ROHM was incorporated as Toyo Electronics Industry Corporation by Kenichiro Sato on September 17, 1958. When ROHM was established, resistors were its main product. Later, ROHM began manufacturing semiconductors. ICs and discrete semiconductors now account for about 80% of ROHM's revenue. By 1964, ROHM already reached a defect rate for resistors of 1 in 1,000,000, compared to 1 in 100,000 with other manufacturers. 

 

ROHM History:

 

ROHM was established in Kyoto in 1958 as initially a manufacturer of small electronic components. In 1967 production was expanded to include transistors and diodes, and in 1969 ICs and other semiconductor products were added to the lineup. Two years later (in 1971), going against conventional Japanese business culture, the company entered the US market by establishing a sales office and IC design center in Silicon Valley. Through the hard work and passionate dedication of its young work force, business flourished, causing the industry to take notice. ROHM's expansion overseas soon became a template for other companies and eventually was accepted as common business practice.

 

1954

Toyo Electronics Industry established.

Carbon film resistors developed and marketed.

1958

Toyo Electronics Industry Corporation.

1962

In-house production of automatic resistor assembly machine inaugurated.

1963

Metal-firm resistors developed and marketed.

1965

Quality control program introduced.

Published "Visible Music History" (record of all volumes)

1966

In-house Standardization Committee organized.

ROHM Wako Co., Ltd. established.

1967

Transistors and switching diode developed and marketed.

1968

Completed production of diode arrays and diode matrices.

1969

Began development of ICs.

ROHM Apollo Co., Ltd. established.

1970

Computers for processing business data introduced.

ROHM Logistec Co., Ltd. established.

Established U.S. subsidiary company in California.

Published "History of Musical Instruments" (record of all volumes)

1971

Started research and development of integrated circuits (ICs) in Silicon Valley.

ROHM Electronics GmbH established.

Transistor developed and marketed.

1972

ROHM Korea Corporation established.

1973

LEDs and network resistors developed and marketed.

1974

Thermal printheads developed and marketed.

ROHM Electronics (H.K.) Co., Ltd. established.

1976

Square-plante chip resistors developed and marketed.

1977

Rectifying diodes developed and marketed.

1979

Corporate trademark is changed from R.ohm to ROHM.

ROHM Electronics Asia Pte. Ltd. (RES DIVISION) established.

Began "ROHM's Diary of Kyoto Natural History" for company public relations as a newspaper column.

1980

Zener diodes developed and marketed.

1981

Registered company name is changed from Toyo Electronics Industry Corporation to ROHM Co., Ltd.

Began development of MOS ICs.

ROHM Fukuoka Co., Ltd. established.

Published "Asian Music" (recorded tapes of all volumes)

1982

Semiconductor Research Center is completed.

Digital transistors developed and marketed.

1983

Listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Security Exchange.

Band switching diodes developed and marketed.

1984

First in the world to succeed in the practical industrial use of laser diodes with MBE methodology.

ROHM Amagi Co., Ltd. established.

1985

4-bit and 8-bit microcontrollers using original CPUs developed.

1986

Listed on the First Section of the Osaka Stock Exchange.

Research and Development Center opened (presently LSI Development Center).

Memory ICs developed and marketed.

Capacitors marketed.

Published public relations magazine "ROHM's Diary of Kyoto Natural History."

1987

A manufacturing plant is established in Thailand (presently RIST).

ROHM Electronics Taiwan Co., Ltd. established.

1988

Obtained basic patent of flash memory in the USA.

ROHM Mechatech Co., Ltd. established.

Narita Giken Co., Ltd. established.

1989

Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Received PM award (TPM)

LSI Research Center opened.

Liquid crystal process technology established and products marketed.

A manufacturing plant is established in Philippines (presently REPI).

ROHM-Wako Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. established.

ROHM Electronics (U.K.) Limited established.

Hosted "ROHM's Music Festival with Play Bach."

Published public relations magazine "ROHM's Diary of Kyoto Natural History II."

1990

America Technology Center opened.

Began sales of LED message boards.

ROHM Apollo Device Co., Ltd. established.

1991

Second Research and Development Center opened.

Established ROHM Music Foundation.

Hosted "Young Artist Concert."

1992

Completely abolished use of specific-fluorocarbons (all companies in ROHM Group)

MTP microcontroller with built-in flash memory developed.

Hosted "Contemporary & Classics."

1993

Developed large size LCD public displays with a distinctive wide view angle.

ROHM Electronics Dalian Co., Ltd. established.

A manufacturing plant is established in Tianjin, China (presently RSC).

ROHM Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. established.

ROHM Mechatech Philippines, INC. established.

Hosted "Kyoto International Music Students Festival" (held annually).

Hosted "Keith Jarret plays Mozart."

large size LCD public displays

1994

Obtained ISO9001 certification.

Developed a single-chip LSI for use in spread spectrum communications, the next generation of wireless transfer.

Co-sponsored "The New York Trio."

Began "ROHM's Diary of Science of the tales of old Japan" for company P.R as a newspaper column.

1995

Second LSI Research Center opened.

Jointly developed a 100,000 gate FPGA using flash technology together with the Zycad Corporation of the United States.

Developed IC with a built-in modulation-demodulation circuitry for IrDA infrared data communication.

Hosted "ROHM Lyric Selection Mari Kumamoto concert" (held annually).

Co-sponsored "National Paris Orchestra."

Published "ROHM's Diary of Kyoto Natural History (Sound Report Edition)" CD-ROM.

1996

ROHM Wako Device Co., Ltd. established

ROHM Electronics Korea Corporation established.

ROHM Electronics (Philippines) Sales Corporation established.

Co-sponsored "Scala Philharmonic Orchestra."

1997

Yokohama Technology Center opened.

Started mass production of red laser diodes for DVDs.

ROHM Electronics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. established.

ROHM Electronics (France) S.A.S. established.

Co-sponsored "Biwako Mainichi Marathon."

Co-sponsored "Moscow Broadcast Symphony Orchestra."

Co-sponsored "Prague Symphony Orchestra."

Published "ROHM's Diary of Kyoto Natural History (Light Report Edition)" CD-ROM.

1998

Obtained ISO14001 Environmental Management System Certification.

VLSI Research Center opened.

Developed ROHM's unique Dual-Cell system EEPROM.

Developed highly reliable Schottky barrier diodes with both a low VF and a low IR.

Co-sponsored "Inter Prefectural Men? Ekiden."

Co-sponsored "Super Trio: Ashkenazy, Zukerman, Harell."

Co-sponsored "New Japan Philharmonic Special" concert, conducted by Seiji Ozawa.

Began "ROHM's Diary of Science of the tales" for company P.R as a newspaper column.

1999

Kyoto Technology Center opened.

LSI Development Center opened.

Hong Kong Technology Center opened.

Developed an IC for mobile phones.

Increased growth in development of the world's finest quality ZnO single crystal film in cooperation with Electrotechnical Laboratory (ETL).

ROHM Hamamatsu Co., Ltd. established.

ROHM Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. established.

Co-sponsored "Kyoto City Half Marathon."

Co-sponsored "St. Petersburg Stat Philharmony Orchestra."

Co-sponsored "Alfred Brendel Piano Recital."

2000

Europe Technology Center opened.

Developed new clock generator IC with the highest range of S/N and low jitter for DVD.

Developed REAL SOCKET™ a revolutionary concept in system LSI design technology.

ROHM Semiconductor (China) Co.,Ltd. established.

Co-sponsored "Seiji Ozawa Opera Project."

Co-sponsored "The Opening Concert of Autumn Kyoto Music Festival."

2001

ROHM Co., Ltd. (Shin yokohama) opened.

Developed the technology (S!PWM×2) of silent disc driver for CD and DVD drives.

Developed high-power 180-mW laser diode as an optimum solution for ·32 and faster CD-RW drives.

Started forestation project in Australia named "ROHM Forest."

Contribution for Ritsumeikan University ROHM Plaza.

2002

Optical Device Research Center opened.

2003

LSI Test Technology Center opened.

Developed LVDS interface LSI for flat panel display.

ROHM Electronics Trading (Dalian) Co., Ltd. established.

ROHM Tsukuba Co., Ltd. established.

Contribution for Doshisha ROHM Plaza.

Co-sponsored "Kyoto Student Festival."

2004

Shanghai Technology Center opened.

Taiwan Technology Center opened.

Developed REAL PLATFORM, a new platform design environment for system LSI.

Started the full-scale operation of the 300mm wafer process line.

Started mass production of the 130nm CMOS LSIs.

A Selection of Japanese 78rpm Recording I.

2005

Korea Technology Center opened.

Thermal printheads built with a proprietary Step-Free structure was developed. As a result, this Step-Free structure demonstrated high durability.

A thyristor was developed and mass production began.

A ROHM Plaza research facility was donated to Kyoto University.

Trees were planted around the circumference of the head office.

Co-sponsored "Seiji Ozawa Opera Project" in China.

2006

Shenzhen Technology Center opened.

Nagoya Design Center opened.

The world's highest performance silicon carbide (SiC) FET with a high voltage of 900V and low ON resistance of 3.1.Ω/cm² was developed.

ROHM Integrated Systems (Thailand) Co., Ltd. established.

ROHM Electronics (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. established.

Hosted "ROHM Music Foundation, Music Seminar Member's Chamber Music Concert 2006"

Co-sponsored "HUNGARIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA"

A Selection of Japanese 78rpm Recording II.

2007

ISO/IEC 17025 Accreditation to Laboratory.

Developed an ultra-compact LED "PICOLEDTM[picoled]" featuring both the smallest volume and area in the world.

A Selection of Japanese 78rpm Recording III.

The industry's first IEEE802.1X-compatible baseband IC for wireless LAN applications.

2008

Logo changed (9/17/08) to "ROHM SEMICONDUCTOR" to mark our 50th anniversary.

Acquired OKI SEMICONDUCTOR Co., Ltd.

Developed the world's first non-volatile logic technology with zero standby power consumption.

Participated in a joint venture for the developement of organic EL panels for illumination.

Developed a trace blood measurement biochip.

2009

The first low ohmic SiC ternch MOSFET.

Seamless LED Base Lamps(Winner of the 2009 Good Design Award).

Market leader Kionix, Inc., becomes a subsidiary of ROHM.

A SiC supplier becomes a ROHM subsidiary.

2010

Developed the world's first laser diode that can control beam direction.

Began mass production of SiC Schottky barrier diodes.

Retrofitted the Kyoto Technology Center and Business Center with green technology,

including ROHM LED lighting products, high efficiency air conditioners, and a garden rooftop.

Developed a chipset and reference board for Intel®'s next-generation embedded processor.

2011

Established ROHM Semiconductor India Pvt. Ltd.

Constructed the Tsinghua-ROHM  Electronic Engineering Hall at

Tsinghua University (Beijing, China)

Established sales companies in Brazil

2012

Established the ROHM-Tsinghua Joint Research Center

ROHM Kyoto Station Building received the Natural Resources and

Energy Secretary Award for Energy Conservation

Began mass production of Full SiC Power Modules

Developed LDO regulators for automotive applications featuring an

industry-low quiescent current of 6uA (80% less than conventional products)

Began mass production of the world's smallest transistor package (VML0806)

Developed the world's smallest Zener diodes (0402 size)

Became a promoter for EnOcean Alliance, a next-generation wireless

communication standard promotions organization utilizing energy harvesting technology

Began mass production of the industry's first SiC MOS module with no Schottky barrier diode

2013

Co-developed a low power consumption power management IC for Intel's

next-generation Atom™ processors (Bay Trail) for tablets

Developed a hybrid MOS device that combines the advantages of MOSFETs and IGBTs

Acquired the naming rights for Kyoto Kaikan and renamed it ROHM Theater Kyoto

Started mass production of the RASMID™ series of the world's smallest products featuring breakthrough

miniaturization, developed utilizing new process methods

Developed the industry's first AC/DC converter IC with PFC control functionality

2014

Established a design center in India

Launched the industry's first MEMS foundry business for supplying high accuracy

thin-film piezoelectric elements

Developed the first Wi-SUN-compatible universal wireless communication module ideal for

Smart Communities

Developed high power ultra-low-ohmic shunt resistors optimized for current detection

in automotive and industrial applications

Developed the world's smallest transistors (VML0604) that reduce mounting area

by 50% over conventional products

2015

The Industry's First AC/DC Converter Control IC for SiC Drive

The First Wireless Charging Chipset Compliant with the Qi Medium Power Standard (<15W)

The World's First Trench-Type SiC MOSFET

Acquired partial assets of Renesas Semiconductor Manufacturing's Shiga Factory (8-inch wafer fab line)

2016

Opened ROHM Theatre Kyoto

Established the industry's first IC technology that enables direct step-down from 48V to 3.3V

Developed the world's first automotive LDO regulators (BUxxJA2MNVX-C series)

Developed the industry's smallest automotive-grade 40V Nch MOSFET (AG009DGQ3)

Became the official technology provider for Venturi Formula E Team, providing SiC Schottky barrier diodes

2017

Announced the world's most advanced power supply core technology (Nano Series)

Developed a power supply IC using Nano Pulse Control® technology to achieve the industry's highest step-down ratio, providing 2.5V output from 60V input at 2MHz (BD9V100MUF-C)

Developed the world's first noise-tolerant op amp (BA8290xYxx-C series)

Launched a new lineup of shunt resistors (PSR100/GMR100 series)

2018

Developed the BD70522GUL DC/DC converter featuring the world's lowest current consumption (180nA) utilizing Nano Energy® technology

Acquired certification for the development process under the ISO 26262 Automotive Functional Safety Standard

Developed the LMR1802G-LB CMOS op amp featuring the lowest noise in the industry

Developed an automotive buck-boost chipset that achieves the industry's lowest current consumption along with stable performance utilizing Quick Buck Booster® technology

Developed a 1700V full SiC power module that achieves unprecedented reliability under high temperature high humidity environments