The Furukawa Company Group has over 130 years of monozukuri* tradition. We have inherited this tradition and are working on further technological and product development using the keyword, “Full-Fledged Monozukuri and Full-Scale Structural Development,” in order to beat the competition with an overwhelming presence. Every employee of the Group shares in the same understanding － Our products must sell because of their superior quality, not due to fads or environmental changes. Based on this recognition we have a policy of developing core technologies by the Group companies. Although M&A is one option for expediting technological development, we believe that products must be self-developed as a rule.
In order to play a role in achieving this policy, the Research and Development Department is working to develop new materials,
mainly in the field of new functional materials, and is actively advancing research and development activities towards the
development of next-generation machinery products and production technologies.
*Monozukuri
Monozukuri is a Japanese word consisting of “mono” which means “products,” and “zukuri” which means “process of making or creation.” However, the word means more than simply making something; it has overtones of excellence, skill, spirit, zest, and pride in the ability to make things very well. Monozukuri is not mindless repetition; it requires creative minds and is often related to craftsmanship, which can be learned through lengthy apprenticeships rather than the structured course curricula taught at traditional schools.
Research and Development Achievements of Furukawa Co., Ltd.
We are working on research and development of the following products.
Gallium Nitride Substrates
Gallium nitride is a new semiconductor which is used in next-generation high-performance, sophisticated electronic devices. Blue-violet laser diodes (LDs) in blu-ray discs and white light emitting diodes (LEDs) for lighting equipment were invented using these semiconductors. The development of solid state lighting is accelerating and expectations for new gallium nitride transistors for electric cars are rising. We provide gallium nitride substrates indispensable for these devices.
Scintillator Crystals: LuAG
A scintillator is a material which exhibits the property of luminescence when excited by radiation. Pr:LuAG scintillator crystals which we developed jointly with Tohoku University are expected to be applied to the medical diagnosis devices such as PET (positron emission tomography) scans used for early cancer detection and PEM for breast cancer screening. Currently, we are making a prototype of large crystals with a diameter of 3 inches.
Thermoelectric Materials
Thermoelectric materials convert heat into electricity. If we can effectively convert heat emissions from car engines and industrial furnaces which were wasted into electricity, that will save energy and contribute to the global environment. We have developed thermoelectric materials with heat conversion efficiency at the world’s highest level. Currently we are making a prototype and advancing research activities towards the practical application of thermoelectric modules.
Organic Nonlinear Optical Crystals:DAST
An organic crystal DAST is a type of nonlinear optical crystal that ,can effectively generate terahertz waves which exist at the boundary of the radio frequency region and the optical region, which was previously unknown. Our high-quality crystals are cultivated with our unique method developed in the electronic materials business and can stably generate high-power terahertz waves. Use of terahertz waves can identify various types of substances, therefore it is expected to use this capability in drug tests carried out as security measures. Also, they are expected to be applied in diversified fields of cutting-edge technologies such as science, engineering, information and telecommunication, and biotechnology.
Liquid Crystal Processing Equipment
Recently, technology to manufacture colored liquid crystal modules is rapidly improving as digital terrestrial televisions are becoming popular. These colored liquid crystal modules go through a number of processes before production is complete. We manufacture baking equipment to dry oriented films coated on glass substrates to align liquid crystal molecules when manufacturing liquid crystal modules.
Our latest baking equipment, for example, can dry oriented films coated on 1.95mm x 2.25 mm glass subordinates very evenly. Our baking equipment is state-of-the-art equipment achieved by applying cutting-edge technologies such as heat flow analysis by simulation, highly-accurate temperature control and three-dimensional position control.
Simulation Technologies to Support Product Development
In order to develop sophisticated products, utilization of simulation technology is essential. We are working to apply simulation technology into the fields of acoustic analysis, structural analysis and heat/fluid analysis. We are cooperating with companies within the Group to further improve the performance of the current products and develop new products. Recent achievements include the development of low-noise hydraulic breakers. It is expected that applications of this technology will expand in the future.
