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Shimadzu’s Aetherclock OC020 strontium optical lattice clock was awarded the Award for Excellence (in the Production Goods category) in the 2025 Nikkei Excellent Products and Services Awards. The Nikkei Excellent Products and Services Awards recognize outstanding new products and services, with candidates selected exclusively by Nikkei Inc. and award-winning products and services finalized by the Awards Review Committee. Awards are decided based on an overall assessment of technology development, cost-effectiveness, contribution to business performance, growth potential, originality, and impact on industry and society. 15 products/services were selected for the Awards for Excellence, 4 for the Global Prize, 8 for the Trend Prize, 4 for the Start-up Prize, 2 for the Finance Prize, 2 for the Nikkei Asia Prize, and 1 products/services for the Special Jury Prize. Shimadzu also received the Award for Excellence for the AXIMA-QIT mass spectrometer in 2002 and the Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun Award for the AutoAmp DNA sequencer in 2021.

Aetherclock OC020 Strontium Optical Lattice Clock

The Aetherclock OC020 is a type of atomic clock that is over 100 times more accurate than the cesium atomic clock currently used as the basis for defining the “second.” With 18-digit accuracy, equivalent to an error of 1 second every 10 billion years, optical lattice clocks have attracted attention as a candidate for redefining the next-generation “second.” As the world's first commercially available optical lattice clock, the compact Aetherclock OC020 system occupies a volume of only 250 liters. Due to its miniaturized design, it can be easily relocated, making it suitable for use as an ultra-accurate frequency reference standard. Optical lattice clocks have the potential to serve as a future societal foundation. For example, they could be used for accurate comparisons between national standard times, for measuring altitude differences based on the theory of general relativity, and for increasing the speed and robustness of next-generation communication networks through ultra-high accuracy synchronization with communication bases.
In June 2025, Shimadzu received the first order for an Aetherclock OC020 strontium optical lattice clock from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) following a public bid award notice.