Tokyo, Jan 31, 2012 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi Ltd and Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation today announced they had received the IEEE Milestone for Hitachi's pioneering development of the world's "First Practical Field Emission Electron Microscope, 1972" from the IEEE, the world's largest professional association in the electrical, electronics, information and communications engineering fields.

Established in 1983, the IEEE Milestone honors historical technical achievements from among innovations in the electrical, electronics, information and communications engineering fields that have contributed substantially to the advancement of industry and society. The IEEE Milestone is awarded only after at least 25 years have passed since development.

Hitachi created a practical field emission (FE) electron beam source together with the late Dr. Albert Crewe (former professor of the University of Chicago), the original developer in 1968. Subsequently in 1972, Hitachi installed the FE electron beam source in a scanning electron microscope (SEM), marking the successful development of the HFS-2 model, the world's first commercial FE-SEM (Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscope). The HFS-2 model could be easily operated to observe stable and reliable ultra-high resolution images. Thereafter, Hitachi applied this technology to the development of a Critical Dimension (CD)-SEM model used for process control in semiconductor manufacturing lines, which contributed to the miniaturization of semiconductor devices at the time. At the same time, Hitachi contributed to the advancement of the healthcare and biotechnology fields through such achievements as the world's first observation of an SEM image of the AIDS virus using Hitachi's FE-SEM. Furthermore, Hitachi's FE-SEM has played a vital role in research and advancement in science and technology. Notably, the Aharonov-Bohm effect was demonstrated using electron beam holography generated by a Hitachi FE-TEM (Field Emission-Transmission Electron Microscope) fitted with an FE electron beam source.

Hitachi High-Tech was formed through the integration in 2001 of Nissei Sangyo Co., Ltd., a Hitachi Group trading company specializing in technology, and the Instruments Group and Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Group of Hitachi, Ltd. The Hitachi High-Tech Group is currently responsible for electron microscope manufacturing, sales and services. The IEEE Milestone has been jointly conferred on Hitachi and Hitachi High-Tech.

Looking ahead, the Hitachi Group will continue to develop outstanding proprietary technologies and products in fields including electron microscope, where it received the IEEE Milestone, with the view to contributing to the establishment of a safe, secure and comfortable society and the advancement of industry worldwide.

About Hitachi

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2010 (ended March 31, 2011) consolidated revenues totaled 9,315 billion yen ($112.2 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.

About Hitachi High-Technologies Corp.

The new Hitachi High-Technologies was established on October 1, 2001 through an integration of Nissei Sangyo Co., Ltd., with Hitachi's Instruments Group and Semiconductor Manufacturing Equipment Group. Augmenting Nissei Sangyo's identity as a high-tech trading company, the new Hitachi High-Technologies will be an integrated organization that develops, manufactures, markets and services equipment and systems in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Hitachi High-Technologies will anticipate the needs of the next generation as no high-tech company ever has.In pursuit of our goal of becoming the global leading company in the field of nanotechnology, we are developing our business across a variety of segments, including Electronic Device Systems, Life Science, Information Systems & Electronic Components, and Advanced Industrial Products. We are working to achieve our goal by providing customers with added value based on the most advanced technologies in these fields.

Contact:

Hitachi Ltd
Corporate Communications
+81-3-3258-1111

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