Nikon 2016 Annual Report Download - page 29

ArF immersion scanner NSR-S631E KrF scanner NSR-S210D
Q Please tell us about any points that you will particularly focus on.
With regard to the development of new systems and the providing of support at client sites, how to efciently utilize
the limited amount of resources throughout the world is becoming extremely important. In relation to human
resources, we are working on remote support by leveraging our network, building a database that will enable us to
share past information on a global basis in order to further raise our comprehensive response capabilities rather than
simply increasing the number of personnel. In addition, we are broadening the skills that individual employees pos-
sess and encouraging the creation of human resource development systems to enable exible operations.
In relation to system development, we are addressing the automation of the performance management of our
equipment. I recognize that this is being improved according to plan and to a level that compares favorably with
other companies. For our customers, preserving optimal efciency is a critical issue, so it is important for them to
be able to maintain and operate the equipment normally. For that reason, dispensing with the need to depend on
skilled engineers at our customers’ sites, we are engaging in the development of functions by which the equipment
automatically learns the optimization of wafer processing conditions and responds to demands for stable production.
Q Please tell us about your initiatives for future growth.
Our business unit engaged in business centered on ArF immersion scanners. In response to expanding demand for
devices due to the trend of the IoT, however, we will now also focus on ArF-Dry, KrF, and i-line lithography systems.
In addition, we will make efforts to improve our prots and earnings as a business unit by reducing costs through the
optimization of variable and xed costs. The prices of the systems are high, and a heavy burden is placed on us, for
example, when product failures occur and repair costs arise. For these reasons, from the cost reduction point of view,
we consider additional, thorough enhancements to quality management to be the most important factor, and we will
continue to promote them in the years to come. Additionally, the semiconductor market itself is expanding rapidly with
the advent of products that have new value. New products from elds that had not previously been used in electronics
have emerged and are now being incorporated into semiconductors, and the expectation is that what is termed
“manufacturing equipment” will require not only a high accuracy but will also have to meet wide-ranging needs.
It is my belief that the accumulation of technologies that Nikon has acquired—that is to say the capabilities it
possesses to develop delicate, elaborate, and unique items—are in the top class. By leveraging the knowledge that
our business unit has gained up to now in ultraprecision technologies, and by broadening our eld of view, we would
like to be involved in the manufacturing of the future, of a kind that at this point in time is completely unimaginable.
Overview of Divisions and Business Units
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NIKON REPORT 2016
BUSINESS PERFORMANCE