# Second source

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Secondary manufacturer of electronic components

Not to be confused with [Secondary source](/source/Secondary_source).

In the [electronics industry](/source/Electronics_industry), a **second source** is a company that is licensed to manufacture and sell components originally designed by another company (the first source).[1]

It is common for engineers and purchasers to seek components that are available from multiple sources, to avoid the risk that a problem with one supplier would prevent a product from being manufactured. For simple components such as resistors and transistors, this is not usually an issue, but for complex [integrated circuits](/source/Integrated_circuit), vendors often react by licensing one or more other companies to manufacture and sell the same parts as second sources. While the details of such licenses are usually confidential, they often involve [cross-licensing](/source/Cross-licensing), so that each company also obtains the right to manufacture and sell parts designed by the other.

In the early TTL device period wafers were smaller so production was limited. More production lead to lower prices and new designs rapidly emerged.

## Examples

AMD [80286](/source/80286)-16MHz

[MOS Technology](/source/MOS_Technology) licensed [Rockwell](/source/Rockwell_International) and [Synertek](/source/Synertek) to second-source the [6502](/source/MOS_Technology_6502) microprocessor and its support components.

[Intel](/source/Intel) licensed [AMD](/source/AMD) to second-source Intel microprocessors such as the [8086](/source/Intel_8086) and its related support components. This second-source agreement is particularly famous for leading to much [litigation between the two parties](/source/Advanced_Micro_Devices#Litigation_with_Intel). The agreement gave AMD the rights to second-source later Intel parts, but Intel refused to provide the [masks](/source/Mask_set) for the [386](/source/Intel_80386) to AMD. AMD [reverse-engineered](/source/Reverse_engineering) the 386, and Intel then claimed that AMD's license to the 386 [microcode](/source/Microcode) only allowed AMD to "use" the microcode but not to sell products incorporating it. The courts eventually decided in favor of AMD.[2]

When [Digital Equipment Corporation](/source/Digital_Equipment_Corporation) released [DEC Alpha](/source/DEC_Alpha) in 1992, an industry analyst said that a second source for the CPU was necessary for credibility as an [open system](/source/Open_system_(computing)).[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Microprocessor second sources](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Microprocessor_second_sources).

## See also

- [supply chain diversification](/source/Supply_chain_diversification)

- [sole source](/source/Sole_source)

- [pin compatibility](/source/Pin_compatibility)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** John Zysman, Laura Tyson, *American Industry in International Competition: Government Policies And Corporate Strategies*, Cornell University Press, 1984 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8014-9297-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8014-9297-1) page 160

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Michael J. Lennon, *Drafting technology patent license agreements*, Aspen Publishers Online, 1999 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7355-0237-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7355-0237-4), Appendix 4C *The AMD-Intel, AMD-Fujitsu Cross-License and Joint Venture Agreement*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-wilson19921116_3-0)** Wilson, Jayne (1992-11-16). ["DEC debuts its long-awaited 64-bit Alpha systems"](https://books.google.com/books?id=N1EEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA33). *InfoWorld*. Vol. 14, no. 46. p. 33. Retrieved 2025-06-30.

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