International Rectifier

International Rectifier was an American power management technology company manufacturing analog and mixed-signal ICs, advanced circuit devices, integrated power systems, and high-performance integrated components for computing. On 13 January 2015, the company became a part of Infineon Technologies. IR's products, as a part of Infineon Technologies' overall semiconductor portfolio, continue to be used in many applications including lighting, automobile, satellite, aircraft, and defense systems; as well as key components in power supply systems in electronics-based products that include especially microcomputers, servers, networking and telecommunications equipment. International Rectifier (IR) was founded on August 9, 1947, in Los Angeles, California, by Leon Lidow and his son, Eric Lidow, both natives of Vilnius (in modern-day Lithuania). The younger Lidow had earned his degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Berlin in 1937 before emigrating to the United States. Prior to forming the company, Eric Lidow had co-founded the Selenium Corporation of America, which specialized in early photoelectric developments before its acquisition by the Sperry Corporation. Operating initially out of a small facility with only six employees, International Rectifier focused on putting to use specialized processes the Lidows developed for manufacturing selenium rectifiers—devices critical for converting alternating current (AC) into direct current (DC) in industrial and military electronics during the post-World War II boom. To secure a steady footing in the capital-intensive electronics market, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in September 1958 under the ticker symbol IRF. By the 1960s, under Eric Lidow’s leadership, the company began implementing a broad diversification strategy to cushion its cyclical semiconductor earnings, an initiative that led to the founding of its biochemical and pharmaceutical subsidiary, Rachelle Laboratories. International Rectifier began pioneering advancements in semiconductor power management during the 1950s, commercializing the industry's first germanium rectifiers in November 1954 and introducing the first silicon-based rectifier in September 1959.