International Rectifier

Founding and early history (1947–1960s)

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.

Technological innovations (1950s–2012)

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. The company expanded its development into discrete components in 1974, producing the first power and Darlington transistors to utilize glass passivation. In 1979, the company introduced the first hexagonal power MOSFET (marketed as HEXFET), followed by the creation of intelligent power integrated circuits (ICs) in 1983.

The company transitioned into advanced wafer-level architectures in 2000 with the development of FlipFET wafer packaging. In 2002, it introduced DirectFET, a proprietary MOSFET packaging technology engineered to mitigate thermal density limitations common in consumer electronics, advanced computing, and communication infrastructure. This technological platform expanded into specialized applications over the following decade, including the iMOTION integrated design platform for motor control systems in 2003, SmartRectifier ICs for AC/DC power conversion in 2006, and SupIRBuck integrated voltage regulators in 2007. The firm introduced a gallium nitride (GaN)-based power device platform in 2008, which was followed by the launch of PowIRstage devices, CHiL digital controllers, micro-integrated motor control modules, and automotive-grade COOLiRIGBTs between 2011 and 2012.