Structural Materials Physics Lab

AboutAbout the lab

Explaining high-temperature deformation through internal microstructure.

The Structural Materials Physics Lab studies the relationship between the mechanical properties of crystalline materials such as metals and their internal microstructure.
To improve high-temperature structural materials used in power generators and similar applications, the lab investigates the relationship between deformation mechanisms at high temperatures and internal microstructure.
The lab uses electron microscopes to directly observe even the arrangement of atoms at grain boundaries, and combines this with computer simulation in its investigations.
The lab's website presents it under the name “Mitsuhara Lab.”

ResearchResearch themes

The mechanical and functional properties of crystalline materials are strongly influenced by internal microstructure, such as the size and orientation of the crystal grains that make up the material and the properties of grain boundaries. The lab breaks down the factors that determine these properties, including the arrangement of atoms and ions, the motion of line defects called dislocations, and the structure of interfaces, and conducts fundamental research toward creating new foundational materials with excellent properties.

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High-temperature deformation and internal microstructure of crystalline materials↗

To improve high-temperature structural materials used in power generators and similar applications, the lab investigates the relationship between deformation mechanisms at high temperatures and internal microstructure. Using various mechanical testing machines, transmission electron microscopes, and scanning electron microscopes, it aims to obtain guidelines for materials design.

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Nanostructures seen with electron microscopes↗

The lab directly observes the arrangement of atoms at grain boundaries with high-resolution electron microscopy, and studies its relationship to properties and phase transformations, also using simulations such as molecular dynamics. It also analyzes the dispersion state of precipitates and the mechanisms by which dislocations form in semiconductor materials.

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Energy and atomic structure of surfaces and grain boundaries↗

For materials with various crystal structures, the lab uses computer simulation to study the energy of surfaces and grain boundaries and their atomic and electronic structures. The atomic structure of real grain boundaries is observed directly with a transmission electron microscope at a magnification of about one million times.

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