Second source
Encyclopedia
In the electronics
industry, a second source is a company that is licensed to manufacture and sell components originally designed by another company (the first source).
It is common for engineers and purchasers to avoid components that are only available from a single source, to avoid the risk that a problem with the supplier would cause a popular and profitable product to be unable to be manufactured. For simple components such as resistors and transistors, this is not usually an issue, but for complex integrated circuit
s, vendors often react by licensing one or more other companies to manufacture and sell the same parts as second sources. While the details of such licenses are usually confidential, they often involve cross-licensing, so that the original company also obtains the right to manufacture and sell parts designed by the second source.
licensed Rockwell
and Synertek
to second source the 6502
microprocessor and support components.
Intel licensed AMD to second source Intel microprocessors such as the 8086
and its related support components. This second source agreement is particularly famous for leading to much litigation between the two parties. The agreement gave AMD the rights to second source later Intel parts, but Intel refused to provide the masks for the 386
to AMD. AMD reverse engineered the 386, and Intel then claimed that AMD's license to the 386 microcode
only allowed AMD to "use" the microcode but not to sell products incorporating it. The courts eventually decided in favor of AMD.
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
industry, a second source is a company that is licensed to manufacture and sell components originally designed by another company (the first source).
It is common for engineers and purchasers to avoid components that are only available from a single source, to avoid the risk that a problem with the supplier would cause a popular and profitable product to be unable to be manufactured. For simple components such as resistors and transistors, this is not usually an issue, but for complex integrated circuit
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
s, vendors often react by licensing one or more other companies to manufacture and sell the same parts as second sources. While the details of such licenses are usually confidential, they often involve cross-licensing, so that the original company also obtains the right to manufacture and sell parts designed by the second source.
Examples
MOS TechnologyMOS Technology
MOS Technology, Inc., also known as CSG , was a semiconductor design and fabrication company based in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is most famous for its 6502 microprocessor, and various designs for Commodore International's range of home computers.-History:MOS Technology, Inc...
licensed Rockwell
Rockwell
- People :* Dick Rockwell, an American comic strip and comic book artist, nephew of Norman Rockwell* Francis W. Rockwell, a United States Congressman from Massachusetts* Francis W...
and Synertek
Synertek
Synertek, Inc. was an American semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1973. The initial founding group consisted of Bob Schreiner , Dan Floyd, Zvi Grinfas, Jack Balletto, and Gunnar Wetlesen. The manufacturing technology was MOS/LSI...
to second source the 6502
MOS Technology 6502
The MOS Technology 6502 is an 8-bit microprocessor that was designed by Chuck Peddle and Bill Mensch for MOS Technology in 1975. When it was introduced, it was the least expensive full-featured microprocessor on the market by a considerable margin, costing less than one-sixth the price of...
microprocessor and support components.
Intel licensed AMD to second source Intel microprocessors such as the 8086
Intel 8086
The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and mid-1978, when it was released. The 8086 gave rise to the x86 architecture of Intel's future processors...
and its related support components. This second source agreement is particularly famous for leading to much litigation between the two parties. The agreement gave AMD the rights to second source later Intel parts, but Intel refused to provide the masks for the 386
Intel 80386
The Intel 80386, also known as the i386, or just 386, was a 32-bit microprocessor introduced by Intel in 1985. The first versions had 275,000 transistors and were used as the central processing unit of many workstations and high-end personal computers of the time...
to AMD. AMD reverse engineered the 386, and Intel then claimed that AMD's license to the 386 microcode
Microcode
Microcode is a layer of hardware-level instructions and/or data structures involved in the implementation of higher level machine code instructions in many computers and other processors; it resides in special high-speed memory and translates machine instructions into sequences of detailed...
only allowed AMD to "use" the microcode but not to sell products incorporating it. The courts eventually decided in favor of AMD.