Pentax 2007 Annual Report Download - page 22

20
The Hoya Group pursues the twin objectives of achieving growth now and in the future and increasing corporate
value. The group devotes considerable effort to strategic business planning and technology R&D that are clearly
focused on the long term. Hoya has realized excellent profitability by enhancing the competitive strengths of its
key products in their respective markets, often achieving top market share. This could not have been
accomplished in the absence of Hoya’s R&D policy—which is to create new products from the ground up. Aiming
to create highly competitive businesses driven by leading-edge proprietary technologies, Hoya actively invests in
seed technologies that have the potential to become the giant “trees” of the future.
R&D and New Businesses
3C-SiC
R&D Philosophy
The saying, be “a big fish in a small pond,” is one straightforward
way of expressing Hoya’s business strategy. The “big fish” refers
to Hoya’s top market share, and the “small pond” refers to the
niche markets in which Hoya is active. Those markets may not be
immense, but Hoya maintains its position as an industry-leading
company in every one of them. In the field of R&D, this helps Hoya
keep close relationships with its clients and contribute and
participate in a positive manner in leading-edge fields.
As well as undertaking industry-leading research and
technology development in its niche markets, Hoya is actively
promoting the development of important new fields of business,
with the mid- to long-term objective of “building a new pond” of its
own. Another characteristic of Hoya’s way of doing business is its
determination to take the best possible advantage of applied
research that has the potential to lead to practical applications.
This focus is shaped by today’s environment of accelerating
change, where it will become crucially important to maintain a
practical perspective on R&D, seeing it as directly linked to
real-world application and economic performance. Hoya’s R&D
philosophy will ensure that its development efforts are efficient
and waste-free.
Research and Development Structure
The Hoya Group devolves a large degree of authority and
responsibility to each of its business divisions. In the field of R&D
also, each business division follows its own next-generation
technological research and development as a natural extension of
its current activities. In addition, the R&D Center that belongs to
Hoya’s Global Headquarters operates with a longer term viewpoint
and is engaged in research that will lead to the development of the
technologies that will follow the next-generation technologies, as
well as research in entirely new fields.
Current Research at the R&D Center
Hoya’s R&D Center is currently engaged in three key lines of
research: energy-efficient materials, nanotechnology and optical
communications. In each field, the center undertakes horizontal
development of existing businesses that rely on practical
application of Hoya’s core technologies, while at the same time
promoting the development of new fields that differ from those
with existing businesses. The R&D Center is thus sowing the
seeds of the new businesses that will support Hoya’s future
growth. More information on each of these three research
themes appears below. Also introduced are Hoya’s EUV mask
blanks, which were under development at the R&D Center until
2006, but have now been handed over to the relevant business
division with the objective of putting the technology to
practical use.
<Energy-Efficient Materials>
Increasing public recognition of the need to protect the
environment and formulate strategies to combat global warming
has meant ever increasing demands for energy-efficiency in
industry. Hoya is engaged in the development of devices that use
3C-SiC cubic monocrystal silicon carbide. There are strong
expectations for high energy efficiency semiconductor devices
based on 3C-SiC, which Hoya
is developing. In comparison
with ordinary silicon-based
devices, 3C-SiC devices are
characterized by lower power
loss and an ability to operate
even at high temperatures.
When they are used in hybrid
vehicles and fuel cell powered
vehicles, apart from the low