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Kimura Lab
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The lab studies the optical properties of matter, observing the electronic states of materials with light.
AboutAbout the lab
Observing electronic states to trace the origin of material functionality
The Kimura Lab (Optical Condensed Matter Physics Group) studies the origin of the functionality of solids and biological materials by examining the states of electrons, lattices, and molecules in them.
Magnetism, superconductivity, the redox reactions and photosynthesis that sustain life, and similar phenomena arise from the states of electrons, the vibrations of lattices and molecules, and the quantum mechanical interactions among them.
To observe the states of electrons, lattices, and molecules, the lab develops new spectroscopy and imaging methods using synchrotron radiation, pulsed lasers, and high-brightness electron beams.
Based on the information obtained from these observations, the lab aims to develop new materials and create new functionality.
Key terms
- Synchrotron radiation
- Intense light emitted when electrons are bent in an accelerator. It is used to observe the states of electrons, lattices, and molecules in materials
- Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES)
- A method that shines light on a material and measures the energy and direction of the emitted electrons to investigate the electronic states in the material
- Valence transition
- A phenomenon in which the electronic state of atoms in a material changes and the ion valence (the number of charges) switches
NewsLab news
A paper on heavy electrons in the two-dimensional Kondo lattice YbCu2 was published in Communications Materials
A doctoral student received the Student Best Poster Presentation Award at SCES 2026
A paper on the altermagnet candidate MnTe was published in Physical Review B
Associate Professor Takeshi Suzuki received the ISSP Director's Prize
A paper on low-energy pulsed electron beams was published in Review of Scientific Instruments
ResearchResearch themes
The lab investigates the origin of functionality in solids and biological materials from the states of electrons, and aims to develop materials with new functionality based on the information obtained. In particular, it focuses on the properties that emerge when dimensionality is reduced from three dimensions to two or one, and on metastable electronic states created by photoexcitation, and it also works on thin-film fabrication and the development of new observation methods.
*Illustrative imageValence transition at the SmS surface
Using photoelectron spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation, the lab showed that depositing potassium on the SmS surface causes a valence transition in which the samarium valence increases from nearly 2+ to 3+.
*Illustrative imageAnisotropy of the electronic states at the SmB6 surface
Using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, the lab observed that the topological surface state on the surface of the Kondo insulator SmB6 is anisotropic, and that its Fermi surface does not preserve the fourfold rotational symmetry of the crystal interior.
*Illustrative imageVariation in spin direction in a surface Rashba system
In the Rashba system on the Bi/InAs(110) surface, the lab showed with spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations that the spin direction of the electrons varies greatly with wave number, even reversing.
*Illustrative imageSpin-resolved resonant electron energy-loss spectroscopy
The lab developed a spectroscopy method that uses a spin-polarized electron source and irradiates the sample with electrons of 0.3–1.5 keV, tuned to the 2p–3d absorption of transition metals or the 3d–4f absorption of rare earths. It can observe plasmons inside a material selectively by element and spin.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Kimura Lab (Optical Condensed Matter Physics Group) consist of faculty members, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and secretaries.As of 2026
- ProfessorShin-ichi Kimura
- Associate ProfessorTakeshi Suzuki
- Assistant ProfessorTakuto Nakamura
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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: “PES Hemispherical Analyzer” Ichwarsnur / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Valence transition at the SmS surface: “Photoemission laboratory” Food95 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Anisotropy of the electronic states at the SmB6 surface: “PES Hemispherical Analyzer With Electrons web 2000px” Ichwarsnur / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Variation in spin direction in a surface Rashba system: “Aust.-Synchrotron-Interior-Panorama” jjron / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Spin-resolved resonant electron energy-loss spectroscopy: “Sample holder in ultrahigh vacuum chamber for angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy” Ponor / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kudo Lab): “Magnetic Levitation Experiment, Science Gallery Dublin, Ireland” Maria Delaney / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Tamii Lab): “ZEUS-Detektor” DESY-Kommunikation / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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