# Linear Technology

> Linear Technology designed and manufactured high-performance analog integrated circuits for power management, data conversion, signal conditioning, interfaces and wireless applications. Founded in 1981 in Silicon Valley, it built an engineering-led business serving equipment manufacturers worldwide. Analog Devices acquired it in March 2017; its legacy products and LTspice tools now sit within ADI.

- **Founded:** 1981
- **Headquarters:** Milpitas, United States (historical independent-company headquarters)
- **Founders:** Robert H. Swanson Jr. (Co-founder; CEO until January 2005; then executive chairman), Robert C. Dobkin (Co-founder; Chief Technical Officer)
- **Products:** Power management integrated circuits, Data converters and signal conditioning, µModule power products, LT8614 Silent Switcher, LTspice
- **Notable:** 1986 IPO after founding in 1981., Fiscal 2016 operating income of USD 633.553 million on USD 1.423936 billion revenue, approximately 44.5% operating margin., Swanson and Dobkin received 2015 UBM ACE Lifetime Achievement Awards.

## Products & services

- **Power management integrated circuits** — Switching and linear regulators, battery-management devices, power controllers and related analog power functions.
- **Data converters and signal conditioning** — Analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters, precision amplifiers, voltage references and related signal-chain components.
- **µModule power products** — Power-supply modules integrating power circuitry and components; the LTM4600 is a 10A DC/DC module.
- **LT8614 Silent Switcher** — 42V, 4A synchronous step-down regulator designed to reduce electromagnetic interference; documented in Linear’s 2014 demonstration circuit.
- **LTspice** — Free SPICE circuit simulator, schematic capture and waveform viewer; now maintained by Analog Devices.
- **LTpowerCAD** — Free power-supply selection and design software supporting component selection, efficiency estimates and loop analysis.
- **Dust Networks / SmartMesh** — Low-power wireless sensor networking added through the 2011 Dust Networks acquisition.

## Achievements

- 1986 IPO after founding in 1981.
- Fiscal 2016 operating income of USD 633.553 million on USD 1.423936 billion revenue, approximately 44.5% operating margin.
- Swanson and Dobkin received 2015 UBM ACE Lifetime Achievement Awards.
- Legacy LTspice tool remains available and actively updated by Analog Devices in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — ADI’s LTspice page listed model updates dated October 14, 2026 and Windows x64 version 26.1.1; this is a legacy-product update, not a standalone Linear corporate announcement.
- **2026-04** — Analog Devices published an LTspice 26 video describing improved convergence, usability and design-tool integration.
- **2017-03** — Analog Devices completed the acquisition on March 10; Linear common stock was delisted.

## Links

- Website: https://linear.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/linear-technology/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LinearTech
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LinearTechnologyCorporation

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/linear-technology
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Last updated: 2026-10-22