Masato Shibuya: The 2022 SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design
During his more than 40-year research career in both industry — at Nikon — and academics — at Tokyo Polytechnic University — Masato Shibuya has produced innovative work across optical design and imaging theory. This includes the invention of a phase-shifting photo mask for photolithography at Nikon, a gamechanger which revolutionized that technology by breaking through the traditional resolution limit set by the numerical aperture of an imaging lens. (This technological breakthrough was published independently at the same time, in 1982, by a team in the US: MD Levenson, NS Viswanathan, and RA Simpson at IBM; Shibuya's patent was filed in 1980 and published two years later).
For this and other achievements, Shibuya received governmental recognition with the Prize of Director General of Science and Technology Agency in 1996; the 2011 Outstanding Optical and Quantum Electronics Achievement Award (Takuma Award) from the Japan Society of Applied Physics for his "invention of the Phase Shifting mask and other contributions to semiconductor manufacturing;" and a 2020 Optical Engineering Award from the Japan Society of Applied Physics for his "contribution to the development of optical design technology represented by the phase shift method and the promotion of lens optics." An SPIE Fellow and a Society Member for nearly two decades, Shibuya has held roles as conference chair and committee-program member, published much of his work in SPIE journals and proceedings, and has lent critical expertise and leadership to decisions around international industry standards for optics and photonics.
"Professor Shibuya is a prolific writer with a lifetime commitment to optics," says Savvy Optics President David Aikens, who is also chair of the US Technical Advisory Group TC172, the committee which sets international standards in optics and photonics. "His participation in dozens of conferences, his journal editing and reviewing of papers, and his publishing more than 35 papers with SPIE are all cogent examples of his willingness to share his work with the optics community. But it is in the area of standardization that his work truly stands out to me. I have known Professor Shibuya since 2005, when I attended my first international standards meeting in Weimar, Germany. He was leading the Japanese delegation, and I was leading the American one. Since then, we have worked together on more than a dozen standards, so I've been able to see a piece of all the great work he does for the community and the Society. Since 2003, he has provided a quiet, selfless service by participating in the development of dozens of international standards. His strong technical background has allowed him to participate in the development of very sophisticated testing and metrology standards that are required for our industry to thrive globally, while his careful attention to detail and his determination to find a consensus to refine not just the technical aspects but the details of standards of measurements, mathematical analyses, and drawing notations, have led directly to the excellent standards we have today."
Meet the other 2022 SPIE Society Award winners.
Read more about Masato Shibuya and the SPIE Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design.
