The irradiation of living bodies with low-temperature plasma [an aggregation of active particles (radicals, ions, electrons, light)] generated at atmospheric pressure sterilizes pathogenic bacteria, induces apoptosis of cancer cells (programmed cell death) and breakthrough results have been reported for the healing and regeneration of skin diseases and injured tissues. This research has started a new global trend. Furthermore, applications in the fields of agriculture and fisheries such as the promotion of the growth of plants and fish by plasma have been developed. This is attracting attention as a new technology for solving the future food crisis. The fusion of plasma science and medicine/agriculture and molecular biology is establishing a new interdisciplinary science: Plasma Life Sciences and creates new forms of medicine and agriculture.

This article introduces our recent activities with the application of facing target sputtering (FTS) for the deposition of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) passivation layer in silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. After the brief introduction of SHJ solar cells and the importance of an a-Si:H passivation layer, the important features of FTS are explained. FTS is known as a low damage sputtering technique. The potential of FTS for the deposition of an a-Si:H passivation layer is also explained based on our recent experimental results. Sputtering power, the combination of RF and DC power and the insertion of a very thin low damage buffer layer are important factors to realize a high quality surface passivation of a crystalline silicon surface by FTS deposited a-Si:H. This technique is important to realize an SiH₄ free fabrication technique for SHJ solar cells.

Bayesian optimization, which is a machine learning method for sequential optimization, is widely applied as an optimization method that balances exploration and exploitation. In this paper, we first explain the outline of Bayesian optimization, and then introduce its application to the optimization of deposition conditions of epitaxial Si film growth. This paper focus on utilizing the expertise and experience of engineers.

A modulated rotating magnetic field (MRF) enables bi-axial grain alignment of substances with tri-axial magnetic anisotropy and a room-temperature process. However, applying a rotating field seems unsuitable to continuous production processes with linear motion. The author introduces two topics in this article. One is the principles of three different magnetic alignment techniques and the characteristics of MRF. Magnetic energy for orientation and magnetic alignment by static, rotating and modulated rotating fields are explained. The other is the development of equipment that can generate a linear-drive type MRF. The author describes the details of equipment including the design of an arrayed permanent magnet unit and experimental results from bi-axial magnetic alignment of an orthorhombic substance using the equipment as a proof-of-principle experiment.

Laser manufacturing is growing rapidly in the world market. However, it has not yet been applied for all the explicit needs because it is hard to find a good parameter for each type of processing. Here we discuss how we can find those parameters and what kind of society could be realized once we find the optimization method.

This paper introduces a super-resolution near-field Raman spectroscopy for nanocarbon materials with sub-nanometer and single molecule sensitivity. Nanocarbon materials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, etc., exhibit unique mechanical/electrical properties, however, it is still challenging to investigate such nanoscale properties in real space due to the limited spatial resolution, especially in the optical frequency range. The proposed technique is based on the synergy of scanning probe microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, which recognize high spatial resolution and high chemical sensitivity, respectively. Different from other techniques requiring a specific working environment, this technique can operate over a wide range of settings; for instance, from ambient to a vacuum, or a liquid, or at low-temperatures depending on the materials to be observed.

Automobiles have a high degree of freedom as a means of transportation, with an emphasis on personal use compared to other transportation systems. With the advent of the IoT society, the development of Internet technology has led to the construction of MaaS platforms, including automobiles. The foundation is the autonomous driving technology of automobiles. In autonomous driving, peripheral monitoring technology, or sensing technology, is important. Automotive sensing devices are required to be smaller and lighter due to the requirement for higher precision and improved mounting capabilities. In this paper, we will explain the mounting technology for sensors and the importance of improving the performance of sensing devices (semiconductor sensors) and the characteristic stability factors in automotive environments.