Members' Profiles

Olympus Corporation

Haruo Ogawa
Division Manager, New Business Planning Division

1. Endeavors in MEMS Technology
Olympus launched its Semiconductor TechnologyCenter in 1982 to develop special imaging sensors andperipheral ICs. This led to Olympus' involvement in MEMS
in 1989, when Olympus began developing cantilevers foratomic force microscopes (see Fig. 1) using thesemiconductor prototype production line. In themeantime, Olympus has actively engaged in research anddevelopment on charge modulation image sensors and allpurpose Bi-CMOS devices using electronic devices;various cantilevers, optical scanners (see Fig. 2), andother optical MEMS using MEMS; and various opticalsensor modules combining photodiodes and micro-opticaldevices. Olympus also participated in the ten-year
Micromachine Project, which began in 1991 andconcluded in the spring of 2001. This project involved thedevelopment of small-diameter, active-bending
microcatheters tipped with a heavy density of siliconpiezoelectric MEMS pressure sensors, as well as
piezoelectric diagnostic tactile sensors, helping to createbase technologies for a variety of MEMS sensors. Inaddition, Olympus has conducted biotechnology-related
R&D since the second half of the 1980s. In the latter halfof the 1990s, Olympus began developing bio-MEMS (ormicrofluidics devices) in the form of preprocessing freeflow modules for separating DNA and proteins and microPCR (polymerase chain reaction) modules for
amplification.

Fig.1 CantileverFig.2 Optical scanner

2. Commercialization of MEMS Technology
After many years of accumulating research anddevelopment on MEMS technology, Olympus introduced
the cofocal scanning laser microscope LEXT OLS3000 inNovember 2003 as a product capable of utilizing thefeatures of MEMS devices. This microscope is equippedwith an optical MEMS scanner and boasts the world's
highest resolution among similar microscopes. In August
2004, Olympus introduced the nanosearch microscope
LEXT OLS 3500 (see Fig. 3). This microscope is equippedwith the functions of a scanning probe microscope using
MEMS cantilevers that enable rapid super-wide range

observations, from millimeters to nanometers. In April
2004, Olympus announced that, through collaboration
with Kanazawa University professor Toshio Ando, it had
developed a high-speed atomic force microscope capableof videotaping individual molecules in living proteins byapplying soft cantilevers one-twentieth the size of theirconventional counterparts. This microscope is expected tocontribute widely to fields of basic research innanobiotechnology, for example.
In November 2004, Olympus introduced a passive
capsule observation endoscope (see Fig. 4), which is aculmination of its many years of research anddevelopment on micromachines. Now, MEMS has growninto a core technology at Olympus that differentiates its
products.

Fig.3 Nanosearch microscope Fig.4 Capsule endoscope3. Creating Core Businesses based on
MEMS Technology
Currently, Olympus is involved in the national MEMS
Project to develop a high-precision fabrication technology
for optical switches. As Olympus continues to acquire
sophisticated optical MEMS technology, its MEMS foundry
service is receiving an increasing number of inquiries.
Although the foundry service has been in operation forjust over three years, numerous prototypes of MEMS
devices have been manufactured, some of which have now
entered the mass-production phase. Quality assurance
becomes of utmost importance in the mass-production
phase, and the laser microscopes OLS3000 and OLS3500
sold by Olympus are ideal for evaluating MEMS devices.
When commercial measuring instruments are notsufficiently inspected or assured, Olympus develops
special evaluation equipment using its own microscope
technologies, making every effort to assure quality.
MEMS is now being said to be vital for industry.
Olympus is striving to build a relationship of trust with its
customers through the MEMS foundry service and tocreate future core businesses according to a new businessmodel.

Contact for the MEMS foundry service
E-mail: MEMS_Lab@ot.olympus.co.jp
MICROMACHINE No. 52

MICROMACHINE 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
your comments about MICROMACHINE to the publisher :Keiichi Aoyagi, Executive Director, Micromachine Center (MMC)
MBR99 Bldg., 6F., 67 Kanda Sakumagashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0026, Japan
Tel : +81-3-5835-1870, Fax : +81-3-5835-1873
Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Date of Issue : August 23, 2005

© All Copyrights Reserved by MMC