Aiming at a BreakthroughPresent Activities and Future View ofthe Division of Solid State Physics andApplications
Eisuke Tokumitsu
Chief, Division of Solid State Physics and Applications, Japan Society of Applied Physics

Our division was established in 1942. At that time, the division wascalled “Denshi Hosha Kenkyu-kai” (The Electron Emission Society). In
1962, the name of the organization was changed to The Division of Solid
State Physics and Applications (present name of the division) because
activities on electronic devices shifted from vacuum tubes to semiconductor devices. The division has continued to provide a forum for discussions on the most advanced electronic devices of the era and on thefundamentals and physical properties of such devices and materials. The
division also played an important role in the establishment of the International Conference on Solid State Devices and Materials (SSDM). The
history of the division’s activities directly corresponds with the history ofsemiconductor electronics.
The division has constantly held meetings from the early beginningsof semiconductor electronics, such as silicon electronics and integrated
circuits, bandgap engineering in compound semiconductors, heterostructures, quantum structures, photonic and high-frequency devices, as well
as solar cells, ferroelectric memory, and carbon nanotubes. Research on
Group III nitride semiconductors has gained much attention recently, butthe division began to hold meetings on this theme far before this boombegan. This planning and organization are managed by approximately
30 staff members of the division — people who have their own research
activities in various fields of semiconductor electronics. Throughout its
60-year history, including the era of the Electron Emission Society, theDivision of Solid State Physics and Applications has played an importantrole by holding meetings on electronics in Japan, particularly various
fields of semiconductor electronics, as is represented by the name “solidstate physics and applications.”    At present, the division has more than 400 members and holds
meetings five times each year, and it has published division journals
containing the proceedings of these meetings at the same pace. Other
main activities of the division include hosting symposiums during theannual meetings of the Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP) andholding school seminars whenever the opportunity presents itself. One
tradition of the division is publishing six-page summaries of presentations

at various meetings in its journals and these journals are then distributed
to all members by mail. This service is unprecedented among other divisions. The division journal also includes reports on past meetings.   
Meeting themes during 2007 were (1) novel “nanotubes,” (2)physics and device applications of ZnO-related heterostructures, (3) semiconductor lasers, (4) fundamentals and applications of surface plasmon,and (5) GaN electron devices. In addition, a symposium on recent progress of solar cells was held during the annual fall meeting of the JSAP. In
2008, we held a meeting on (1) medical applications of nanotechnologies. Meetings on (2) novel approaches to white LEDs and (3) nanofabrication technologies will be held, and two more meetings will beplanned this year. A school seminar was also held during the annualspring meeting of the JSAP on the fundamentals and applications ofZnO-related materials. The topics the division have recently covered awider range of fields, including not only electron and optical devices andnanotechnology but also new materials, bio- and medical electronics,
and other new fields. In addition to the themes that interest manymembers, the division has also taken up themes that concern fewer
members. Though these themes might draw fewer participants, they arenonetheless considered to be important. Several have gone on to gainmuch greater significance, for example, the “Amorphous Semiconductor
Seminar” and “Wide Bandgap Semiconductors.” The division has also
played an important role in determining academic roadmaps to 2040,
which were organized by JSAP, particularly in the field of nanostructuresand nanotechnologies. In this way, the division has also been active inareas that have brought about major breakthroughs.
In the future, the Division of Solid State Physics and Applications willcontinue to provide a forum for discussions by holding meetings, symposiums, schoolings, and seminars that cover a wide range of themes —timely themes with future potential, and themes targeting uncharted
frontiers — and by doing so will contribute to furthering research anddevelopment in the field of Applied Solid State Physics. Any suggestions
for future activities are welcome.

JSAP International   No.18 (July 2008)        