ST is a global independent semiconductor manufacturer. The company designs, produces, and sells a range of semiconductor ICs and discrete devices for use in telecommunications systems, computer systems, consumer electronics, automobiles, and industrial automation control systems. ST is the world's largest supplier of MPEG-2 decoding ICs, digital set-top box ICs, Smartcard MCUs, special automotive ICs and EEPROM non-volatile memories. It is also the second largest supplier of analog/mixed-signal ASSPs and ASICs, disk drive ICs and EEPROM memories. The company's products are designed and produced using a series of proprietary manufacturing processes and design methods, and can provide more than 3,000 main models of products. ST company was formed in 1987 by the merger of French Thomson Semiconductors and Italian SGS Microelectronics. Since its establishment, ST has continuously expanded its production capabilities. Currently, the company has approximately 34,000 employees, 9 R&D institutions, 35 design and application centers, 17 production locations, and has established 62 sales offices in 24 countries. department. Part of the company's headquarters is in St Genis, France, and the other part is in Geneva, Switzerland. It has established regional headquarters in the United States, Singapore, and Japan. ST attaches great importance to technological development. In 1999, it invested 26.6% of its sales revenue in product research and development, and completed 751 new patent applications.