The German electrical giant Siemens and Halske was founded by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske on 12 October 1847 to develop products for the early telegraph. It has since diversified into almost all aspects of the electrical industry and is now the largest engineering company in Europe.
Siemens has been manufacturing semiconductors since the 1950s. Most of them bear the logo shown on the right, formed by the combination of the letters S and H.
I have a few data books for Siemens semiconductors. The oldest is 'Crystal Diodes' a booklet that I guess dates from about 1953. It contains only RL series diodes. There are also issues of 'Funkschau' magazine, from 1953 to 1955, available on the Web. They contain some information about early German semiconductor diodes and transistors.
I have a scan of 'Siemens Halbleiter-Bauelemente schaltbeispiele' dated April 1958. It contains circuit diagrams but includes a short table of these TF-series germanium PNP transistors at the end:
- TF65, TF65/30, TF77, TF77/30, TF78, TF78/30, TF80, TF80/30, TF80/60
I also have a 'Siemens Transistoren' booklet that I believe to date from 1959. It lists the following transistors, all germanium PNP types:
- TF49, TF65, TF65/30, TF66, TF66/60, TF78, TF78/30, TF78/60, TF80/30, TF80/60, TF80/80, TF90/30, TF90/60
I would be interested to see older issues of 'Siemens Transistoren', if they exist, as the above list does not include several very early-looking TF types.
There is an earlier book: 'Transistor Praxis' by Heinz Richter, dated 1956, that lists the type TF65.
I am seeking to buy or trade for certain germanium transistors and diodes made by Siemens. Details are given below. I also want to buy original data sheets for many of their devices. If you know about these transistors, or have have some for sale or trade, please
Ich suche, die Germaniumtransistoren zu kaufen, die von Siemens im Jahren 1950's und 1960's hergestellt werden. Ich suche nach den Transistoren, die nachstehend aufgeführt werden. Ich möchte auch ursprüngliche Leistungsblätter für sie kaufen.
Wenn Sie in diesen Transistoren auskennen oder haben, einiges für Verkauf oder Handel zu haben, in Verbindung.
I expect that the first semiconductors that Siemens made were diodes, since most semiconductor manufacturers started that way. The contemporary electronics magazine 'Funkschau' issue 21 for 1953, published in November, contains a table of German point-contact germanium diodes from an exhibition at Düsseldorf. Several manufacturers are included; the following are the Siemens types listed, with a translation of their (sometimes puzzling) descriptions:
The image shows a GD5E and I also have some GD1P in the same crude outline, which can be found in the D.A.T.A. book 'Semiconductor Diode & Rectifier Characteristics Tabulation 1961 vol VII': they also are a germanium point-contact pair.
Here are some diodes with tantalisingly low part numbers: 1E, 2E and 6E. Assuming they have the prefix GD, they can be found in the list above or in the D.A.T.A. book 'Semiconductor Diode & Rectifier Characteristics Tabulation 1961 vol VII': they are germanium point-contact types. However from the more modern appearance they may be an improved packaging of the original GD series.
These Siemens diodes just have 3-digit numbers on them, including 132 and 143, but also numbers not in the list above. Are they RL types? They look more modern than the GD5E.
I also have this V3 in the same crude outline as the GD5E. I have no data about this but it must be an early type. If you know about this type or series, please
This shows a rather plain RL32g glass-bodied diode. I think the suffix g denotes the glass body, and this may be a later version of the metal RL32 that appears in the D.A.T.A. book 'Semiconductor Diode & Rectifier Characteristics Tabulation 1961 vol VII': it is a germanium point-contact type.
This image shows an SD50 junction diode in a very crudely shaped and painted package. It looks like an attempt at the VASCA SO-2 glass bulb. It is found in the D.A.T.A. book 'Semiconductor Diode & Rectifier Characteristics Tabulation 1961 vol VII': it is a silicon diffused-junction type and the radiomuseum entry suggests that it is not particularly early.
If you know about Siemens earliest semiconductors, or have have some for sale or trade, please
The first transistors that Siemens made were the point-contact types TS13 and TS33, which are packaged in the typical cartridge case shown. These are described in the magazine 'Funkschau' issue 21 for 1953, published in November of that year. (I think TS stands for 'transistor spitzen')
I am very interested in finding examples or Siemens data sheets for these devices so if you know about these transistors, or have have some for sale or trade, please
Siemens then progressed to making germanium junction transistors in a proprietary TF series. (I think TF stands for 'transistor flaechen'). This contained a number of early types in idiosyncratic packaging, a delight to a collector such as myself. However I do not possess a definitive list of all the types in the series. The lowest-numbered example that I have is the TF44, which uses the VASCA SO-2 glass bulb typical of Philips devices. According to the wonderful radiomuseum site, this is a germanium PNP junction type for use as a low power oscillator/mixer in AM radio circuits.
If you have original Siemens data for the TF44, please
This image shows the TF49 and TF65 transistors. These and TF66 use this bulbous package that approximates to JEDEC TO-1. They are included in 'Siemens Transistoren' and are germanium PNP types, TF49 being for RF use, TF65 and TF66 for AF. There are variants TF65/30, TF66/30 and TF66/60.
There are early TF65 in a black-glass case similar to VASCO SO-2 (eg Mullard/Valvo OC71 shape) and Radiomuseum also shows a TF65S in that outline. I am interested in obtaining examples of black glass TF65 and TF65S, so if you know where I can get any, please
My TF70 in an oval outline is an NPN germanium transistor for AF pre-amplifier applications.
My images show the TF71 (from the collection of J.H.J. Hodes, Voorburg, The Netherlands) and TF71K. The use of suffix K to denote a heatsink is continued in other series by Siemens and other German manufacturers: I believe it is an abbreviated form of 'Kühlkörper', the German for 'heatsink'. According to radiomuseum this is an NPN germanium junction transistor intended as AF low power amplifier/driver.
Here is a TF72, in a wider oval outline than TF70 and TF71. According to the 1969 'Book of Discontinued Transistors' by D.A.T.A. it is a germanium NPN low power audio frequency amplifier.
These three NPN types do not appear in 'Siemens Transistoren' for 1959. I am looking for original data for TF70, TF71 and TF72 (i.e. Siemens publication). If you know where I can get any, please
This TF75 is possibly the strangest shape of any transistor made in the world, ever. It looks like a hexagonal nut on a threaded screw, but with hooks out of three of the faces. Radiomuseum dates it to about 1955, but I can only find it in 'Tous les Transistors' for 1959 and the Hungarian data book (7.6MB pdf) from 1960 by Házman and Hrabál. It is, as you might expect, a germanium PNP medium power audio frequency amplifier.
I am looking for original data for TF75 (i.e. Siemens publication). If you know where I can get any, please
We return to normality with the TF77 and TF78 (shown), which use a simple cylindrical outline denoted as VASCA SO-22 or JEDEC TO-8. TF77 is a PNP germanium junction transistor intended as AF medium power amplifier/switch and TF78 is another germanium PNP high-power audio frequency amplifier. I believe that TF77 exists without suffix and with suffix /30 and /60 versions. My images show TF78 unsuffixed and with suffixes /30 and /60, There also exists a /50 suffix and possibly /80.
The TF78 starts a further complexity found in subsequent TF types: in addition to the voltage suffix it may also have a further version qualifier, a Roman numeral number underneath the part number as shown in my TF78/30 III in the middle image. I have no documentation on this addition.
I'm seeking examples of TF77 (any suffix) so if you know where I can get any, please
TF80 is a germanium PNP high-power transistor rated at 3 Amps collector current, 6 Watts dissipation. It uses a large cylindrical outline apparently denoted R58, with the three leads grouped unconventionally at the centre. It also exists with suffixes /30, /60 and /80 denoting various maxiumu voltage versions.
The TF85 is another weirdo: a blue hexagonal bolt with lugs similar to the TF75 but larger. The only data I have found for it is the Házman and Hrabál book which states it is a germanium PNP high-power audio frequency amplifier.
I'm very keen to buy or trade for these so if you know where I can get any, please I am also seeking original Siemens data for it.
This TF90 is marked 'ENTWICKLUNGSMUSTER' which translates as 'development pattern' and implies that it is a prototype. It too is a germanium PNP high-power transistor, rated at 15 Amps collector current, 23 Watts dissipation, in a case similar to TF80. The 'Siemens Transistoren' booklet and radiomuseum.org both only list variants with suffixes /30 and /60.
I believe that Siemens also made silicon NPN medium-current types TF251, TF252 and TF260. They are not in radiomuseum.org and I don't know what they look like but I would be interested to obtain examples of them.
Siemens also made an early germanium photodiode type TP50. (The image has no scale but it is approx. 5mm square and 2mm thick, with a window at the top). It is used in some of the circuits in 'Siemens Halbleiter-Bauelemente schaltbeispiele' dated April 1958, but I have no original data for it. This rare device came from the collection of J.H.J. Hodes, Voorburg, The Netherlands.
Siemens went on to make many types of germanium transistor in the standard pro-Electron series, using fairly standard packaging. I shall not show these except for the AD105K on the right, which is included in 'Siemens Transistoren 1960'. It has a rather unusual case similar to the TF80 above but slightly larger. I'm unsure why this device has the K suffix, as it does not have an attached heatsink. The AD103 and AD104 have the same shape.
The book 'Siemens Halbleiter Datenbuch 1967/8' lists the following germanium devices (but not the AD10n trio):
'standard types'
'industrial types'
Siemens also made a quartet of germanium PNP medium power audio frequency amplifier types in the TO-8 outline:
I have seen a suggestion that these are renamed variants of TF78.
There is a further a triplet of similar types in the TO-8 outline:
Radiomuseum also lists a triplet of germanium PNP high power amplifier/switch types in the TF80-style bespoke outline, although I have never seen an example of any of them:
My image shows an ADY11 with an extra suffix /1. I can not find original data for any of these ADY types so if you know where I can get any, please
Siemens made many other semiconductors: silicon diodes and transistors in various standard series, and then integrated circuits. Indeed they still manufacture those today. However all of these are too modern for this page of my collection!