LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Hirahara Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab explores new physical properties by thinning materials down to a single atomic layer.
AboutAbout the lab
Creating the ultimate thin materials, cleanly.
Hirahara Lab experimentally studies the physical properties and functions that appear when materials are thinned to a few atomic layers, and ultimately to a single layer.
The lab carefully builds thin films by stacking atoms one layer at a time, and measures in detail the arrangement of atoms, the states of electrons, and electrical and magnetic properties.
The lab's style is to investigate the samples it makes itself thoroughly, "from cradle to grave."
In addition to experiments on campus, the lab also travels to synchrotron radiation facilities such as SPring-8 and UVSOR to carry out experiments.
Key terms
- Superconductivity
- Superconductivity: a phenomenon in which electrical resistance drops to zero when a material is cooled below a certain temperature.
- Topological insulator
- Topological insulator: a material with a special property in which the interior does not conduct electricity but the surface does.
- Ferromagnetism
- Ferromagnetism: a state in which a material as a whole has the properties of a magnet, like iron.
- Synchrotron radiation
- Synchrotron radiation: very bright light emitted by electrons traveling at nearly the speed of light. It is used to investigate the states of electrons inside materials.
NewsLab news
Information session for graduate school admission for entry in the 2027 academic year (lab visits accepted at any time)
A student's paper published in Physical Review Letters (collaborative research)
Results of a master's thesis published in Applied Physics Letters (collaborative research)
Results of a master's thesis published in Physical Review B (collaborative research)
ResearchResearch themes
The lab cleanly fabricates ultimately thin materials and explores physical properties and functions that cannot be seen in thick materials. It focuses on measuring with high precision the electronic states that give rise to quantum properties, and conducts consistent research from material fabrication to measuring physical properties and observing electronic states.
*Illustrative imageAtomic-Layer Superconductors
The lab makes superconductors consisting of atomic layers and measures their physical properties. The targets include graphene with other atoms intercalated between its layers and single-layer iron selenide compounds (FeSe).
*Illustrative imageTopological Insulators and Ferromagnetism
The lab is developing new methods to introduce ferromagnetism (the properties of a magnet) into topological insulators. It works with materials such as MnBi2Te4 and MnBi2Se4.
*Illustrative imageNew Ultrathin Materials and Measurement Techniques
The lab explores ultrathin materials never made before, and also works on improving and developing the measurement techniques used to study them.
MembersFaculty
Members of Hirahara Lab include faculty, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorToru HiraharaPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorRyohei NemotoPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Compiled from answers by students who were in the lab. Ratings and reviews reflect individual students' experiences, not the lab's official views.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
On a 4-point scale, ● marks where students' answers fall
Who is this lab for?
What's great about this lab?
What did you learn after joining?
What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
Where do graduates go?
RelatedLabs similar to Hirahara Lab
Imai-Imada LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsOptical scanning tunneling microscopy, single-molecule spect…
Murakami LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsCondensed matter theory, topological phases, spintronics
Yu LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsTransmission electron microscopy, spintronics, emergent quan…
Jido LabSchool of Science, Department of PhysicsNuclear and hadron physics, quantum chromodynamicsThe information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
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: “Graphite-layers-side-3D-balls” Benjah-bmm27 / Public domain (cropped)
- Atomic-Layer Superconductors: “Levitating HTS BSCCO piece (Meissner effect)” Winiar / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Topological Insulators and Ferromagnetism: “Монокристалл теллурида висмута” 333 / Public domain (cropped)
- New Ultrathin Materials and Measurement Techniques: “Photoemission laboratory” Food95 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (今井研究室): “Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) 250 nm by 250 nm image of one-atom-thick silver islands grown on palladium (111) surface” Ponor / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (村上研究室): “Horseshoe Magnetic Filings (Flipped 180)” Noguarde / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (于研究室): “Neel skyrmion coneplot” Forschungszentrum Jülich / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (慈道研究室): “Quantum Fluctuations” Derek Leinweber / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.