Tokyo Electron (TEL) believes that "Our corporate growth is enabled by people, and our employees both create and fulfill company values." At the TEL Group, our diverse talent works and strives to realize our vision of being "a company filled with dreams and vitality that contributes to technological innovation in semiconductors." Meet TEL introduces the TEL Group employees across the world.

"TEL Master Inventor" is the highest honor in the TEL Group inventor recognition system. This award is given to employees who have made significant contributions through the development of new technologies. Dr. Nagaseki, TEL Master Inventor 2024, talks about his thoughts on technology development as well as sustainability.

The Relationship Between Technological Development and Intellectual Property

“A source of product value is the technology developed by engineers. Patents are important means of ensuring that technology is commercialized and protecting one's own technology from imitations or copies. Cooperation between development and intellectual property is key in any development strategy to lead a business to success. By thoroughly examining future issues as well as solutions and technologies, we should be able to have the answer as to what kind of technology development and patent will need to be pursued.

When it comes to elemental technology development, it will lead to differentiating future products. It is important to increase the number of technologies based on long-term predictions. 20 years ago, miniaturization was the absolute direction of development. Recently, there are various factors to consider such as process difficulty or device manufacturing costs. We need to predict from multiple angles.”

A Common Understanding of Sustainability Beyond the Semiconductor Industry

“Environmental risks can be business opportunities. However, there will also be cases where companies will prioritize the interests of the entire industry rather than pursuing only their own interests. I believe that sharing generously in non-competitive areas is what TEL should do as a leading company in the industry. I don't think the problem can be solved unless we go beyond the boundaries of the semiconductor industry and share a common awareness with a variety of people that we cannot survive unless we are sustainable.

The evolution of semiconductors will enable ultra-precise information processing, and perhaps even lead to the realization of an ultra-efficient society. I believe we need to be able to satisfy human desire while also giving back to nature the benefits it provides. As an engineer, I want to do something about it using technology. To avoid taking too many things from the Earth, it is important to increase efficiency and eliminate waste.”