Research Division on Dynamics of Nanoscale Materials


Professors Masaaki ASHIDA, Hikaru KURAMOCHI
Associate Professors Masaya NAGAI, Syoji ITO
Assistant Professors Takuya Matsuda, Hikaru SAOTOME

　Experimental Group for Nanoscale Materials Coherence (M. Ashida, M. Nagai, T. Matsuda)

In view point of light-matter interaction, we investigate experimentally the dynamics and coherence of excited electrons, phonons and spins in nanoscale and low-dimensional materials of semiconductors, insulators and metals by means of various kinds of spectroscopic methods, such as time-resolved spectroscopy, nonlinear optical spectroscopy, coherent spectroscopy, single-particle spectroscopy, scanning near-field spectroscopy, etc. Based on the above investigation, we also fabricate new optical functional nanostructured materials.

　Experimental Group for Photophysical Chemistry (H. Kuramochi, S. Ito, H. Saotome)

For a comprehensive understanding of chemical reactions, it is essential to track, in real time, changes in electronic states and molecular structures, as well as the accompanying responses of the surrounding environment, from reactants all the way down to products. We develop and apply advanced ultrafast nonlinear spectroscopic techniques using few-cycle pulses to visualize the reaction dynamics of condensed-phase complex molecular systems with extreme time resolution. Building upon the obtained insights, we aim to elucidate and control the underlying molecular mechanisms of chemical reactions. We also investigate spatially heterogeneous reaction dynamics in real-world systems such as biological systems and solid-state materials, using spatiotemporally resolved spectroscopy with laser microscopes.