In 1918, the company began researching optical glass but suspended operations when it could not fully address several technical difficulties. However, in 1922, when self-sufficiency of optical glass to supply domestic production of optical instruments became a necessity, research was resumed in earnest. Thus, in March 1923, to enable parallel research of both the theoretical and the practical, the company built glass research facilities in three sections including the No. 1 melting wing in its Oi Dai-ni plant, and installed facilities including a 500kg melting furnace, four cooling kilns and two test furnaces (20kg and 7kg capacities). The company then began test-melting optical glass around May of the same year, and performed its first kilning using a 350kg crucible in June.

The 1921 MIKRON ultra-small-prism binoculars were one of the first binocular models developed, designed and manufactured by Nikon. They were acclaimed for their compactness and high functionality, and are still a popular model after having been reproduced for sale in 1948 and 1997.

Nikon has been involved in the development of the microscope since its founding, and microscopes are listed as production items in its articles of incorporation. Pouring efforts into development of the microscope, one of the specialists brought in from Germany was Heinrich Acht, an engineer with rich experience in microscope design. Acht was active in the design of microscope objective lenses, and improved lens precision by adopting and improving on new German-style systems. By bringing these efforts to fruition, the company released its JOICO Microscope in 1925. With its 765x magnification this instrument was a groundbreaking microscope for its time.

In 1931, an 8-inch astronomical telescope was installed in the roof observatory dome on the newly completed Ueno wing of the Tokyo Science Museum. This was known as the 20cm equatorial refracting telescope and was the first full-fledged model of its kind to be produced in Japan. It boasted the largest caliber compared to other Japanese-made telescopes of the time. The device underwent major modifications in 1954 and continued to convey the fascination of the heavens to visitors for a total of over 70 years, the longest ever in Japan, until 2005. The telescope is now on permanent display in a zone called the Exploring the Universe located on basement level 3 of the Global Gallery at the National Museum of Nature and Science.

NIKKOR lenses were born of the strong desire of Japanese designers to domestically produce photographic lenses, for which the nation had up till that point been reliant on other countries. Designers went to Europe to observe its optical industry, and devoted their time to gathering information on photographic lenses, visiting camera store after camera store in Berlin. Finally, after obtaining samples, the designers returned to Japan, which is when the real struggle began.

Although modern computers can now be relied upon, lens design involves various complex calculations. Even painstakingly produced prototypes might not provide the expected image quality when used to shoot photographs, and compared to the current era, there were far fewer types of glass available for lenses. The company engaged in research by means of disassembly, measurement and assembly experiments following precision aberration measurement testing.

After these exercises in trial and error, the company produced its first lens in 1929, the Anytar 12cm F4.5. Then followed the successful development of a range of lens models, while considering a brand name for these products, as there were now definite prospects for photographic lens manufacture. Hence, combining the "NIKKO" abbreviation of the "Nippon Kougaku" company name with the letter "R" often used as a suffix for photographic lens names at the time, the company settled upon the NIKKOR brand name. This name was registered as a trademark in 1932.

NIKKOR lens history began in 1933 with the delivery of lenses designed to be used in aerial photography for map-making. These lenses were thus called "Aero-NIKKOR" with the prefix indicating their intended aerial purpose. The company first supplied NIKKOR lenses including a 70cm F5 and an 18cm F4.5 for compact aerial photographic applications.

From its historic beginnings, the NIKKOR range has continued to develop, and has grown to become synonymous with Japan's leading high-performance lenses.

Less than two years after the completion of blueprints in September of 1946, the first Nikon camera, the Nikon Model I, was launched in March of 1948. This camera contained original inventions such as small radial ball bearings used for the shutter release, and was the result of overcoming many tough challenges, from research through to marketing.

The Nikon Model I was highly anticipated after being advertised in magazines and via other channels before its release. At the time, supply could not keep up with the strong demand for domestically produced cameras, but the real battle began the moment the camera went on sale. Designers had to field complaint after complaint, and find effective solutions on a daily basis. Nevertheless, they overcame issues one by one and made improvements leading to the Nikon M model of 1949 and the Nikon S of 1950. After that, the camera continued to evolve into the S2, SP, and to the single-lens reflex Nikon F. Nikon cameras advanced continually until their robustness and sophistication went on to attract renown, making Nikon a global brand.

Having been highly acclaimed and relied on by Life Magazine photographers, NIKKOR lenses became a favorite of prominent photographers around the world. While interest in Nikon and NIKKOR was also growing among amateurs, the Nikkor Club was founded as an international association for friendly exchange among keen users of NIKKOR lenses.

Founding members included international photographers from Life Magazine and Magnum Photos, top photographers from Japan, novelists, scholars and film actors.

The signature and legendary Nikon SP was a ship of rangefinder cameras made in Japan.

The most important feature of this camera, a built-in universal viewfinder that supports six interchangeable lenses (focal lengths 2.8, 3.5, 5, 8.5, 10.5, 13.5cm) was highly acclaimed by professional photographers. These cameras were prized for their whisper-quiet curtain shutters, rear curtain accelerator and silent braking to absorb shock (with coiled axial clamping), as they were designed to produce extremely low operating noise and shock. These technologies began to develop into a system camera with a motor drive unit (capable of 3 frames per second), finder frame illumination for dark locations, and a flash sync connection in the accessory shoe, all directly connectable without a cord. Nikon's first self-timer was also built in.

The Nikon SP, together with the NIKKOR lens and optical glass, won the grand prix at the 1958 World Expo held in Brussels.

Bringing together Nikon's optical and precision technology, the Nikon F drew a major reaction from around the world, and was in production for 15 years up to 1973, effectively solidifying the Nikon and NIKKOR brands.

Newly developed were main components such as the mirror box, pentaprism and bayonet, while the rest could be said to be the same as the SP. However, major technical hurdles had to be surmounted in developing the mirror box and pentaprism mechanism, such as the need for the mirror and lens aperture to automatically return to the wide-open state instantly after shooting.

The bayonet mount was made of stainless steel to sufficiently withstand the weight of a telephoto lens. Looking ahead to the future, a 44mmø (34mmø for the Nikon S) internal diameter was also adopted to enable use of larger aperture lenses. This was the "Nikon F mount" which is also used with new digital single-lens reflex cameras – a technology that has been handed down for more than half a century. This system is the world's longest used lens mount originally designed for 35mm SLR cameras.

The Nikon F takes full advantage of the SLR characteristic of being able to actually project onto the film what the user sees in the viewfinder by making the finder's field of view 100%. Titanium (0.02mm thick) was adopted for the shutter curtain. In addition to shutter speed, a complete coupling system combining aperture with the Nikon exposure meter was achieved.

After the war, Japan had deployed an American micro-file system for saving bulk documentation on microfilm, but because many more strokes are required for writing Japanese characters than the alphabet, the lens resolution of the system was insufficient. Hence, the company developed the high-resolution "Micro-NIKKOR" lens in 1956, which resulted in a flood of inquiries from printing companies and electronics manufacturers about high-resolution lenses. There were also demands for higher-resolution lenses to be used for creating the printed circuit boards required for the manufacture of electronic components.

Thus, in August of 1962, the Ultra Micro-NIKKOR was developed. Two years later, the company succeeded in developing a lens boasting the highest resolution of any in the world. With this resolution it was possible to distinguish some 1,260 paired black and white stripes per millimeter. A 330-page English novel was successfully compressed onto a microfilm just 12.6 x 13.2mm in size – the Ultra Micro-NIKKOR took both the Japanese and global markets by storm.

Subsequently, the technological legacy of the Ultra Micro-NIKKOR would be inherited as the core technology of semiconductor lithography systems, which would be called "the most precise machinery in history."

In January 1971, Nikon agreed a contract in response to a request from the American National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA). This was to supply cameras to record the Apollo 15 mission to the lunar surface to be launched that year, and for the Apollo 17 mission planned for the following year. The 1968 Nikon Photomic FT _Nwas selected as the base for the development.

NASA had designated specifications to ensure that these cameras would function correctly in the extreme environments of space. These included use of NASA-specified materials such as lubricants and high shock absorption characteristics, and to prevent possible problems due to the reflection of sunlight, the exterior of the devices were to be matte black. 55mm F1.2 lenses were mounted, also finished in matte black. By June, all of these criteria had been satisfied and the company supplied NASA with nine cameras. These products were headed for the moon the following month with the launch of Apollo 15. The NASA-specification Nikon Photomic FT _Nwas also later adopted as a special camera system used in Skylab, a mission during in which three astronauts lived in space over a prolonged period. The cameras were designed to photograph the Earth's ozone layer and Auroras.

Naomi Uemura was one of Japan's leading adventurers. Among his many accomplishments, he was the first Japanese to reach the summit of Everest, first in the world to climb the highest peaks on five continents, circumnavigate the Arctic Circle and reach the North Pole solo by dog sled, for which he was awarded the People's Honor Award in 1984.

On arriving in Alaska on his 12,000-km solo dog sled trip around the Arctic Circle in May 1976, Uemura was greeted by news photographers. Nearly all the cameras pointed at Uemura were Nikons. In such a harsh environment many other brands of cameras failed and were not able to record the moment.

In June 1977, Uemura expressed his desire to Nikon for a camera to take on his solo dog sled trip to the North Pole. Such a camera would have to withstand heavy shock and the extremely low polar temperatures. For this reason, the drive system was lubricated with special cold-resistant oil, and the shutter speed was adjusted to function properly in temperatures around minus 50°C. The camera was retrofit with titanium for the top, bottom, penta and front cover parts. At the time, Nikon was the only company able to manufacture titanium camera parts. A prototype was put in the trunk Uemura used on his dog sled, and tested for shock by rolling it down some stairs at the company's Oi plant.

This resulted in the world's first titanium-exterior SLR camera in December 1977, called the Nikon F2 Titanium Uemura Special, of which three units were completed. The following year, Uemura headed across Greenland on his solo dog sled trek toward the North Pole with two cameras, and shot 180 rolls of film of the six month adventure.

In 1982, the Nikon F3 Titanium Uemura Special, based on the Nikon F3, was manufactured for his 3,000-km Antarctic dog sled trek and scaling of the Vinson Massif, the highest peak on the Antarctic continent. But due to the Falklands war in March of that year the trip was canceled and the cameras were not used on an expedition.

(With the cooperation of the Uemura Museum Tokyo and Uemura Naomi Memorial Museum)

As a flagship model, the latest electronic technologies of the day were adopted for the Nikon F3. This was the first camera to offer electronic shutter control and an aperture-priority auto-exposure control mechanism. The F3 also featured new functions like an LCD viewfinder display, a TTL sensor positioned at the bottom of the camera mirror box, and Speedlight TTL flash control. The F3 was not equipped with a motor drive, but the optional motor drive was designed to work as an integral part of the camera body to achieve shooting at up to 6 fps. Both the camera and motor drive were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italy. He designed the two to appear as one when the motor drive was attached to the camera. Giugiaro's fresh design pursued a simple form featuring a raised grip on the camera body, and an eye-catching red line. These design elements had a great impact on later camera designs.

OPTISTATION is a device that enables automated wafer transport and efficient visual inspection. This was commercialized to replace the NICIS-MX2 wafer surface inspection apparatus released in 1979.

Nikon began looking into electronic imaging around the middle of 1979. In 1984, the company released the NT-1000 (B&W photographic), the world's first film direct telephoto transmitter jointly developed with Kyodo News Agency and designed for use by the press. This device revolutionized conventional systems to read enlarged prints and transmit them over telephone lines. The device could read photographic negatives and positives directly, and enabled trimming and simultaneous transmission of hand-written text while checking with a monitor to respond to the time-sensitive needs of the journalistic workplace. Also in 1988, the company released a still video camera system consisting of the QV-1000C electronic black and white camera, QV-Nikkor interchangeable lenses and the QV-1010T electronic transmitter. These technologies led to the development of Nikon's digital camera systems.

Computer Numerical Control (CNC) image measurement systems use the image-processing technologies of computers and optical measurement technologies to measure and inspect the dimensions and shapes of workpieces, including precision devices and electronic components.

As electronic and automotive parts became more detailed and precise, the need for non-contact optical measurement systems to measure component surfaces without touching them was ever-more pressing. Furthermore, as automation in manufacturing became more prevalent, strong demand for automated, high-speed mass measurement industrial inspection processes emerged. To meet these demands, the company developed the Nikon EXcellent Intelligent Vision system (NEXIV) based on the concept of automating the vision and judgment of humans.

NEXIV uses a CCD camera to detect the edge of the workpiece from an image, and can process data to make complex measurements with high precision. The telecentric optics system does not change size even with focus shift or image blur (the size appears the same whether far or near). This is an appropriate optical system for processing and measuring images because the image dimensions are constant.

By developing this revolutionary technology, Nikon achieved detection with speed and accuracy beyond the capabilities of humans, which contributes to maintaining quality in inspection processes of cutting-edge precision parts as they become increasingly complex.

The FX-21S is an LCD lithography system that exposes circuit patterns on the mask using multiple projection lenses on the glass plate by scanning and step-and-repeated exposure.

At the time, desktop PC monitors were beginning to adopt the Thin Film Transistor (TFT) active matrix color LCDs created for laptop displays. However, there was an opportunity for an even bigger market. While development progressed with an eye on LCD panels for large-size TVs, these technologies could be adopted for 15-inch glass panels for TV monitors.

FX-21S did not employ the common stepper method at that time (step and repeat exposure) for exposure and image transfer, but instead used a 5-projection lens optical system capable of exposing a 30-inch wide display in a single scan, with dramatically increased throughput.

This brand symbol was established under the concept of "fusing the future possibilities with reliability." The symbol of "sequential rays" represents the future possibilities, while preserving the black Nikon logo-type that has gained worldwide recognition and yellow brand color. Nikon intends to accurately recognize the needs of the times and fully meet the expectations of its customers. The Nikon brand symbol expresses the aspiration of the company to be unrelenting in facing the challenges of technical innovation and keeping the passion alive to turn today's dreams into tomorrow's new realities.

The NSR-S609B ArF immersion scanner is a system that exposes silicon wafers with circuit patterns used in LSI manufacturing, and is a revolutionary product proposed to the industry by Nikon ahead of other companies. It radically changed the direction of immersion lithography technology. By filling the gap between the projection lens and the wafer with purified water, the device broke through the N.A.* 1.0 barrier, previously insurmountable with conventional dry exposure, achieving the world's highest N.A. of 1.07.

The ever-increasing integration of VLSI, a core technology of the IT revolution, means the width of IC circuit lines is required to be narrower. However, IC manufacturing methods that use light to print circuits are limited by a theoretical boundary due to the refractive index of air, beyond which further narrowing is not possible. Thus, liquid immersion exposure technologies with purified water (refractive index 1.44), which has a higher refractive index than air (refractive index of 1) between the semiconductor lithograph lens and the wafer, achieve higher precision by utilizing the liquid itself like a lens. This technology has enabled the manufacture of ICs at the 55-nanometer level or smaller, a major breakthrough beyond the conventional limitation (a nanometer is a millionth of a millimeter). Moreover, liquid immersion exposure technology can be implemented without major changes to the principles or structure of conventional semiconductor lithography equipment, hence enabling swift response to demand along with IC advances.

*N.A. is a performance index for numerical aperture.

In the field of biosciences, particularly in regenerative medicine and drug manufacture, the use of live cells in research and industry is expected to become more active. Live cells are usually carefully raised in an incubator with a temperature maintained at 37°C, the same as the human body, with humidity at 95% and CO2 concentration of 5%. "BioStation CT" (cell tracking) is a cell culture observation system that makes it easy to grow cells safely and stably, and control the quality of cells. In the past, cells had to be taken out of the incubator to observe them with a microscope, which although requiring only a short amount of time could result in problems such as reduced cell activity or mold infestation.

BioStation CT is a groundbreaking device that turns convention on its head by including a microscope inside the incubator so that the growth of live cells can be observed without removing them. Since this means growing large amounts of cells with quality control, BioStation CT can also be considered a device enabling laboratory automation for the first time. Although adopted experimentally, it has already been employed in iPS and cancer cell research, producing promising results.

In recent years, LCDs are increasingly becoming larger with higher definition. The pixel count of HiVision LCD TVs is higher than 2 million, and the number of switches exceeds 6 million with the red, green and blue elements that make up each pixel (2 million x 3 colors). An LCD scanner (FPD lithography system) is used to print the circuits to create these tiny switches on the thin glass plate of the LCD monitor; switches so small they are invisible to the naked eye.

To manufacture LCDs more efficiently, there is demand to print circuits on even larger areas simultaneously, and produce many display panels from a single glass plate. Nikon responded to the demands for large-size glass plates with a multi-lens array. This enables wide area printing by precisely aligning many projection lenses and entails a self-calibration system that seamlessly joins the exposure patterns of each lens so that large areas can be exposed with precision at the same time.

The FX-101S handles the world-first 3m x 3m device Gen 10 plate size and propels the rapid spread of large-size TVs, laptop computers, and LCD monitors. Nikon's FPD lithography system is major technology driving the information society.

Based on the concept of becoming a "metal processing machine that can be handled by anybody", the optical processing machine Lasermeister 100A was developed with the goal of creating a brand-new market and industry in the world of monodzukuri (manufacturing).

The advanced optical technology and precision control technology that Nikon has long developed through manufacturing its semiconductor lithography systems known to be the "most precise machinery in history" enabled realization of a high-quality, smaller sized and less expensive processing machine.

The C3 eMotion operates under Nikon's proprietary double-encoder arrangement (containing two encoders), which enables detection of external forces and robot operation stoppage in response, direct teaching in which the robot can learn commands via direct manipulation by human users, and a wide range of other useful functions.

In the next generation, expectations for robots are rising, such as their function as future workers in production facilities, operating alongside human workers to cooperatively complete tasks. However, sophisticated skills and know-how are required to build robots, as they comprise a wide array of components.

The C3 eMotion realized more flexible and easier robot design based on the concept of "connect, control, cooperate".