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Ito Lab
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The lab measures the instant that intense laser light acts on a material and applies it to technology.
AboutAbout the lab
Measuring and controlling the instant light acts on materials
The Ito Lab (Ultrafast Optical Science Lab) studies methods for measuring, at ultrafast timescales, the properties of materials exposed to intense light, as well as methods for controlling those properties.
When a femtosecond laser is applied to a material, a variety of physical phenomena occur within an extremely short time.
The lab does not merely observe these phenomena; it develops measurement methods that capture them quantitatively.
Drawing on the phenomena revealed by these measurements, the lab develops new technologies for processing, medicine, and materials synthesis.
Key terms
- Femtosecond laser
- A pulsed laser that emits extremely intense light for only a very short time. A femtosecond is an extremely short unit of time.
- Excitation
- A phenomenon in which an electron that has received energy from light or another source moves to a higher-energy state than usual.
- Shock wave
- A wave of abrupt pressure change that is generated when a strong force is suddenly applied and travels rapidly outward.
NewsLab news
Paper on a method for measuring the refractive index immediately after laser irradiation accepted by ACS Photonics
Paper on sapphire processing accepted by Communications Engineering
Master's student wins Best Poster Presentation Award at the international conference LPM
Master's student receives the Miura Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
ResearchResearch themes
The lab develops ultrafast measurement methods that quantitatively visualize the physical phenomena that occur over a range of timescales when intense light (a femtosecond laser) is applied to a material. Making use of the phenomena revealed in this way, the lab develops new technologies for processing, medicine, and materials synthesis.
*Illustrative imageLight–Matter Interaction
When a femtosecond laser is applied to a transparent material, electrons are excited. The lab captures this process with time-resolved imaging and, together with numerical models, elucidates the process of light–matter interaction.
*Illustrative imageLaser-Induced Shock Waves
When a laser is focused, a strong shock wave propagates and causes cracks during processing. The lab works on methods to precisely measure the distribution of force and on new processing methods that weaken shock waves.
*Illustrative imageUltrafast Imaging
The lab quantitatively measures phenomena that occur between picoseconds and nanoseconds, using imaging methods that incorporate interferometers. It is also developing a new method that captures the distribution of force inside a material in a single shot.
*Illustrative imageCreating New Materials with Light
The lab develops methods that use light to rapidly control pressure and temperature inside a solid and concentrate them in a tiny space, thereby creating metastable materials that could not be obtained before.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Ito Lab consist of faculty, researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, visiting researchers, and collaborating researchers.As of 2026
- Associate ProfessorYusuke ItoPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Femtosecond Laser and Pulse Compressor - Optics Lab - INRIM” Giorgio Brida from Torino, Italy / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Light–Matter Interaction: “Femtosecond laser spark” Smirnov Semen / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Laser-Induced Shock Waves: “Photography of bow shock waves around a brass bullet, 1888” Ernst Mach (1838–1916) / Public domain (cropped)
- Ultrafast Imaging: “The Fringe formed by the Michelson interferometer” Warren Leywon / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Creating New Materials with Light: “First diamond anvil cell” Gasper J. Piermarini / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (大島研究室): “PIV analysis of a stalled flat plate” Willa / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (小穴研究室): “Lab on a Chip ( )” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (マイクロナノ熱流体工学研究室
（杵淵研究室） ): “Macro view of water droplets on transparent surface” Dreamora96x / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (梅野研究室): “SEM-image-showing-crack-propagation-of-TaCCNTsSiC” Qiaoyun Xie, Sylvanus N. Wosu / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
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