Canon Recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the PPC-1, Japan's First Semiconductor Lithography System

Canon’s exposure equipment history begins with advancements in camera lens technology. Utilizing the technology originally developed for camera lenses during the mid-1960’s, Canon developed high-resolution lenses for photomask manufacturing. Furthering that technology and overall business expansion plans, the Company began developing semiconductor lithography equipment for wafer fabrication and in 1970, entered the semiconductor lithography equipment business with the introduction of “PPC-1”, a first in Japan. Canon also produced the world’s first lithography system that offered less than 1 micrometer* resolution with the launch of Fine Pattern Aligner (FPA) platform and the FPA-141F in 1975. In 2010, the FPA-141F was recognized by the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology as an Essential Historical Material for Science and Technology.

At present, the Canon semiconductor lithography equipment portfolio includes i-line lithography systems that use a mercury arc lamp as the exposure light source for 365 nanometer* i-line wavelength exposure and KrF lithography systems using laser light generated from krypton (Kr) gas and fluorine (F) gas for 248 nanometer KrF wavelength exposure. To meet the expanding range challenging application and market demands, Canon continues to expand its lineup of semiconductor lithography equipment and optional functions in support of various wafer sizes, materials and next-generation packaging processes required to protect delicate semiconductor chips from the external environment while enabling electrical connection and communication with the external chips and devices requirements. Canon also offers leading-edge lithography solutions with nanoimprint lithography equipment that is under development to enable cost-effective circuit pattern miniaturization for mass production processes. Nanoimprint lithography involves pressing a mask (mold) directly into the resist on a wafer like a stamp. Circuit patterns including free-form structures on the mask can be precisely transferred with higher resolution in comparison to conventional optical lithography equipment.

Since 1986, Canon has also been applying semiconductor exposure equipment technology to the development, manufacturing and commercialization of exposure equipment for production of flat-panel displays on large-area substrates. Moving forward, the Company will continue to improve both high-definition and productivity capability of Canon flat-panel exposure systems to meet the on-going needs of LCD and OLED display manufacturing.