From Transistor to Spacistor

Semiconductor Research and Development at Raytheon

Raytheon began as a tube manufacturer in the 1922 but established its reputation through its World War Two development of magnetrons and radars, and in the post war era, the development of guided missile systems.

It responded quickly to the public announcement of Bell Laboratories’ invention of the transistor. With an entrepreneur’s vision and energy it acquired all the resources and processes to become the World’s leading producer of transistors in the early 1950s. But it could not maintain its leadership and decided to withdraw from semiconductor markets in 1962.

This is the story of how Raytheon achieved its spectacular success in semiconductors and the market forces and choices that caused the demise of its semiconductor business in little more than a decade.

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