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Zilog, Inc.

Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: ZILG
Industry	Semiconductors
Founded	1974
Founder(s)	Federico Faggin
Headquarters	San Jose, California, USA
Key people	Federico Faggin Chairman of the Board Darin G. Billerbeck President CEO Director
Products	Microcontrollers
Revenue	$82 million (2007) $67.2 million (2008) $36.2 Million (2009)
Operating income	−$18.39 million (2008)
Net income	$3.18 million (2008)
Employees	35000 (August 2010)
Website	ZiLOG.com IXYS.com

Zilog, Inc., previously known as ZiLOG (which stands for "Z (the last word of) integrated logic"),^[1] is a manufacturer of 8-bit and 24-bit microcontrollers, and is most famous for its Intel 8080-compatible Z80 series.

History[link]

Zilog was incorporated in California in 1974 by Federico Faggin, who left Intel after working on the 4004 and then the 8080 microprocessors. The company became a subsidiary of Exxon in 1980, but the management and employees bought it back in 1989 led by Dr. Edgar Sack.

Zilog went public in 1991, but was acquired in 1998 by Texas Pacific Group. Curtis Crawford replaced Dr. Edgar Sack and changed the company's direction towards 32 bit Data Communications Processors. Bonds were sold against the company to fund the new developments, but after the Internet bubble burst in 2000 and the resultant reduction in customer demand for such products, Curtis Crawford was replaced by James (Jim) Thorburn who reorganized the company under Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2001 and refocused it back to the 8 and 16 bit microcontroller market.

Jim Thorburn led Zilog back into profitability by FY 2007 they had $82 million in sales. During this time they developed the Encore! Flash 8 bit MCU product family and ZNEO Flash 16 bit MCU product family. In Feb 2007 Zilog hired Darin Billerbeck to replace Jim Thorburn as President and CEO.

2007 was the last year Zilog introduced any new 8-bit microcontroller products. With no new product roadmap, for FY2008 sales fell 20% to $67.2 million. Sales fell 46% in FY2009 to $36.2 million.

On January 2008, Zilog declined an unsolicited proposal made by Universal Electronics Inc to acquire the company.^[2]

Zilog's iconic 8-bit processor, the Z80. Pictured is among one of the first Z80s ever made.

On February 19, 2009, Zilog announced that it had sold off their 8-bit Crimzon Universal Remote Control infrared microcontroller product line, as well as their ARM9 32-bit microcontrollers, including the Zatara security microcontrollers and 15 patents, to Maxim Integrated Products. Remote control manufacturer Universal Electronics Inc. purchased all of Zilog's software & IP assets related to Zilog's universal remote control business, including all ROM code, software, and database of infrared codes.^[3] Zilog sold these assets for $31 million cash, less than half the assets real worth^{[clarification needed]}.

In December 2009, IXYS Corporation bought the company for $62.4m in cash, which was significantly below the market valuation of Zilog's stock at the time.^[4][5] Details of the acquisition have been under investigation.

In June 2010, Zilog's distributors discontinued sales of its 16-bit ZNEO microcontroller.

Zilog still sells 8-bit microcontroller markets, but has not introduced a new 8-bit microcontroller semiconductor since 2007.

Products[link]

The Z80(i) was an improved implementation of the Intel 8080 architecture, which was faster, more capable, and much cheaper; alongside the 6502 it was one of the most popular 8-bit processors for general purpose microcomputers and other applications. It was used in the Nintendo Game Boy, the Sinclair ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum and the Amstrad CPC home computers as well as the MSX architecture and the Tandy TRS-80 series—among many others. More so than simply sparking improvements in the budding field of home computing and gaming, the Z-80 also sparked a revolution in electronic music, as the first truly programmable polyphonic synthesizers (as well as their peripherals) relied heavily on implementations of this CPU.

Many Texas Instruments graphing calculators used the Z80 as the main processor, and the chip found continued use in some game consoles such as the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis in the United States) as a dedicated sound controller. The CP/M operating system (and its huge software library featuring hits like Wordstar and dBase) was known to be "the Z80 disk operating system", and its success is partly due to the popularity of the Z80.

After the Z80 Zilog introduced the 16-bit Z8000 and 32-bit Z80000 processors, but these were not particularly successful, and the company refocused on the microcontroller market, producing both basic CPUs and application-specific integrated circuits/standard products (ASICs/ASSPs) built around a CPU core. As well as producing processors, Zilog has produced several other components. One of the most famous was the Z8530 serial communications controller as found on Sun SPARCstations and SPARCservers up to the SPARCstation 20.

Zilog also formed a Systems Division, which designed the Zilog System 8000, a Z8000- or Z80000-based multiuser computer system running a Unix derivative called ZEUS (Zilog Enhanced UNIX System).^[6]

Zilog attempted to enter the 32-bit microcontroller market in February 2006 with the demonstration of ARM9-based Point-Of-Sale (POS) microcontroller product line.^[7][8] The final product was released in 2007 called Zatara.^[9] Sales were disappointing and the entire ARM9 series was sold to Maxim Integrated Products in 2009.

Zilog also produced Zdots single board computers. It includes Zilog eZ80AcclaimPlus controller, 1MiB flash memory, 512KiB SRAM, 10BaseT Ethernet Controller, IrDA transceiver, 2 x 60-pin system expansion interface with full MPU bus/control signals, RJ-45 Ethernet connector.^[10] Motion detection version includes Z8 Encore! XP MCU.^[11]

Microprocessor families[link]

• Zilog Z80 (1976)
• Zilog Z8000 (ca 1978)
• Zilog Z800 (1985)
• Zilog Z80000 (late 1985)
• Zilog Z280 (early 1986)
• Zilog Z180 (late 1986)

Microcontroller families[link]

• Zilog Z380 (1994)
• Zilog Z8 Encore!
• Zilog Z8 Encore! XP
• Zilog eZ80 (2001)
• Zilog eZ8 (2005)
• Zilog Z8051 (2011)

Communication controllers[link]

• Z16017/Z16M17/Z86017 PCMCIA adapter
• Z80382/Z8L382 microprocessor
• Z5380 SCSI protocol controller (based on NCR 5380)
• Z022 series single-chip modem

Motion Detection[link]

• ZEPIR0AAS02MODG - ZMOTION(TM) Motion Detection Module
• Z8FS040 ZMOTION(TM) MCU - Microcontroller with built-in motion detection algorithms
• Z8FS021A - ZMOTION(TM) Intrusion MCU - Microcontroller with built-in intrusion motion detection algorithms

Digital Signal Processor[link]

• Z86295
• Z89 series

TV controllers[link]

• Z90231
• Z90233
• Z90251
• Z90255

Line 21 Decoders[link]

• Z86129/Z86130/Z86131
• Z86228/Z86229/Z86230

Single board computers[link]

• Zdots eZ80F91

Executive Management[link]

• Dr. Nathan Zommer - Chairman & CEO
• Mr. Uzi Sasson, President
• Mike Speckman - VP, WW Sales
• Dan Eaton - VP, General Counsel

See also[link]

• Applied Digital Data Systems
• LaFarr Stuart, ZiLOG's 4th employee

References[link]

External links[link]

• ZiLOG Home Site
• New ZiLOG ZNEO 16-bit Single Cycle CPU