Fukutani laboratory

Dynamics of charge, spin and protons at surfaces

Overview

Surfaces and interfaces have different electronic properties from those of bulk materials because of lowered symmetry and dimensionality as compared to the bulk. Surfaces and interfaces thus often reveal fascinating properties, such as surface conductivity, surface magnetic canting, spin transport, spin conversion and catalytic activities. Furthermore, surfaces play an important role in the formation, storage, and sensing of hydrogen that is a clean energy medium. Our laboratory investigates the dynamics of electrons, spins and protons at solid surfaces with our original experimental techniques including quantum-state-specific detection, nuclear reaction analysis, (two-photon) photoemission, spin-polarized hydrogen, and surface conductivity measurements.

*Recent progress

・Quantum diffusion of hydrogenーResonance tunneling and electronic non-adiabatic effects (Ozawa, Sudhansu)
・Spin-polarized hydrogen: spin effects on adsorption/reaction (Ueta)
・Mechanism of rotational-energy transfer in o-p conversion (Ueta)
・Mechanism of H-induced metal-insulator transition of nickelates (Matsuzawa, Ozawa)
・Effects of H incorporation on conductivity and electronic states of TiO2 (Irfandi, Ozawa)
・μSR study of protonated ice (Kawauchi)
・H adsorption on Ag(111)-Bi and Bi2Se3 surfaces（Ishizaki, Ohashi）


Research topics (click the images)

【Electron dynamics with two-photon photoemission】

   

【Proton dynamics: 】

Control of proton transport across surfaces
   

Quanutum tunneling and search for high-T superconductivity
   

【Spin dynamics and surface magnetism】

①Nuclear-spin triplet-singlet conversion
   

②Development of Spin-Polarized hydrogen and surface magnetic probe
   

③Non-collinear magnetism with depth-resolved Mossbauer spectroscopy
   

Experimental techniques

  • Hydrogen microscope
    • Nanoscale measurement of 3D H distribution under atmospheric pressure
  • REMPI
    • Precise measurement of atoms and molecules
  • STM・TDS・PES
    • Measurement of surface structure/ electronic state/adsorption state