Commitment by Top Management
Semiconductors in Modern Society
and TEL’s Commitment

Semiconductors in the Future
and the Role of TEL

The Japanese semiconductor market is worth about five trillion yen per year, only about 1% of the national gross domestic product (GDP) of 500 trillion yen. Still, considering otherfields in which semiconductors have become indispensable –transportation, communications, finance, healthcare and education – semiconductors affect half the overall economy. It is
no exaggeration to call semiconductors one of the driving
industries in Japan.
When one considers the effects of semiconductors onour lives in realms besides economy and industry, it is abundantly clear that the semiconductor industry and related businesses, the sector to which our company belongs, have apowerful influence on society.
Semiconductors are part of the base of the modern information society. Not only do they stimulate the economy, they
help to make our lives more convenient and comfortable, andthey inspire dreams and hopes throughout society. Semiconductors must continue supporting the base of society, so thatthe ease and comfort we enjoy can be extended throughout
the world in the future.
It is also essential for us in management to keep the four
elements of environment, health, safety and quality in mind
as we pursue business activities. It is to be expected that, inthe short term, there will be trade-offs between these four
elements and concerns for technological development andsales. We must clearly direct our employees to strive for thefour elements. In the long term, there is no contradiction
between these four elements on the one hand and technicalprogress and the advancement of civilization on the other.
Showing that these goals are compatible is an important roleof management.

The fundamental structure of semiconductors has changed little in spite of the continuous evolution wrought since they
were first invented. Microprocessing technology has been thechief driving force during that evolution.
The fundamental structure of semiconductors was wellchosen and has needed few major changes for several decades. But now, it is running into several limits imposed by thestructure, including energy consumption due to heat generation and problems in trying to increase calculating speeds significantly beyond the current level. As semiconductors andthe added value they bring spread around the world and cometo impact every aspect of our lives, people will, more thanever, depend on them for solutions to problems like reducing
energy consumption and raising the efficiency of electronic
products. It is crucial to develop semiconductors which
require even less energy to operate, while operating at evengreater speeds.
In order to develop the next generation of semiconductors, we believe that industry must move away from themodel in which each enterprise tailors itself to perform one
function in isolation from other functions, and toward a modelthat aims to integrate expertise from many sources. Under
this model, different nations and enterprises will lend theirindividual strengths to new partnerships. As a maker of semiconductor production equipment, we expect our role in theadvancement of semiconductor technology to expand far
beyond its present scope. TEL will never forget its duties as aleader of this industry to support and accelerate the coming
technological innovation. Our stakeholders can count on ourvery best efforts to achieve a society that is both comfortableand inspiring for its members.

Tetsuro Higashi
Chairman & CEOTokyo Electron Limited

4TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2005

Efforts at Equipment Design Stage
Drastically Reduce Environmental Burden
We at TEL are quite aware of our social responsibilities to preserve the environment and maintain safety. We have been
charged with this by the commitment of CEO Higashi. As theCOO of the company, I would like to describe our plans forour environmental and safety activities.
Of the various stages in the life cycle of a piece of semiconductor production equipment, more energy and materialsare consumed during mass production of the semiconductor
itself than at any other stage. It is very important to consider theenvironment and safety during design of semiconductor production equipment in order to reduce its environmental burden.
Let me give two specific examples of our approach tothis problem. One directly addresses reducing the energy
consumption. This equipment does not actually operate all thetime; much of the day is spent waiting. It is desirable toreduce the amount of energy consumed while equipment ison stand-by; the energy savings would be considerable. Ourcurrent development and design programs are going forward
on that assumption. The second approach addresses the generation of greenhouse gases while the equipment is in operation. Up until now, we have required removal of these gases
and used substitutes which pose a lighter environmental burden, but future designs will call for development of equipment which re-compresses and circulates gases.
TEL will not only pursue such designs in response torequirements from customers but also strive to conceive newideas on our own, in order to reduce the environmental burdenof our semiconductor production equipment during operation.

Consideration for Safety
and Management of Employees
As semiconductor production equipment has become larger
and larger, operators increasingly must work in high locations
and handle heavy components. Since the processes of semiconductor production also require use of materials which are
toxic to the human body, operators must take many precautions in order to protect themselves. Safety procedures mustbe accounted for during equipment design and the builder ofthe equipment needs to have a thorough knowledge of actual
work operations in the semiconductor production plant. TEL
employees are required to get thorough training in safety sothat they will be familiar with proper procedures.
The semiconductor industry is subject to much higher
fluctuations in demand than other industries, so the systems
must be flexible, able to accommodate both peak and bottom
volumes of sales. When a maker is increasing its workforce
during busy periods and cutting back during slowdowns, newemployees cannot amass much knowledge or experience inthe technical realm or in environmental and safety measures.
Thus, an essential part of our programs is to make all thetasks associated with development, manufacturing, start-up
and process assessment as efficient as possible. Needlesslabor, which hampers programs to improve quality, must beeliminated. The goal in our new designs will be to allow variation in production volume with a constant number of employees.

Future Approaches tothe Environment and Safety
The conventional business model for making semiconductor
production equipment has been to design that equipment inresponse to each customer’s needs. This has delayed standardization. In recent years, however, TEL has begun to standardize equipment platforms and the modules which are integrated into the platforms. We look forward to speeding up
this process, as it will pay off in increased quality and in more
effective environmental and safety measures.
Our approaches are spurring activities throughout theindustry to improve environmental performance and safety.
TEL will continue to lead these efforts by example and, aspart of the process, to address a wide range of issues.

Kiyoshi Sato
President & COO
Tokyo Electron Limited

TOKYO ELECTRON Environmental and Social Report 2005

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