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. Kato, TEL Master Inventor 2024, talks about his thoughts on development.

What is Necessary to Innovate

“To innovate, development experience and knowledge are essential. In my case, with over 15 years of development experience, I was able to create a new ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) device called the NT333™. It is important to acquire skills and knowledge while gaining actual development experience.

As I’m working hard to educate young inventors, the challenging thing is that we need to foster engineers who are able to think for themselves. Recently, there are fewer opportunities to develop the methods and technologies on your own than in the past. Senior engineers like us can make use of our experience and think together with younger engineers. When it comes to “think”, you need to think from various directions rather than from one direction. Various development experiences will be useful.“

The "Basics of Development"

“I believe that "thinking for yourself and doing it yourself" is the basics of development. I still have a passion for doing things myself that is second to none. I don't like doing the same things as other people. If I do what other people do, I immediately try to develop something that goes beyond others.

It is also important to be an out-of-box thinker, not just with typical ideas such as how processes should be done or how hardware should be made.”

The Journey from Failure to Success in Development

“Failure is inevitable in development and success is almost never achieved without failure. If the result is not what you have expected, think why it happened. The real failure is not learning from the failure. I believe that a true pleasure of development is to carefully consider the results of failure, identify the cause, and make improvements. This leads to success and produces positive results.”

Have Dreams and Challenges!

“I have developed products with the dream that one day I would create something new myself. Although there were many failures, I was able to make my dreams come true. I hope all of you have dreams and take on challenges, whether it is work or play. The new things you acquire by thinking and doing things for yourself, even if you fail, will help you grow and guide your next challenge.”