Technology

Introduction

The main objective of the HP Memory project is to preserve and explain all the contributions made by HP to the sciences of measurement and computing during the second half of the 20th century, the "Golden Years" of High Tech.

In depth description of the technology used and frequently invented by the HP Labs will be the main purpose of the following chapters.

. . . A walk through 60 years of tangible engineering success!

. . . Pioneering - Inventing - Innovating

Instrument

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Computer

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...And a little light bulb. Quality audio signals at a surprisingly low price Better insights on signal distortion and multiple signal applications of power and frequency. Building an entire product line to meet customer's expanding needs Exploiting the microwave technology that emerged from WWII systems It started with a 10 MHz scaler, and someone had the clever idea of adding a time base One of the most popular signal generators of all time, covering an extremely important band of frequencies An abrupt jump in scope technology yielding a 100-fold increase in bandwidth for ultra-fast digital waveforms A highly-creative start for 50 years of HP Leadership in Spectrum Analysis Designed for Instrument Control and data acquisition on the factory floor, it became the building block for HP's entry into Time-Share systems, and in later decades for HP's dominance in mid-sized computing It popularized the 'Smith Chart' and 'S' Parameters which became the industry standards, with a slogan 'Stamp out Slotted Lines.' To reach performance that couldn't be achieved with those currently available on the market HP was a technology pioneer in light-emitting diodes, for both lamps and alphanumeric displays The first portable cesium-beam frequency standard and atomic clock. They set the world's time standards, coordinating international time to within a millionth of a second Transcendental functions and Reverse-Polish Nomenclature (RPN). A marvel for scientists and engineers, multiplying their time and computing power It brought untold computing power to the fingertips of the common engineer, at a very affordable price A fast growing product line which covered finance and other 'consumer' markets By coordinating with the IEEE, an industry standard was created for the benefit of the engineering community ...Or the product was too early for its time An advanced low-power microprocessor that contains the equivalent of about 38,000 transistors Another step forward in signal analysis and Instrument Systems automation The dramatic new digital technologies need new analysis tools. It was time to create the Logic State Analyzer concept, and open the new 'Data Domain' of Measurements' The first low cost, 'self-contained' desktop calculator including a graphic display, printer and tape recorder The rapid growth of microprocessors changed the rules. More Software, less Hardware A breakthrough product line whose production numbers in 2006 surpassed 100 million units HP considered new measurement products for surveyors a good extension of its measurement mandates, as in Medical equipment and Chemical Analysis Using a novel 'grit wheel' paper drive technology, HP launches a new line of large, drafting-quality plotters It spells 'the end' for noisy dot-matrix printers. Priced for everyone's office desk and PC Enormous microwave analysis power, leveraged with creative software The first low cost inkjet printer to use fundamental color compression and half-toning algorithms Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, they maintained a constant HP leadership in scientific, HP-UX workstations

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Overview

A short-form, non-exhaustive, listing of the key products and related technologies, produced or invented by Hewlett Packard, can be seen in the tables below. The tables have been constructed according to a six decade timeline. All products listed are included in the HP Memory collection, excepted those marked with (*)

The 1940s

Date	Innovation	Product
1939	Improving Audio Signal Generator quality, at a surprisingly low price	HP 200A/200B
1943	Offering better insights into signal distortion and multiple signal applications Low Frequency Signal Quality Analysis - Distortion	HP 300A
1944	Improving in-house Frequency Reference accuracy	HP 100A/100B
1945	Introduced the first Electronic Frequency Meter	HP 500A
1945	Improving accuracy of Very High Frequency voltage measurement	HP 410A
1940s	Dramatically extending the performance and range of power and frequency in electronic signal generation	HP 200 series
1948	Introduced the first Test Oscillator covering the entire Audio to Video Frequency Range	HP 650A
1948	Exploiting the microwave technology that emerged from WWII systems	HP 616A

Date	Innovation	Product
1950	Improving accuracy and simplifying analysis of RF and VHF networks - Direct reading of Magnitude and Phase	HP 803A - HP 417A
1950	Extending the range of signal generation from Audio to UHF	HP 608A
1952	Invented the first High Frequency Electronic Counter	HP 524A
1955	Drastically extending the range of Frequency Counters to the microwave spectrum with harmonic mixing Transfer Oscillator	HP 540A
1958	Improving accuracy and frequency range of DC to Microwave Power Measurement	HP 434A
1959	Improving accuracy and resolution of low frequency signal analysis	HP 302A
1959	Automating Digital Voltage Measurements	HP 405AR
1959	Simplifying DC Current Measurements	HP 428A

Date	Innovation	Product
1960s	HP-Labs Developing new components for improved electronic circuit performances	Hot-Carrier Step Recovery Pin
1960	Invented the sampling technology enabling for ultra-large bandwidth oscilloscopes of the future	HP 185A
1963	Improving Frequency Synthesizer technology	HP 5100A
1964	Invented the first transportable Cesium-beam Atomic Clock	HP 5060A
1964	Improving range and accuracy of Microwave Signal Analysis	HP 8551A
1966	Automating tedious Component Measurement of R, L, and C	HP 4260A
1966	Introduced Vector Impedance Measurement for RF to UHF	HP 4815A - 8405A
1966	Introduced the first go-anywhere, do-anything computer	HP 2116A
1966	HP-Labs develop the first commercially available light-emitting diode	HP LEDs
1967	Innovation in Microwave Network Analysis	HP 8410A
1968	Introduced the First programmable scientific desktop calculator	HP 9100A
1969	Introduced a generation of Spectrum Analyzers which become the industry standard for the next 10 years	HP 141T-855X

Date	Innovation	Product
1970	Introduced the first computing counter	HP 5360A
1971	Introduced the most sophisticated "Q" Meter ever built	HP 4342A
1971	Introduced a laser interferometer capable of measuring to millionths of an inch	HP 5501A
1972	Introducing the first Microwave Link Analyzer, which became the industry reference for evolving telecommunication microwave links	HP 3702A
1972	Introduced the first "No Tuning" Broadband microwave counter (1Hz - 18 GHz)	HP 5340A
1972	Introduced the first pocket scientific calculator	HP-35
1973	Introduced a new standard in microwave power measurement	HP 435A - 848X power probes
1973	Introduced a new standard in RF, VHF, UHF general purpose signal sources	HP 8640A/B
1973	Introducing the first tools dedicated to logic circuitry servicing	HP 105XX Logic Probes
1975	Introducing the first programmable pocket scientific calculator	HP-65
1975	Standardization of the Hewlett Packard Interface Bus as an international standard	HP-IB
1975	Introduced the first Logic State Analyzer	HP 1601L
1977	Extending the frequency coverage of synthesized signal sources to the microwave spectrum	HP 8672A
1978	Invented a new concept to help debug complex logic circuitry (signature analysis)	HP 5004A
1978	Introduced the first automatic spectrum analyzer	HP 8568A

The 1980s

Date	Innovation	Product
1980	Introduced the world lowest phase noise signal source	HP 8662A
1980	Introduced the first Microprocessor Development System	HP 64000
1980	Introduced the first commercial Laser Printer for general office use	HP 2680A *
1981	Produced the first microcircuit made of 600,000 transistors with NMOS-III technology	NMOS-III
1981	Introduced the first Color Graphic Desktop Computer	HP 9845C
1981	Introduced the first compact low-cost Personal Computer with integrated thermal printer, magnetic tape storage, and ROM resident Basic Language	HP 85A
1981	Introduced a new line of large, drafting-quality Plotters	HP 7580/85
1982	Introduced the first fully programmable Digital Oscilloscope	HP 1980A/B
1984	Introduced the first commercial Desktop Laser Printer	LaserJet
1984	Launched the first inkjet printer based on the thermal inkjet technology developed by HP Labs in the 1970s	HP 2225
1985	Introduced a new generation of Microwave Automatic Network Analyzers	HP 8510A
1986	Introduced the first generation of PA-RISC Workstations	HP 9000/S800
1986	Introduced the first generation of 3D Graphic Workstations, with Starbase Graphics Library	HP SRX
1988	Introduced the first combined Spectrum/Network Analyzer	HP 4195A
1989	Produced custom VLSI to deliver enhanced performance to earlier graphics subsystem design	Turbo SRX
1989	Introduced a new generation of Digital Data Storage (DDS) drives using an helical scan tape technology	HP DDS

The 1990s

Date	Innovation	Product
1990	Introduced a new generation of Digitizing Oscilloscopes with up to 500 MHz bandwidth	HP 54XXX
1990	Introduced a set of integrated hardware and software products for network management	HP OpenView
1990	Introduced the first A3, 180 dpi Color Inkjet Printer	PaintJet XL
1991	Introduced the first Color Desktop Printer using fundamental color (sRGB) compression and half-toning algorithms	HP DeskJet 500C
1991	Upgraged the 8510 Network Analyzer with last generation microprocessor for increased computing power	HP 8510C
1992	Introduced a Visual Engineering Environment for test software development	HP VEE
1992	Introduced the new concept of Frequency Domain Analysis	HP 53310A
1992	Introduced a new product line of instruments based on the VXI Standard for test and measurement system architecture	HP VXI bus
1994	Introduced a Collaborative Multimedia Environment for HP 9000, Series 700 and 800 Workstations	HP MPower
1994	Introduced a third-generation HP Thermal Color Inkjet printhead with "Laser-Comparable" resolution	HP 1200C
1994	Introduced the 64-Bit architecture (Itanium) that eventually becomes Intel's next-generation Itanium architecture launched in 2001	HP Itanium *
1995	Introduced a Dynamic Modeling Software for Three-Dimensional computer-aided design	SolidDesigner
1996	Introduced a collection of software algorithms to use the Global Positioning System (GPS) as a source of timing and frequency reference	HP SmartClock
1996	Produced the World highest luminosity Light Emiting Diode	Power LED
1997	Innovations in digital photography technology (adaptive lighting, color balance, automatic red-eye removal, and "custom photo lab" inside HP cameras.	HP Cameras

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