Zilog

Zilog, Inc. is an American semiconductor company known for its microprocessors and microcontrollers. Founded in 1974 in California, Zilog became a major supplier of 8- and 16-bit devices used in computers, consumer electronics, and embedded systems. The company achieved early prominence with the Z80, an 8-bit processor released in 1976 that powered a wide range of home computers and embedded devices.

In addition to the Z80, Zilog developed other processors such as the Z8000 16-bit processor introduced in 1979, and a variety of microcontroller families including Z8 and Z8 Encore as well as the Z16 line. Over the years the product portfolio expanded to include peripheral ICs and system-on-chip solutions based on Zilog cores. The Z80 lineage and related architectures contributed to the spread of microprocessor-based design in both education and industry.

Today, Zilog continues to design and market embedded processors and microcontrollers, with ongoing support for legacy Z80-based designs and evolving silicon offerings. The Z80 and its successors left a lasting imprint on the history of computing, helping to shape the development of personal computers, embedded systems, and the broader microcontroller market.