Our research focus is to create novel functionality utilizing electrons in solids through cultivation of new frontiers in materials science.

Revolutional semiconductors, superconductors and catalysts are our outcomes targeted. Creation of transparent amorphous oxide semiconductors represented by IGZO, which is now widely used as thin film transistors to drive pixels of high precision LCDs and large-sized OLED-TVs, and high Tc iron-based superconductors, which has grown to a continent of superconductors comparable to high Tc- cuprates, are our representative achievements to date. A subject we are now concentrating is cultivation of materials science of electride in which electrons serve as anions. We realized first RT stable electride using 12CaO·7Al₂O₃ (C12A7) with cage-structures in 2003, which opened materials research of electride. Subsequently, the concept of electride was extended from 0 to 1 and 2D, from ionic crystal to intermetallics, bulk to surface, and from crystal to amorphous system.

Intermetallic electrides and its application
New catalysts for chemical reaction related to ammonia at low temperature
New catalysts for chemical reaction related to hydrogen at low temperature
Thin-film heterostructures with characteristic electronic properties