Continuing our favorite Rochester Electronics semiconductors of the 1970s series, we turn our focus to the LM108 monolithic Op Amp. There is often frequent discussion about the tremendous evolution of memories and processors, but analog semiconductors have also witnessed significant historical advancements based both on technology improvements along with progressive design techniques. The LM108 is one of these analog products. The product series’ origins date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s based on work carried out by Bob Widlar at Fairchild and then National Semiconductors.

The LM108, Linear Monolithic Amplifier, demonstrated highly improved performance over previous FET amplifiers and with a wider supply voltage tolerance. These amplifiers had sufficient supply rejection to use unregulated supplies. It also integrated multiple analog components into one piece of silicon.

With less noise, less supply current, and less drift over the broadest possible temperature range (-55°C to +125°C) meant that it was widely adopted across all market segments at the time. They are still used today by transportation and energy control networks, along with military and aerospace customers.

Rochester Electronics is authorized to build LM108 Op Amps and continue to support all the original packages including the Hermetic Metal Can, CDIP, SOIC, and CERPAK.

Did you know that Rochester is licensed to manufacture devices no longer produced by the original component manufacturer? As a licensed semiconductor manufacturer, Rochester has manufactured over 20,000 device types. With over 12 billion die in stock, Rochester has the capability to manufacture over 70,000 device types.

We hope you enjoyed this fourth installment of our series.