IRF

International Rectifier Corp.

A maker of power semiconductors that convert, control, and condition electricity, International Rectifier built its name on the HEXFET power MOSFET, a chip used in everything from computers to motor drives. It was founded in Los Angeles in 1947 by Lithuanian-born engineer Eric Lidow and his father Leon, who pioneered selenium rectifiers for turning alternating current into direct current. The company got its grand-sounding name as the first American firm to sell these devices internationally, and it was later absorbed into Germany's Infineon Technologies.