long producer of analog ICs, was acquired by which company in 2016?

a)  Fairchild Electronics
b)  ON Semiconductor
c)  Analog Devices
d)  Broadcom

Need some help? Click here for the answers and explanations.

Posted September 28, 2016