Current status of new industry-oriented business group structure
Industrial Group
Super-precision technology drives semiconductor and display innovation
Canon continues to support advanced electronics manufacturing
To attain an abundant and sustainable society, the electronics industry must innovate further. This is particularly true for semiconductors, the technological base of all industries, including logic, memory, and sensors that control equipment and process data, power devices that are essential for higher energy efficiencies, and semiconductor devices for communications.
Canon's Industrial Group offers many manufacturing solutions that combine and distill its super-precision technology and accumulated expertise. The solutions cover four areas: semiconductors; displays that are the inputs and outputs between people and IT; measurement instruments used extensively in the industrial equipment field; and data solutions that bring DX to production. Through these solutions, Canon supports the advancement of manufacturing needed for society to progress.
Covering nearly all semiconductor production processes
Since launching Japan's first semiconductor lithography system in 1970, Canon has contributed to the production of semiconductor devices, covering nearly all semiconductor production processes that require complex and super-precise operations. For the lithography process, Canon's lithography equipment, which utilizes i-line (mercury) or KrF (krypton fluoride) as a light source, is used worldwide to produce essential semiconductor devices such as logic and memory chips, 5G communication devices, and power devices for automobiles. Through remote services that advance DX, Canon helps boost the productivity of semiconductor device manufacturers.
For the film deposition process, Canon ANELVA, a Group company, produces sputtering equipment that forms thin metal films with vacuum film deposition technology. For the bonding process, Canon Machinery, a producer of labor-saving automation equipment, manufactures die bonders for handling thin dies (semiconductor chips). These Group companies, along with Canon Tokki, are consolidating their technologies with a focus on opening up new business domains.
For the packaging process, which involves stacking multiple semiconductor chips or integrating chips with multiple functions, such as those for GPU* and memory, Canon supplies equipment for making larger packages with connecting lithography and super-precise interconnections. In these ways, Canon is pushing the performance of semiconductor devices.
- * Graphics processing unit — an arithmetic processor for games and AI
FPD lithography equipment produces high-definition displays
Canon is involved in the crucial exposure and deposition processes for the production of LCDs and OLED displays. Canon flat panel display (FPD) lithography equipment exposes very thin display circuits on large substrates. With this super-precision technology, Canon supports the production of beautiful displays, both LCDs and OLEDs, for smartphones, tablets, computers, and large-screen high-definition TVs.
Driving the adoption of OLED displays
The use of OLED displays is rising rapidly, from smartphones to large-screen TVs, thanks to their superior energy efficiency, thin lightweight designs, and rendering of deep shades of black. Group company Canon Tokki was the first company to globally commercialize OLED mass production equipment, which was once thought impossible due to various challenges. Since then, the company has single-handedly taken on the ever-increasing demand. In addition to spearheading OLED mass production, Canon Tokki is engaged in developing new OLED manufacturing methods.
Lithography Plus, a data solution for soaring semiconductor device production
Semiconductor lithography equipment, which exposes superfine circuit patterns, requires regular maintenance and adjustments. However, semiconductor device manufacturers, seeking faster production and higher yields,*1 need equipment with near-zero downtime. Canon meets these demands with Lithography Plus, a DX service. The service gathers equipment status data remotely and helps schedule part replacements and maintenance based on the collected data. Lithography Plus also detects signs of potential trouble and initiates automatic recovery. When manual recovery is necessary, remotely located Canon engineers provide instructions to onsite operators.
Additionally, when a manufacturer is starting up production for a new device, Canon offers recipes*2 that encapsulate its expertise in semiconductor production, so high yield targets can be achieved from the outset.
- *1 Yield is the percentage of devices produced that perform within specifications
- *2 Recipes are the production conditions that vary depending on the device or manufacturing process
Industrial Group main products:
Semiconductor lithography equipment / Flat panel display (FPD) lithography equipment / OLED Display Manufacturing Equipment / Vacuum thin-film deposition equipment / Die bonders and more
