George Perlegos
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George Perlegos (born 1950) is a Greek-American computer scientist and engineer, best known for pioneering the use of
EEPROM EEPROM or E2PROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a type of non-volatile memory. It is used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a separate chip d ...
and founding Atmel.


Early life and education

Perlegos was born in 1950 to parents Eleni and Pete Perlegos in Arcadia,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Perlegos and his two brothers came to the United States in 1962 and he began working as a grape farmer. He finished high school in Lodi,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, and graduated from
San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...
in 1972 with a Bachelor of Science in
Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
. He later completed a
Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...
in Electrical Engineering at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1975, and from 1975 to 1978 attended courses there in pursuit of a PhD.


Career

In 1972, his first job after San Jose State was at American Micro Systems Inc (AMI), then a leading supplier of application specific integrated circuits (ASICs). His first assignment there was to design a single-chip calculator using MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) integrated circuits technology. He simultaneously enrolled in Stanford University to learn more about MOS processing and circuit design. He stayed with AMI through 1974.


Intel

While attending Stanford, Perlegos interviewed at
Intel Corporation Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer components such as central processing ...
. At this time Intel had a new project to develop
nonvolatile memory Non-volatile memory (NVM) or non-volatile storage is a type of computer memory that can retain stored information even after power is removed. In contrast, volatile memory needs constant power in order to retain data. Non-volatile memory typi ...
technologies and a new semiconductor chip. After learning about the opportunities to work on these new technologies during the interview, he left AMI for Intel in 1974. While at Intel, he became an expert in semiconductor device physics,
circuit design In electrical engineering, the process of circuit design can cover systems ranging from complex electronic systems down to the individual transistors within an integrated circuit. One person can often do the design process without needing a pl ...
, and semiconductor fabrication processes. His first task, to design and develop an N-channel
EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) integrated circuit, chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored d ...
different from its predecessor the P-channel EPROM, that would work with the microprocessors Intel was developing at the time. The project known as the 2708, was introduced by Intel in 1975. His invention of the N-channel EPROM was important, as it was the first time a positive voltage and channel injection was used for a nonvolatile memory device, thus requiring significantly lower voltage than its P-channel predecessor. The 2708 was a revolutionary chip, particularly for use with microprocessors. In 1978, Perlegos designed and developed the Intel 2816, an Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM) that eliminated the lengthy UV exposure cycle using tunneling to both program and erase the memory.


SEEQ Technology

Leaving Intel with other Intel employees in 1981, he founded SEEQ Technology. He developed an improved version of
EEPROM EEPROM or E2PROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a type of non-volatile memory. It is used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a separate chip d ...
. that could be programmed and erased on the system board for the first time. The improved version of EEPROM "A 5V-only 16K EEPROM utilizing oxynitride dielectrics" could be programmed and erased on the system board for the first time. It used an on-chip charge pump to generate required programming voltages. It was this ability to program and erase at system levels that allowed
EEPROM EEPROM or E2PROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a type of non-volatile memory. It is used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a separate chip d ...
/
FLASH Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...
devices to be incorporated in all computers, laptops, cellphones etc


ATMEL

In 1984, Perlegos founded Atmel corporation and was
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
of Atmel from 1984 to 2006. The firm created many embedded EEPROM and flash memory devices, was a pioneer in NVM, as well as the world's first
microcontroller A microcontroller (MC, uC, or μC) or microcontroller unit (MCU) is a small computer on a single integrated circuit. A microcontroller contains one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. Pro ...
with on-chip flash.


Honors and awards

* 2017 – Flash Memory Summit Lifetime Achievement Award winner "for chip design and fabrication process inventions used in
EPROM An EPROM (rarely EROM), or erasable programmable read-only memory, is a type of programmable read-only memory (PROM) integrated circuit, chip that retains its data when its power supply is switched off. Computer memory that can retrieve stored d ...
,
EEPROM EEPROM or E2PROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a type of non-volatile memory. It is used in computers, usually integrated in microcontrollers such as smart cards and remote keyless systems, or as a separate chip d ...
and
Flash Memory Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...
devices which have been instrumental in the ubiquity of non-volatile memory." * 2003 – "''Electronics Industry's Movers & Shakers of 2003''", Reed Electronics Group. * 1988 – "''30 Who Made a Difference''", Electronic Engineering Times.


Select publications and patents


Publications

* W. Ip, Te-Long Chiu, Tsung-Ching Wu and G. Perlegos, "256Kb CMNOS EPROM," ''1984 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers'', San Francisco, CA, USA, 1984, pp. 138–139
doi: 10.1109/ISSCC.1984.1156664
* A. Gupta, Te-Long Chiu, M. Chang, A. Renninger and G. Perlegos, "A 5V-only 16K EEPROM utilizing oxynitride dielectrics and EPROM redundancy," ''1982 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers'', San Francisco, CA, USA, 1982, pp. 184–185
doi: 10.1109/ISSCC.1982.1156369
* S. Mehrotra, Tsung-Ching Wu, Te-Long Chiu and G. Perlegos, "A 64Kb CMOS EEROM with on-chip ECC," ''1984 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference. Digest of Technical Papers'', San Francisco, CA, USA, 1984, pp. 142–143
doi:10.1109/ISSCC.1984.1156662


Patents

* US Patent for Electrically programmable and electrically erasable MOS memory device Patent (Patent # 4,558,344) * US Patent for Method of making EPROM cell with reduced programming voltage Patent (Patent # 4,519,849) * US Patent for Erasable programmable read-only memory Patent (Patent # 3,938,108)


References


External links


George Perlegos

US Patents by George Perlegos

Oral History of George Perlegos
in the Computer History Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Perlegos, George 1950 births Living people American people of Greek descent 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from California Intel people Greek electrical engineers American electrical engineers Stanford University alumni American chief executives of manufacturing companies People from Arcadia, Peloponnese San Jose State University alumni