In 1987, when LCD (liquid-crystal display) manufacturers began competition in development, we concentrated on a single special-order product. This product sprung from technical problems that arose at a LCD manufacturer, problems we worked to solve in cooperation with the customer. At that time, no measurement standard existed for LCD. We thus searched diligently for the optimal measurement methods. We undertook a succession of patient efforts in responding to the needs of a series of LCD manufacturers throughout the world. Consequently, our evaluation methods have now been widely adopted, and our products have become world standards. This represented the genesis of the LCD Evaluation System :LCD series.

We believe that our achievements are the result of our stated approach: to work not only on mass production but also on small problems, and to collaborate with our customers in providing user-friendly products. Today, our LCD series has a dominant share of the world market. Over 10 years have passed, and we now have five series of LCD-related products including over 20 models, such as the RETS series Cell Gap Inspection Systems and the LCF series Color Filter Spectral Measurement Systems. Our product lines have now grown to support all types, materials, and display evaluations, from small to the latest super-size, no longer merly those related to LCDs or glass substrates.

In the early 1980s, when the mainstream of spectroscopic measurement was still based on self-recording spectrophotometers, we developed an optical analyzer that combined photodiode arrays and fiber optics, which were then cutting-edge components, based on the high-speed scanning technology that we used in our initial flagship stopped-flow product.

This product could be set up for measurement anywhere using an optical fiber, at high speed and with high sensitivity. It stood out as a product focusing on a particular technology unique to a venture business. This product drastically changed the image of conventional spectrophotometers, but we did not particularly specify how it could be used.

Our technical and sales staff thought hard about how to use the new analyzer, working with customers in many fields. We devised software according to the needs of individual customers and developed a range of accessories. Consequently, we have since provided a wide array of systems applicable from research and development to the manufacturing line. The relevant fields include medicine, biochemistry, chemistry, machinery, electrics, and electronics in universities and research institutions, and additionally in industry, in fields including semiconductors and color measurement.

It would be safe to conclude that we were able to construct these widely adaptable spectroscopic measurement systems as a result of our accumulated efforts in custom-order production in response to the needs of individual customers. This may also be viewed as the result of the integration of our collaborative development with customers. We hope to continue to provide high-precision, high-sensitivity, user-friendly systems that meet the needs of each field, and to continue to offer increasing customer satisfaction.

We entered the gas analysis business in 1998. This endeavor began as a partnership with a gas-analyzer manufacturer in the US. At that time, the FTIR was a precision analyzer that required readjustment each time it was moved. It was widely accepted that this analyzer could not be transported for demonstration. The FTIR system developed by the manufacturer for industrial gas use overturned this conventional wisdom. The FTIR system was portable and robust and enabled gas analysis at the processing sites. Further, the system could perform measurement and analysis at the same time. The system also had the significant feature of coming installed with software easily operable even by anyone without specialized knowledge of gas analysis.
In 2003, when the partnership with this manufacturer ended, we investigated the concept of a new system based on the compiled measurement techniques and the customer needs observed over the previous five years. As a result, in the fall of 2004 we developed the new IG series Industrial Gas Analyzer.

With the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, the public has shown increased interest in the emission of greenhouse gases. The semiconductor and LCD industries take note of the amount of PFCs and SF6 discharged and are devoting daily efforts toward targeted reductions. We hope to contribute to the reduction of these greenhouse gases, providing the IG series Industrial Gas Analyzer as means of analyzing gases such as PFCs and SF6. The series does of course consist of high-sensitivity, high-precision systems for measuring moisture and impurities in gases, which is the original purpose of the device. In the future, however, we hope to apply FTIR technology to areas other than gas analysis, in conjunction with other types of systems.