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Azuma Lab
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A lab that creates new functional oxides, including materials that shrink when heated.
AboutAbout the lab
Pioneering new functional oxides
The Azuma Lab studies transition metal oxides that exhibit functions such as magnetism, ferroelectricity, and superconductivity.
Using high-pressure synthesis, the method used to make diamonds, and thin-film growth on single-crystal substrates, the lab explores new functional oxides and mixed-anion compounds.
Its targets include negative thermal expansion materials that shrink when heated, lead-free piezoelectrics, and materials that combine the properties of a magnet and a capacitor.
Using synchrotron X-rays and neutron beams, the lab detects subtle changes in crystal structure and clarifies how the functions arise.
Key terms
- Negative thermal expansion
- The property of shrinking as temperature rises. It is used to cancel out the expansion that ordinary materials undergo.
- Multiferroics
- Materials that combine the properties of a magnet (magnetism) with the ability to store electricity (ferroelectricity).
- High-pressure synthesis
- A method that applies very high pressure, like that used to make diamonds, to create materials that cannot be made under ordinary conditions.
NewsLab news
A paper on negative thermal expansion was published in Advanced Science
A postdoctoral researcher received a Young Researcher Presentation Award at the Japan-China Conference on Ferroelectrics
A paper on negative thermal expansion materials was published in J. Am. Chem. Soc.
A paper on multiferroic nanodots was published in Science Advances
A master's student received an Excellent Presentation Award at the Japan Society of Powder and Powder Metallurgy
ResearchResearch themes
The lab searches for materials with new functions, centered on transition metal oxides. Research proceeds in a cycle: materials are made by high-pressure synthesis, thin-film methods, or topochemical reactions; their structures are examined with synchrotron X-rays and neutron beams; and the next materials are designed with first-principles calculations.
*Illustrative imageMaterials That Shrink When Heated
In fields that require precise positioning, such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment and optical communications, the thermal expansion of materials is a problem. The lab discovers materials with negative thermal expansion, which shrink as temperature rises, and develops them for use in canceling out the thermal expansion of components.
*Illustrative imageLead-Free Piezoelectrics
Piezoelectric materials are widely used in printer actuators and in the sensors of ultrasound diagnostic equipment. Because PZT, the mainstream material, contains a large amount of toxic lead, the lab studies solid solutions of BiFeO3 and BiCoO3, which share the same crystal structure, as an alternative.
*Illustrative imageFerroelectrics That Are Also Magnets
Multiferroics, which combine magnetism and ferroelectricity, are attracting attention as materials for next-generation memory and sensors. Using an original design guideline, the lab synthesized Bi2NiMnO6, and also succeeded in giving BiFeO3 ferromagnetism by replacing part of its iron with cobalt.
*Illustrative imageOrganic-Inorganic Hybrids
Hybrid compounds that combine organic and inorganic materials are attracting attention as materials for low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells. From the standpoint of solid-state inorganic chemistry, the lab searches for new compounds, aiming at applications in solar cells, photocatalysts, and light-emitting materials.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Azuma Lab are faculty, postdoctoral researchers, secretaries, research assistants, and doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMasaki AzumaPublications ↗
- Program-Specific ProfessorTakafumi Yamamoto
- Program-Specific Assistant ProfessorKei Shigematsu
- Project Assistant ProfessorHongwu Gan
- Assistant ProfessorTakumi NishikuboPublications ↗
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.
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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: “Aust.-Synchrotron-Interior-Panorama” jjron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Materials That Shrink When Heated: “ZrW2O8 opaque polyhedra” Spute / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Lead-Free Piezoelectrics: “Piezo” Stefan Riepl (Quark48) / CC BY-SA 2.0 de (cropped)
- Ferroelectrics That Are Also Magnets: “Neodymag” Bloodshedder at en.wikipedia / Public domain (cropped)
- Organic-Inorganic Hybrids: “Perovskite solar cell” Dennis Schroeder / National Renewable Energy Laboratory / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (松下
（伸） ・久保田研究室): “Photoresist spin-coaters at LAAS 0448” Guillaume Paumier (user:guillom) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (安井研究室): “Ceramic fracture” Mtbusca / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (松田研究室): “Au sputtering light” GcG(jawp) / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (吉田研究室): “Silicon carbide mirror subjected to thermal–vacuum testing ESA377848” European Space Agency / CC BY-SA 3.0 igo (cropped)
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