A car-roof photovoltaic has significant potential to change our society. With this technology, 70% of a car will be able to run on the solar energy collected by the solar panel on its roof. However, it is not a simple extension of conventional photovoltaic technology. This paper discusses what we need to do to achieve the goal of running a majority of cars on solar energy, after clarification of the differences from conventional photovoltaic technology.

We introduce polarization-sensitive (PS) terahertz spectroscopy as a novel tool for non-destructive inspection of black rubber. The PS terahertz optical response of black rubber is mostly determined by the concentration and orientation of the carbon black fillers inside the sample. Therefore, PS terahertz spectroscopy allows access to filler information inside the material. In addition, we can quantitatively estimate the internal strain of the sample through the filler-orientation information. Our analysis model based on a mixture of the polymer matrix and fillers can be applied not only to black rubber but also general polymer composite materials. Recently, rubber and polymer composite materials are widely used in our daily life, so our novel nondestructive inspection method is useful to test such materials.

We describe the transfer and manipulation of non-charge quantum degrees of freedom in solid matter. In particular, we focus on the measurement and control of the phase of an electron wave function achieved by realizing a true two-path interferometer, and generation and detection of the pure valley current in bilayer graphene. Realization of the two-path interferometer opens a path to quantum electron optics, where the quantum states of traveling electrons are manipulated at the unit of a single electron or single quasi-particle. Demonstration of the pure valley current, or the valley Hall effect, is also an important step towards development of novel electronic devices, where the current of non-charge degrees of freedom plays a major role.

A long-scale atmospheric pressure microwave plasma up to ～1m in length is produced using a traveling wave. Microwave power flow is controlled by a loop-structured waveguide, a microwave circulator and a tuner. From optical measurement of the N₂ emission profile and H_β Stark broadening with a small N₂ or H₂ addition, a very low gas temperature of 400K and a high electron density of ～10²⁰m^-3 were confirmed. In contrast to other conventional APPs using pulsed power to suppress the gas heating and resulting arc discharge, the AP- MLP utilizes CW microwave power. Very fast wettability control is demonstrated.

A phenomenon in which an electronic structure of a solid is changed by visible-light irradiation is called a photoinduced phase transition. In correlated electron systems with strong Coulomb repulsion among electrons, charge carriers generated by visible-light irradiation can cause the changes in the surrounding electron system through strong electron-electron interactions, sometimes resulting in an ultrafast electronic phase transition. We have been trying to generate charge carriers by a nearly monocyclic strong electric-field pulse called a terahertz pulse and realize a similar electronic phase transition. In this paper, as a typical example of such phase transitions, we report an electric-field-induced ultrafast insulator-metal transition in an organic molecular compound.

Using high power laser technology, the exploration and creation of new materials are being conducted under the highest controlled-pressure condition on Earth. At more than 10 million atm, new states of matter are expected such as liquid metal carbon and a super diamond that seems to be much harder than a diamond. Exploring such a condition is important and useful not only from the viewpoint of material science but also from the viewpoint of planetary science. Furthermore, it promotes research aimed at the creation of new materials with ultrahigh-pressure control technology, quenching technology for high-pressured phases of matter, technology for the highly efficient creation of new materials utilizing ultrahigh compression strain and dynamic diagnosis technology using an x-ray free electron laser.

NEC has been developing an FPGA using non-volatile atom switches. In the atom switch, a Cu bridge is formed or dissolved in a solid electrolyte, which leads to a very high ON/OFF conductance ratio. In this research introduction, we will show the characteristics of the Cu atom switch with scalability and low leakage current. Also, the structure of the atom-switch FPGA and its advantages of low power consumption and high speed, which are demonstrated by measuring a mapped application circuit, will be introduced.

MRI is a 3D bioimaging method used for both medical and biological research and it uses the same principle as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). In addition to hardware development, methodological improvements such as pulse sequence development, analytical methods including data processing, and the development of contrast agents have grown continuously for over 25 years and have helped achieve a wide range of applications. In this paper, we outline the basic knowledge of MRI and its applications.