This Oral History is excerpted from an interview conducted in June, 2004.

In addition, reference is made to an article by Hans Camenzind, “Redesigning the old 555”, IEEE Spectrum, Sept 1997.

Hans, let’s start the Oral History with your recollections of the initial success of the 555 integrated circuit.

That 555 family was a total surprise. I wanted to make it flexible, that was the whole purpose, but I didn’t realize it was so flexible. There are applications now that still sound crazy to me. And the quantity! In the second year it moved to the largest quantity sold of any IC and it has stayed that way for 30 years. The original application was as a timer and oscillator, but it has moved well beyond that.

According to the IEEE Spectrum article you wrote on the 555, there was reluctance at Signetics to invest in this product. Is that right?

The engineering department at Signetics - yes, they were a bit stodgy for a semiconductor company. They were at the forefront. They had tried everything. It was a surprising reaction, and it was simply a reflection of the turf. You know, they were designing and making operational amplifiers.