Nihon Dempa Kogyo Co., Ltd. or is one of the world's largest

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...

companies, based in

Shibuya, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,609 in 142,443 households ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Using its synthetic

crystals A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

, NDK produces crystal-related products such as crystal devices (e.g.

units,

crystal oscillator A crystal oscillator is an electronic oscillator Electrical circuit, circuit that uses a piezoelectricity, piezoelectric crystal as a frequency selective surface, frequency-selective element. The oscillator frequency is often used to keep trac ...

s, crystal filters) and

ultrasonic transducer Ultrasonic transducers and ultrasonic sensors are devices that generate or sense ultrasound energy. They can be divided into three broad categories: transmitters, receivers and transceivers. Transmitters convert signal (electrical engineering), ...

s for medical use. In recent years, the company has begun to develop

frequency synthesizer A frequency synthesizer is an electronic circuit that generates a range of frequencies from a single reference frequency. Frequency synthesizers are used in devices such as radio receivers, televisions, mobile telephones, radiotelephones, walkie ...

s and low-power wireless modules.

History

*1948 : NDK was established. *1950 : Started

unit production and sales. *1958 : Succeeded in test production of synthetic

. *1959 : Started crystal filter production. *1960 : Started

production. *1963 : Began trading of NDK stock on the OTC market. *1979 : Developed and industrialized

surface acoustic wave A surface acoustic wave (SAW) is an acoustic wave traveling along the surface of a material exhibiting elastic (solid mechanics), elasticity, with an amplitude that typically decays exponentially with depth into the material, such that they are c ...

(

SAW A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, Wire saw, wire, or Chainsaw, chain with a hard toothed edge used to cut through material. Various terms are used to describe toothed and abrasive saws. Saws began as serrated materials, and when man ...

) filter. *1990 : Listed NDK stock on Second Section of the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

. *1998 : Listed on the First Section of the

. *2009 : Pressure vessel in USA plant exploded due to lack of inspections or maintenance on the unfounded presumption that the chemical reaction would form a protective anti-corrosion layer within the tank, killing a truck driver at a gas station across the street with flying debris. The blast blew out windows and crashed an 4-ton vessel fragment into a nearby automotive supply company, injuring 1. NDK's insurance carrier had repeatedly warned NDK that the pressure vessel was unsafe, including to the gas station where the fatality occurred, but NDK failed to take any safety measures. *2010: Fined $510K by

OSHA The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

for safety violations. *2015 : USA plant demolished, with no plans to rebuild.

Products

Basic Measuring Instruments - Math Processor 83002190 - NDK TD308C TD1100C-3969

Crystal Units *Crystal Oscillators **SPXO **TCXO **VCXO **OCXO *Crystal Filters *Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Devices *Optical Components *Synthetic Quartz Crystals *Ultrasonic Transducers *Frequency Synthesizers

Research and product development

Nihon Dempa Kogyo has developed a prototype crystal-based disease detector which diagnoses disease from breath. The system works by detecting trace amounts of odor-causing substances found in a person's breath.

Company locations

NDK has sales offices in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. NDK has production and engineering facilities in

, and the

2009 Explosion

NDK's

Belvidere, Illinois Belvidere is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. Known as the 'City of Murals', Belvidere is home to several public art installations througho ...

facility was heavily damaged in 2009 when one of the crystal autoclaves ruptured violently, causing an explosion. The explosion scattered debris over a wide area, with a 7-foot support beam striking and killing Ronald Greenfield of Chesterfield, Indiana, who was refueling at a nearby

truck stop A truck stop (known as a service station in the United Kingdom, a travel center by major chains in the United States and a roadhouse in rural Australia) is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made f ...

. Debris also damaged a nearby automotive supply company, injuring one worker. The rupture was in a crystal-growth autoclave that had undergone

stress corrosion cracking Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is the growth of crack formation in a corrosive environment. It can lead to unexpected and sudden failure of normally ductile metal alloys subjected to a tensile stress, especially at elevated temperature. SC ...

and was inadequately inspected; recommendations from a previous incident were ignored. As a result, the autoclave became overstressed and failed completely. After an investigation,

fined NDK $510,000 for a history of ignoring safety recommendations. Demolition of the facility began in March 2015, with no plans to rebuild. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board investigated the incident and published a video titled "Falling Through the Cracks."

References

External links

* {{Authority control Electronics companies of Japan Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Electronics companies established in 1948 Japanese companies established in 1948 Japanese brands Defunct defense companies of Japan