Microchip Technology was founded in 1987 when General Instrument spun off its microelectronics division as a wholly owned subsidiary. In-line with the general consolidation of the semiconductor industry, Microchip Technology purchased 17 semiconductor manufacturers from 2007 through 2017, including Atmel, Micrel, Microsemi, etc. Microchip's products include microcontrollers (PIC, dsPIC, AVR and SAM), Serial EEPROM devices, Serial SRAM devices, embedded security devices, radio frequency (RF) devices, thermal, power and battery management analog devices, as well as linear, interface and wireless products. Microchip strongly encourages its customers to purchase all Microchip semiconductor products through Microchip’s authorized sources: either directly from Microchip or through a Microchip-authorized distributor...