A research group led by Professor Shinichiro Iwai at Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Associate Professor Kenji Yonemitsu, Dr. Kaoru Yamamoto at National Institute of Nature Sciences, Institute for Molecular Science and Professor Takahiko Sasaki at Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University has successfully captured the first moment of photoinduced phase transition.  It is a phenomenon that the light irradiation significantly changes colors and electrical conductivity of organic materials. 

 The result shows that oscillations of electrons or atoms in time domain that lead to photoinduced phase transition, and helps allow coherent control of the phase transitions.  Coherent control is expected to increase the phototransformation efficiency for application toward ultrafast optical switching devices and realize new optical phase transition such as photoinduced superconductivity.

 The achievement will be published online soon in Physical Review Letters by American Physical Society.  The paper’s title is “Early-stage dynamics of light–matter interaction leading to the insulator-to-metal transition in a charge ordered organic crystal.”

More Information (Japanese)

[Contact] (About the research)
Professor Shinichiro Iwai
Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
TEL: +81-22-795-6423
E-mail: s-iwai*m.tains.tohoku.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

Assistant Professor Hirotake Itoh
Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
TEL: +81-22-795-6463

Associate Professor Kenji Yonemitsu
National Institute of Nature Sciences, Institute for Molecular Science
TEL: +81-564-55-7312
E-mail: kxy*ims.ac.jp (Replace * with @)

(About JST projects)
Masaya Kawamura
Department of Inclusive Research Administration, Innovation Headquarters, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Address: Sanban-cho building, 5 Sanban-cho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0075, Japan
TEL: +81-3-3512-3531　FAX: +81-3-3222-2066
E-mail: crest*jst.go.jp (Replace * with @)