RCA Laboratories
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Research and development |
| Predecessor | RCA Laboratories |
| Fate | Merged into SRI International |
| Headquarters | West Windsor Township, New Jersey , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | David Sarnoff (namesake) |
| Products | Vision, video, and semiconductor technologies; research breakthroughs including color television, CMOS integrated circuits, electron microscopy |
Number of employees | 540 (approximate in 2006) |
| Parent | SRI International (from 1988 until merger in 2011) |
Sarnoff Corporation functioned as a research and development firm focused on advancements in vision, video, and semiconductor technologies. Bearing the name of David Sarnoff, the prominent figure behind RCA and NBC, its main offices were located in West Windsor Township, New Jersey, with a Princeton postal designation.
The David Sarnoff Research Center, established shortly before 1941 near Princeton, served as the corporate headquarters and was the birthplace of significant breakthroughs such as color television, CMOS integrated circuit innovations, and developments in electron microscopy.
For 47 years, the facility operated as RCA Laboratories under RCA's ownership and briefly under General Electric (GE). In 1988, it transitioned into Sarnoff Corporation, functioning as a wholly owned subsidiary of SRI International. On January 3, 2011, Sarnoff was fully merged into SRI International, continuing comparable research activities at the Princeton site. Although geographically close, Sarnoff had no official ties to Princeton University.
Science and technology
Two pivotal technological achievements by RCA Laboratories have been honored by the IEEE History Center Milestone Program: the development of Monochrome-Compatible Electronic Color Television between 1946 and 1953, and the invention of the Liquid Crystal Display in 1968. These breakthroughs played a crucial role in shaping the television and display sectors.
Beginning in the 1940s, RCA pioneered essential thin-film processes applied to photoemissive surfaces for television cameras, which later evolved into advancements in semiconductor manufacturing and solid-state electronics. During the mid-1950s, RCA scientist Herbert Kroemer laid the theoretical groundwork for heterostructure physics, a contribution that earned him a Nobel Prize in Physics.
Other significant inventions emerging from RCA Laboratories include enhancements to the electron microscope, photon-counting photomultiplier tubes, CCD imaging sensors, CMOS integrated circuits, as well as early optoelectronic devices such as lasers and LEDs—technologies that strengthened RCA’s position in the electronics industry.
Corporate history
Sarnoff Corporation originated as an autonomous organization following General Electric’s acquisition of RCA in the late 1980s. This transaction came after RCA suffered financial setbacks due to its unsuccessful SelectaVision capacitive-pickup videodisc technology, which was surpassed by videocassette recorders, adversely affecting RCA’s market value and profitability.
GE’s purchase resulted in dismantling RCA: NBC was retained by GE; government systems were sold to Lockheed Martin; semiconductor operations transferred to Harris Corporation; and consumer electronics were acquired by French company Thomson SA. Instead of absorbing the David Sarnoff Research Center into its own laboratories, GE acknowledged its strategic importance in sustaining RCA’s extensive television technology licensing business.
To preserve this revenue source from licensing patents, GE facilitated a donation of the David Sarnoff Research Center along with operational funding to non-profit SRI International in 1986. The center maintained profitability through licensing agreements and eventually became fully independent as Sarnoff Corporation around 1995.
During the recession of the early 2000s, workforce reductions occurred, decreasing staff from approximately 800 employees in 2001 to about 540 by 2006. On January 3, 2011, Sarnoff Corporation was consolidated into SRI International, concluding its independent existence.
Library
Between 1967 and 2010, the David Sarnoff Research Center was home to the David Sarnoff Library, which RCA founded to honor the contributions of its founder and longtime executive, David Sarnoff. The library showcased exhibits that celebrated RCA's groundbreaking advancements in radio and television technology. Overseen by a nonprofit board classified under 501(c)(3), the library served as a testament to RCA's historical business milestones.
In 2009, in response to changing corporate priorities, the board opted to move the majority of the exhibits to The College of New Jersey while relocating archival materials to the Hagley Museum and Library located in Wilmington, Delaware. Additional artifacts were allocated to organizations including the InfoAge Science/History Learning Center, Camden County Historical Society, and the New Jersey State Museum. This redistribution reflected RCA's shifting business strategy and its commitment to safeguarding its industry legacy through collaborations with educational and cultural institutions.