Members’ Profiles

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
1. Business Profile of Furukawa ElectricCo., Ltd.
Founded in 1884 as a manufacturer of electric cables
and nonferrous metals, Furukawa Electric has
accumulated more than a century of expertise in thedevelopment of technologies and products aimed at
reinforcing the foundation of our society and industry.
Today companies in the Furukawa Group are active in suchdiverse industries as telecommunications, automobiles,energy, electronics, and construction, utilizing thestrengths of a wide range of materials, including light,
metal, and plastic. The following is a description of some ofour signature products in these fields.
One of the core products in telecommunications is theoptical fiber cable, which is indispensable for building
optical communication networks that sustain ouradvanced information society. In 1974 Furukawa Electric
became the first company in the world to successfully
manufacture optical fiber cables. Today we are the world’s
second largest manufacturer of optical fiber cables andglobally provide total solutions for optical parts, opticalcommunication equipment, and optical systems essential
to our optical information-oriented society.
Steering roll connectors, a major product in theautomotive parts industry, function to transmit electric
signals for activating an airbag built into the steering
wheel of an automobile. Furukawa Electric has beendeveloping and manufacturing these connectors for morethan twenty years, bringing the company recognition for
its development capabilities and earning the products
praise for their low cost and reliability. Our connectors areused throughout the world, accounting for the highest
share of the global market.
As China continues to grow, the country has been
plagued with a chronic shortage of electric power.
Furukawa Electric has established production centers in
China for manufacturing ultra-high-voltage power cables
and related components, and optical fiber composite
overhead ground wires in order to supply these products
throughout China. We have received high praise for oursuperior manufacturing capability and product quality andare the market leader in ultra-high-voltage power cables.
Furukawa Electric’s signature product in electronicrelated fields is the copper foil. Copper foils are used inprinted wiring boards incorporated in computers, cellphones, and other communication equipment, collectors
for lithium ion batteries, and electromagnetic interference
shielding materials for plasma displays. From common tosophisticated foils, the company provides high-quality
products backed by more than thirty years experience inproducing electrodeposited copper foils.
By utilizing this wealth of material expertise andexploring the diverse applications, we will always strive to
be a more profitable, innovation-oriented business groupwith a dynamic global presence. We will continue todevelop technologies and products that enrich our society
and offer these products not only in Japan, but also incountries throughout North and South America, Europe,and Asia.

such as the optical fibers, electric cables, copper foils, andplastic sheets, these products are produced using ourcontinuous roll-to-roll processing technology. The
elemental technologies used in this process include athermal processing technique for maintaining an optimum
process temperature, a processing technique to performmolding and extrusion continuously, and a sensing
technique for monitoring product quality online. The
sophisticated materials in our products are testament to
how we have managed over the years to develop eachelemental technology into our own distinctive technology.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the history of
our product innovation is inseparable from thedevelopment of our continuous processing technology.
Recently we have been working on developing new
products made distinctive by this production technology.

2.2 One-Dimensional Substrate Technology
Using proprietary techniques in optical fiber
manufacturing processes, Furukawa Electric is working on
a project aimed at transforming fabrication based on an
entirely new concept called .“one-dimensional substratetechnology.”
One dimensional substrate technology is the efficient,
low-cost manufacturing of electronic devices on long andnarrow film-like glass and metal substrates. A major
feature of this technology is its conduciveness tofabricating devices using our roll-to-roll processing
technique. Today displays, solar cells, and semiconductor
substrates are predominantly produced through vacuum
batch processes using two-dimensional silicon wafers andglass substrates. However, in order to increase the numberof devices that can be produced from a single substrate
and thus reduce costs, the size of the substrate has been
increased, leading to a need for larger manufacturing
equipment–an enormous investment. By using onedimensional substrates in device fabrication, theproduction method can be changed from the vacuum
batch process to an atmospheric-pressure continuous
process to achieve lower production costs. Since it is also
possible to localize the process area, we can employ morecompact equipment and increase the processing speed.
Hence, there is potential for transforming thesemiconductor industry from the traditional model ofincreasing scale to an approach aimed at increasing
processing speed.
Recognizing the potential for expanding onedimensional substrate technology into a wide range ofindustrial products and the advantages of incorporating
this technology as a new business, Furukawa Electric iscurrently engaged in development aimed at achieving
commercial viability as early as possible.

CapacitorSignal
Trs 2
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2. New Product Development
2.1. Furukawa
Electric’sProduction Technology

Distinctive

Since many of our products are long in dimension,

OutputPowerGate

TFT circuit formed on a one-dimensional substrate

MICRONANO No. 66
MICRONANO is published quarterly by Micromachine Center (MMC) to promote the international exchange ofinformation related to micromachines, R&D and other technical topics, and is circulated free of change. Please send
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Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Date of Issue : January 23, 2009

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