Photolithography, an ultra-precision, nanometer-level technology, is at the leading edge of Canon's core competency in imaging. It is a crucial part of the process of imprinting the invisibly-small electronic features onto integrated circuits, typically called semiconductor chips, as well as onto M-R thin film heads for hard disk drives, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

The Semiconductor Equipment Division of Canon U.S.A., Inc., based in San Jose, Calif., supplies step-and-repeat and step-and-scan photolithography tools to the manufacturers of these products.

The division is one of the sales and support units of the Canon Semiconductor Production Equipment Group, in Utsunomiya, Japan, which is part of Canon Optical Products Operations. It is responsible for marketing and sales, customer process development, technical support, training and administrative operations throughout the United States.