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Shimano Lab
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The lab uses laser light to explore quantum phenomena that arise from collective behavior of electrons in solids.
AboutAbout the lab
Exploring quantum phenomena in solids with light.
Shimano Lab uses laser light to study quantum phenomena that emerge in the collective behavior of electrons in solids.
The lab searches for new elementary excitations and explores quantum phases that are not yet known.
Its goal is to control macroscopic quantum states in solids with light, and further to create new quantum phases with light.
Targeting superconductors, strongly correlated electron systems, semiconductors, and Dirac electron systems, the lab also develops light sources up to the terahertz range and ultrafast spectroscopy techniques.
Key terms
- Elementary excitation
- A way of treating the motion of many electrons and atoms moving together in a solid as if it were a single particle
- Terahertz waves
- Electromagnetic waves lying between radio waves and light, with a frequency of around 1 trillion hertz
- Exciton
- A pair formed in a semiconductor when an electron and the hole left behind by a missing electron attract each other
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Research Encouragement Award from the Graduate School of Science
A master's student received the Best Poster Award at the Cryogenic Research Center research exchange meeting
Paper: a study observing ultrafast current-induced magnetic switching in an antiferromagnet was published in Nature Materials
Project Assistant Professor Sekiguchi received the Young Scientist Award of the Physical Society of Japan (Division 5)
Paper: a study observing how superconductivity is destroyed using on-chip terahertz spectroscopy was published in Nano Letters
ResearchResearch themes
The lab explores quantum phenomena that appear in the collective behavior of electrons in solids using laser light, with the aim of controlling macroscopic quantum states with light. It develops a wide range of light sources, from ultrashort optical pulses in the visible range to terahertz waves, along with measurement techniques such as nonlinear laser spectroscopy and ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy.
*Illustrative imageHiggs Mode in Superconductors
When a sudden perturbation is applied to the superconducting order, a "ripple" arises that is called the Higgs mode. Using ultrafast terahertz spectroscopy, the lab was the first to clearly observe the Higgs mode in a low-temperature superconductor, and through collaboration with theorists it showed that the mode is also present in cuprate high-temperature superconductors. Current work aims at goals such as controlling superconductivity on ultrafast timescales with light.
*Illustrative imageOptical Response of Topological Phases
The lab studies the optical properties of topological phases, which began with the quantum Hall effect. In two-dimensional electron systems in strong magnetic fields and in monolayer graphene, it observed the "quantum Faraday effect," in which the rotation angle of the polarization of light is quantized, and named it the optical quantum Hall effect.
*Illustrative imageStates Formed by Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors
Electrons and holes created by shining laser light on a semiconductor become excitons or separate into a free plasma, depending on their density. The lab investigates this transition (the excitonic Mott transition) with ultrafast laser spectroscopy, and aims to realize the quantum condensed state of electrons and holes that is predicted at extremely low temperatures.
MembersFaculty
Members of Shimano Lab consist of faculty members and doctoral and master's students.As of 2026
- ProfessorRyo ShimanoPublications ↗
- Project Assistant ProfessorFumiya SekiguchiPublications ↗
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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)
- Higgs Mode in Superconductors: “Magnetic levitation of a superconductor” Your stepbro sunset / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Optical Response of Topological Phases: “Graphen” AlexanderAlUS / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- States Formed by Electrons and Holes in Semiconductors: “Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) 2" wafer” La2O3 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Okamoto Lab): “Dilution Fridge 008 16K” OJB Quantum / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Zhang Lab): “Graphen” AlexanderAlUS / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kobayashi Lab): “Irradiated spot of diamond with high concentration of nitrogen-vacancy centers” Lillian B. Hughes ほか
/ CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (Hayashi Lab): “Optical elements and green laser beem” Dasha Butova / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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