History

Furuya Metal developed FPO, a platinum alloy strengthened by oxide dispersion, using proprietary technology.
This innovation became one of the company’s core products, serving as a critical material for platinum equipment used in the production of functional glass.

Furuya Metal created an innovative recycling technology that allows for the efficient and high-purity recovery of ruthenium—a metal traditionally difficult to dissolve and recycle.
The simplified process significantly improved both yield and sustainability, contributing to the company’s resource-circulation efforts.

To drive technological progress across a wide range of disciplines—including materials, sensors, thin-film materials, chemical compounds, refining, and recycling—Furuya Metal established a dedicated Research and Development Department comprising three divisions: Materials, Thin Film, and Chemical.
While each division specializes in distinct technologies, close collaboration and active knowledge sharing among them have led to new research initiatives and solutions to complex technical challenges.

Furuya Metal began full-scale ruthenium refining at the Tsukuba Plant with the production of ruthenium compounds used as oxidation catalysts in the petrochemical industry.
Initially, a prefabricated hut was constructed and equipped with distillation apparatus to enable small-batch refining and process development. Through this setup, the company refined its techniques and successfully established the core technologies for ruthenium refining.
These technologies later formed the foundation for a large-scale refining line with an annual capacity of 10 tons, completed in Building C of the Tsukuba Plant the following year.

Furuya Metal introduced its first SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) unit—a cutting-edge technology that enables the rapid densification of powder samples through high-speed heating.
This installation at the Tsukuba Plant marked an important step in enhancing the company’s materials processing capabilities and advancing its research into next-generation functional materials.

Ruthenium targets developed by Furuya Metal were adopted for mass production in hard disk drives (HDDs) utilizing the perpendicular magnetic recording method—a breakthrough that enabled compact, lightweight devices with significantly larger storage capacities.

Furuya Metal developed NEW-APC, an enhanced version of its original silver alloy APC, first introduced in 1999.
While maintaining the excellent corrosion resistance of the original material, NEW-APC offers significantly improved heat resistance and higher reflectivity. This advanced alloy is primarily used in display applications, including LCDs and OLEDs.

Furuya Metal developed GS-FPO—short for Grain Stabilized Furuya Platinum alloys with Oxide particles—an improved version of FPO, which was originally created in 2001.
This proprietary, high-performance platinum alloy maintains elongated crystal grains even at temperatures as high as 1,500 °C, significantly extending the service life of platinum equipment used in glass melting processes.

Furuya Metal manufactured and delivered a large iridium crucible with a diameter of 330 mm to Fukuda Crystal Laboratory Co., Ltd.
Made from high-melting-point iridium, the crucible was used in the Czochralski (CZ) method for growing large sapphire crystals, a process that operates at approximately 2,040 °C.
This achievement contributed to advancements in large-scale crystal growth and the successful launch of related business operations.

Furuya Metal launched iridium–rhodium alloy thermocouples capable of measuring ultra-high temperatures exceeding 2,000 °C.
These products support precise temperature control in demanding environments such as semiconductor and LED manufacturing, contributing to the advancement of next-generation technologies.

Furuya Metal became the first company in the world to commercialize iridium alloy tools for Friction Stir Welding (FSW).
These innovative tools feature exceptional high-temperature strength, enabling the welding of metals with melting points above 2,600 °C, such as molybdenum (2,623 °C) and titanium—materials previously impossible to join using conventional FSW tools.
This groundbreaking development opened new possibilities for high-performance materials processing.

Furuya Metal successfully established mass production technology for its proprietary FT-eco catalyst, which efficiently decomposes ethylene (C₂H₄)—a gas that accelerates the spoilage of fruits and vegetables—even at low temperatures.
While conventional catalysts required temperatures of 200 °C or higher to achieve decomposition, the FT-eco catalyst operates effectively in environments ranging from below freezing to 30 °C, converting ethylene into water (H₂O) and carbon dioxide (CO₂).
This represented a breakthrough in low-temperature catalytic performance.

In response to the growing demand for next-generation memory devices, Furuya Metal developed melted ruthenium targets for STT-RAM (Spin Transfer Torque Random Access Memory)—a technology requiring exceptional material purity for electrode components.
The company achieved an exceptionally high 99.999% purity level (five nines), positioning these targets among the highest-purity ruthenium materials available.

Furuya Metal introduced R-SP, a reinforced R-type thermocouple offering approximately twice the strength of conventional models.
This enhanced durability allows for a longer service life even in high-temperature environments.
The name “R-SP” combines “R”, denoting the R-type thermocouple, with “SP”, derived from Stripe Pattern—which refers to the metal’s unique internal structure—and Special.

To meet the growing demand for large ruthenium sputtering targets used in next-generation semiconductor applications, Furuya Metal installed its fourth SPS (Spark Plasma Sintering) system.
This large-scale unit expanded the company’s production capabilities, enabling the manufacture of larger, high-density targets.

In collaboration with a research group at Kyoto University, Furuya Metal jointly developed an innovative technology that enables the efficient mass production of nanoscale alloys—something that had previously been extremely difficult to achieve.
This breakthrough allows for the formation of uniform alloy particles as small as 1 nm, significantly enhancing their catalytic performance. The technology is expected to be applied in catalysts for exhaust gas purification and various chemical processes.
By enabling the creation of alloy catalysts efficiently through a single integrated process—previously requiring multiple steps—it represents a major advancement poised to meet growing industrial demand.

Furuya Metal developed the FQ (embedded) thermocouple by embedding the sensor directly into quartz, enabling faster temperature measurement with improved response speed and sensitivity compared to conventional models.
The miniaturized design also allows accurate temperature measurement even in restricted spaces.

In the semiconductor sector, sputtering targets are essential for forming wiring and electrodes.
Furuya Metal successfully developed and began shipping large, high-density, high-purity ruthenium targets optimized for next-generation semiconductor applications.

Furuya Metal developed high-grade ruthenium alloy targets for EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) lithography, establishing an ultra-high-purity target manufacturing technology that minimizes impurities to the utmost limit through its proprietary melting process.
EUVリソグラフィ（Extreme Ultraviolet EUV lithography is an essential semiconductor manufacturing technology that enables further device miniaturization.

As the electronics industry advances toward further miniaturization and functional enhancement, Furuya Metal began mass production and shipment of AlSc (aluminum–scandium) alloy targets.
These materials offer excellent electrical conductivity and stability, marking the company’s first mass-produced non-precious-metal sputtering target.