'Does this look like a microwave at first glance?' said Mr. Hirane with a tender smile on his face. He overcame troubles in the design and development, for which trial and error were repeated again and again, with his cheerful and positive character.
![[Image] Kenichi Hirane, First Advanced Analysis System Designing Department, Naka Division, Nanotechnology Products Business Group, Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-01.jpg)
Kenichi Hirane, First Advanced Analysis System Designing Department, Naka Division, Nanotechnology Products Business Group, Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
How did you feel when you were assigned to commercialize this item?
The development concepts were 'compact', 'easy to use' and 'low-priced'. And, the target size and weight were those of general optical microscopes that can be used on a desk. However, I thought that they were too difficult to achieve in practice, as there were no such electron microscopes anywhere. In addition, for myself, it was my first experience of designing an electron microscope. Frankly, I remember that I felt worry rather than confidence.
How long was the design and development period did you have?
The project was started in April 2003 and the product was released in February 2005, so it was only two years. It was very tough because we had to start from scratch. There was even a rumour going around that the development would be halted after about one year, as we had trouble creating clear images. The cause was a lens using a permanent magnet in the chassis. We had difficulty in focusing the electron beam narrowly. We struggled with this problem, but there were no members in the team who had experience in the development of a lens using permanent magnets.
![[Image] Mr. Hirane is talking](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-02.jpg)
How did you overcome the problem?
Thankfully, an engineering advisor at the time told us about an old research report, saying that it might be helpful for the development of the new product. It was a report recorded by the Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. in 1957 and introduced ideas to use permanent magnets for electron lenses. Thanks to this report, we managed to solve the problem after a process of trial and error. We couldn't have done it without the research of our predecessors.
What gave you motivation?
Only the willingness to develop an electron microscope that anyone could use easily.
While I did not have any experience in designing electron microscopes at that time, I had used them quite often. I felt that images given by electron microscopes were more dynamic and persuasive than those of optical microscopes. Even with the same power and composition set for images of electron and optical microscopes, details are displayed more clearly in the image of the former. It is like hi-vision TV. So I wanted to provide such a useful electron microscope to the general public as a user-friendly tool.
![[Image] Comparison between the image observed with an optical microscope and the image observed with an electronic microscope](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-03.jpg)
On what point did you place the most importance in the commercialisation of the TM-1000?
We specially focused on how far we could bring its price closer to that of an optical microscope. As for its performance, it was easy for us to increase the power, as it was an electron microscope. I thought that the two points of 'developing an electronic microscope easy-to-use for anyone' at 'low cost' were more important. Our curiosity became greater than our anxiety and confusion from the moment we could start setting goals, and hence accelerated the development.
How did you achieve the low price?
![[Image] Mr. Hirane is talking](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-04.jpg)
First of all, we reduced the number of parts as far as possible. Naturally, if we use less parts, we can reduce the cost further. In addition, we adopted cost-saving parts. However, there is no point in doing so if we end up with a lower grade of quality, so it was important to find an 'optimised solution' that could maintain its performance as an electron microscope with certainty. Consequently, I believed that we could accomplish a revolutionary low price for electron microscopes, though it was impossible to equal that of optical microscopes.
We heard that your children also enjoyed the Miniscope!
Yes, that was the most joyful event to me. They are only nine and ten years old, but when I showed them the sample images of bugs and hairs, they looked surprised and stared intently at them for a while. Although I have not yet explained the principle of electron microscopes to them, they seem to understand that it is equipment to show magnified views of objects. This was the first project that I could explain to my children by saying 'Your father made this microscope!'
![[Image] Mr. Hirane is talking](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-05.jpg)
How about your wife? Did she give you any comments?
![[Image] Mr. Hirane is talking](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-06.jpg)
I explained to her the same as I did to my children. Then, she asked, 'This looks like a microwave, but what is this good for?' 'You know, This makes invisible things visible. So it must be useful for something'. She did not seem very interested in it, as she was too busy raising children. But I am just happy because I could see the innocent reaction of my children. I hope that more children can experience these fascinating aspects of the microscopic world.
Finally, tell us your future goals in its development.
As an engineer, I would like to put more focus on the improvement of performance. On the other hand, I think that we could lower the price more based on my experience in this project. In addition, the people in charge of sales and service have already requested us to reduce the weight of the product to a portable size. This product can actually offer clearer images with a heavier body, as it is less affected by vibration. But I would like to manage to achieve it through the improvement of vibration-free gel materials and so on.
Thank you very much for your cooperation today!
![[Image] Kenichi Hirane, First Advanced Analysis System Designing Department, Naka Division, Nanotechnology Products Business Group, Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation](/environment/showcase/speco_technique/miniscope/images/img_03-07.jpg)
