Tokyo Electron Limited  Annual Report 08

R e s e a r ch a nd D e v e l o pm e nt

The objectives of Tokyo Electron’s group-wide R&D efforts are toOne example is the area of photovoltaic (PV) cells, which havefurther enhance the Company’s competitiveness in the core busi-

strong potential as a solution to environmental and energy-related

nesses of semiconductor and FPD production equipment, and toissues. After conducting extensive exploratory research on PV cell

develop the new products and businesses that will support theproduction equipment, in February 2008, the Company establishedCompany’s further growth in years to come.

Tokyo Electron PV Limited to develop and commercialize plasma
CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) systems for the thin-film silicon

Broad Research Themes for Semiconductor
Production Equipment

PV market. Thin-film silicon PV cells, solar cells containing a thin

Semiconductor manufacturers, our customers, require productionnificant interest in recent years. Tokyo Electron will develop high-equipment that allows them to achieve finer geometries, higher

productivity CVD systems by utilizing vacuum plasma production

speed, lower power consumption and higher productivity. SPEequipment technology developed from its semiconductor and FPD

manufacturers are playing an increasingly important role in support-production equipment businesses.

layer of silicon deposited on a glass substrate, have attracted sig-

ing semiconductor manufacturers in this regard. We believe Tokyo
production equipment that can realize the process performance

Promoting More Efficient R&D Via Consortia andTies With Industry and Academia

customers require. Tokyo Electron therefore collaborates closely

The scope of research and development that Tokyo Electronwith customers in developing new production equipment.

needs to address is expanding. In order to improve the efficiency

Electron’s competitiveness is based on our capability to provideof research efforts, Tokyo Electron has been working in collabora-

Accelerating R&D Efforts to Develop NewBusinesses That Can Support Future Growthtion with universities and making active efforts in industry consor-

In addition to efforts to enhance existing products, Tokyo Electron isacademic institutions.

tia as well as projects that involve both manufacturers andalso developing new products and business arenas that can contribute to growth 5 and even 10 years into the future.

Tokyo Electron’s R&D Framework(As of June 2008)

Product development in existing SPE and FPD business units
Tokyo Electron AT Limited

Etch system, CVD system, FPD Etch/ash system

Tokyo Electron Kyushu Limited

Coater/developer, Cleaning system, FPD Coater/developer

Tokyo Electron Tohoku Limited

Thermal processing system

Tokyo Electron TS Limited

Wafer proberTokyo Electron Software Technologies Limited

Software technology

Timbre Technologies, Inc.

Integrated metrology

R&D for new and advanced technologies
Tokyo Electron Technology Development Center

Research and development

Tokyo Electron Leading-edge Process Development CenterProcess development

Tokyo Electron Technology Development Institute, Inc.

RLSA plasma technology

Tokyo Electron PV Limited

Thin-film silicon PV cell plasma CVD technology

TEL Technology Center, America, LLC

Process development

TEL Epion, Inc.

Gas cluster ion beam technology

Identification of promising technologies
TEL Venture Capital, Inc.

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Annual Report 08 Tokyo Electron Limited

Accelerating R&D to Drive Growth

Leading-edge Process
Development CenterTokyo Electron PV Limited(Nirasaki City, Yamanashi)Kansai Technology Center(Amagasaki City, Hyogo)

Tokyo Electron Technology
Development Institute, Inc.
(Sendai City, Miyagi)

TEL Epion, Inc.
(Billerica, Massachusetts)

R&D Expenses(Billions of Yen)80

About IMECIMEC is a world-leading independent research center in nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. Its research focuses on the next generations of chips and systems, and on theenabling technologies for ambient intelligence.

0405

57.0

49.2

43.9

40

44.2

60

66.1

IMEC (Belgium)
Collaboration R&D with IMEC onimmersion lithography and extreme
ultraviolet (EUV) lithography

TEL Technology Center,America, LLC(Albany, New York)

20006

0708

project (Millennium Research for Advanced Information Technology).

Unearthing the World’s Most PromisingTechnologies

Overseas, Tokyo Electron is participating in the International SEMAT-Tokyo Electron’s growth strategy over the longer term calls for theECH project in the United States and the Albany NanoTech project

Company to pursue new innovations and create and develop newpromoted by the New York State Government, as well as collaborat-businesses. The Company is supplementing in-house researching with IMEC in Belgium. In February 2007, the Company became

activities with efforts to identify, evaluate and utilize promising tech-a new member of the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC),

nologies developed outside the Company. In July 2006, Tokyoa semiconductor research consortium that unites leading semicon-

Electron established TEL Venture Capital, Inc. to identify, evaluate

ductor-related manufacturers with world class universities.

and utilize promising new technologies on a global scale. TEL

In Japan, one example is the semiconductor industry’s MIRAI­Venture Capital is based in California’s Silicon Valley, home to many
start-ups and venture capital firms.

19