Hamamatsu Photonics K.K.

History

YearDetail
1948 Heihachiro Horiuchi founded Tokai Electronics Laboratory, and their 1st project was launched for developing photoelectric devices.
1951 Tokai Electronics developed the PV26 phototubes for automatic on or off-street light switching.
1953 Established Hamamatsu TV Co. Ltd. with the linking optical technology and started production of G5E phototubes for fax transmissions.
1956 Hamamatsu introduced selenium photocathode vidicons on the market.
1958 Developed CdS cells, which were Hamamatsu's first semiconductor products, and started the first mass-production line.
1959 The company succeeded in developing photomultiplier tubes, which are still Hamamatsu's main products.
1963 Hamamatsu launched infrared video cameras on the market.
1966 Opened a New York office, and Experimental production of hollow cathode lamps and deuterium lamps began.
1967 Hamamatsu started participating in space development projects after successfully developing an automatic rocket tracking system called the X-Y Tracker.
1969 Established an affiliated company in the U.S. and expanded into medical fields. Developed an eye pupil area measurement system using a video camera.
1972 Developed silicon photodiodes based on the technical expertise accumulated through the development and manufacture of electron tubes.
1973 Hamamatsu opened its Toyooka Factory and established a joint venture company in Germany.
1977 Placed streak camera systems on the market. Developed vidicon cameras for computers. Opening up new borders through connections with computers.
1978 A space-borne TV camera we developed helped us succeed in capturing aurora images from outer space for the first time in the world.
1980 Hamamatsu's first private exhibition, the Photon Fair, was held to introduce and demonstrate wide-ranging photonics technology and products.
1983 Changed company name to Hamamatsu Photonics K.K. and introduced Photonic microscope systems (video camera systems for microscopes) on the market.
1985 Opened headquarters business office in Sunayama-cho, Hamamatsu City and established an affiliated company in France in the same year.
1988 Established affiliated companies in the U.K. and Sweden and a joint venture company (manufacturing subsidiary company) in China.
1994 Opened Hamamatsu Miyakoda Factory and introduced micro-focus X-ray sources on the market.
1998 The company's stock is registered on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
2003 Hamamatsu Medical Photonics Foundation was established to facilitate the early detection of cancer and dementia.
2005 The company opened the Graduate School for the Creation of New Photonics Industries with the intention of creating new photonics industries.
2010 Hamamatsu established a European headquarters to streamline business activities among European sales subsidiaries.
2017 Hamamatsu acquired Energetiq Technology Inc., which manufactures and sells light sources for semiconductor testing equipment.