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1955 Ferranti was already producing germanium semiconductors when it became the first European company to produce a silicon diode.

By 1958 the firm was making silicon rectifiers.

1961 Established a 3000 sq ft laboratory devoted to proving the design and serviceability of silicon semiconductor devices in their Gem Mill factory at Chadderton, Oldham. ^[1]

1970s Ferranti introduced its Collector Diffusion Isolation (CDI) technology for making micro-circuits. Concentrated on special-purpose applications (whilst its international competitors were fighting out the market for commodity chips using MOS technology)^[2]

1977 Produced a range of silicon bipolar devices including, the F100-L, an early 8-bit single chip microprocessor with 16-bit addressing. An F100-L was carried into space on the amateur radio satellite UoSAT-1 (Oscar 9). Ferranti's ZTX series bipolar transistors gave their name to the inheritor of Ferranti Semiconductor's discrete semiconductor business, Zetex plc.

1983 Ferranti, which introduced the Uncommitted Logic Array design about 10 years previously, was keeping its lead in the market for gate array chips, used mainly in computers.^[3]

1984 The Ferranti Company was restructured into 5 operating divisions, one of which was Electronics.

1988 Plessey acquired Ferranti Semiconductors, creating Europe's largest semi-custom chip company.^[4]

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