Annual Report 2014

2014

Research lnstitute of Electrical Communication Tohoku University

Annual report of Research Institute of Electrical Communication 2014

Contents
1.

Introduction ······················································································· 12.

Organization Chart·············································································· 33.

Research Activities ·············································································· 5
Research Divisions
・

Information Devices Division ···················································· 6・

Broadband Engineering Division ··············································· 11・

Human Information Systems Division ········································ 18

・Systems & Software Division ···················································· 24

Laboratories and Centers
・Laboratory for Nanoelectoronics and Spintoronics ························ 30・Laboratory for Brainware Systems············································· 37

・Research Center for 21st Century Information Technology ············ 43

・Management Office for Safety and Health ··································· 46

・Flexible Information System Center ··········································· 47

・Fundamental Technology Center ··············································· 48

Related Organizations and Programs, etc.
・Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems ·································· 49

・

Research Organization of Electrical Communication ···················· 50

・Center for Innovative Integrated Electronics Systems ·················· 51

・Spintronics Research and Education Promotion Office ·················· 53

・

Leading Graduate Program ······················································ 54

・Graduate Program in Spintronics (GP-Spin) ································ 55

4.

Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects ············································· 57

5.

Symposium Organized by the Institute ··················································· 67

6.

Study Groups on Electrical Communication ············································ 73

7.

International Activities ········································································ 77

8.

Periodicals Published by the Institute ···················································· 81

9.

Staff, Budget ······················································································ 83

2014 Introduction

1. Introduction
Since the RIEC was established in 1935 based on the research of cutting-edge technologies such as
Yagi-Uda antennas and magnetrons, a succession of pioneering achievements from RIEC have laid thefoundations of information science and communications technology. Today, 80 years after it wasestablished, the RIEC continues to play a world-leading role. In June we celebrated not only theinstitute’s 80th anniversary but also the completion of construction of the main building, with its six
floors, basement, and 13,513 square meters of total floor space. As much as we are pleased to have thisnew place of research, we are mindful of the words of then institute director Junichi Nishizawa at theinstitute’s 50th anniversary celebration 30 years ago: “We must begin the study of a scientific discipline
before the discipline has been given a name. This forms the basic spirit of the Research Institute ofElectrical Communication as well as the Electrical Engineering Group, Tohoku University.” Building on
this tradition, we have geared our formidable research efforts toward the development and evolution ofscience and technology that enables the realization of communications that enrich people's lives.
For this purpose, the institute since 2004 has been organized into three units: four research divisions(Information Devices Division, Broadband Engineering Division, Human Information Systems Devision,and Systems & Software Devision), two laboratories (Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics,
and Laboratory for Brainware Systems), and the Research Center for 21st Century Information
Technology. These units are engaged in research aimed at achieving fruition over different time scales(Research Divisions: 20 years, Laboratories: 10 years, Research Center: 5 years). We have entered into
close cooperation with Tohoku University's graduate schools in subjects relating to electricalengineering (School of Engineering, Graduate School of Information Sciences and Graduate School of
Biomedical Engineering) in order to cover a wide range of cutting-edge research fields and foster thedevelopment of highly educated researchers and engineers.
In 2010, the RIEC was certified by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) as a Joint Usage/Research Center for collaborative research in information science andtechnology. To contribute to further community development, we are working on joint research projects
with external researchers and engineers from industry, government and academia.
Today, information science and technology is an essential part of the social infrastructure, and there are1

2014 Introduction

growing demands for the implementation of faster higher-capacity telecommunications with greater
energy savings. Another key attribute of the social infrastructure is disaster tolerance; a requirement thatwas demonstrated only too well by the impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We also
expect to contribute to a new paradigm of information processing and communication that interconnects
people in a fundamentally different way. At the RIEC, we will continue to address these social needs bytaking full advantage of our status as a university-affiliated research center. In this way, we hope to playa leading role in the new world of communication, and thereby promote education in the future.
To contribute to the improvement of our research activities and support future developments, we havepublished this Annual Report every year to make our activities relating to research, education and social
contribution widely available for public scrutiny. This edition contains reports on various activities
including the research at each of our departments and laboratories, the RIEC symposium, nation-wide
cooperative research projects, and the activities of the engineering research association and RIEC
lectures. In addition, the bibliography section has been greatly enhanced compared with last year's
edition, and now carries the data for various activities over the last five years.
We welcome your frank opinions regarding our research reports, and I sincerely hope we can continue torely on your guidance and support in the future.

May 1, 2015
Director, Research Institute of Electrical Communication

Hideo Ohno

2

2014 Organization Chart
2. Organization Chart
Director

Advisory Council

Information Devices Division

Deputy Director
Research Divisions

FacultyCouncilBroadband Engineering Division

Human Information Systems Division

Systems & Software Division

Research Facilities

Ultrahigh-Speed Optical Communication
Applied Quantum Optics
Advanced Wireless Information Technology
Information Storage Systems
Ultra-Broadband Signal Processing
Basic Technology for Broadband Communication
Electromagnetic Bioinformation Engineering
Advanced Acoustic Information Systems
Visual Cognition and Systems
Ubiquitous Communications System
Multimodal Computing
Software Construction
Computing Information Theory
Communication Network Systems
Information Content
Information Social Structure

Laboratory for
Nanoelectronics and Spintronics

Nano-Integration Devices and Processing
Semiconductor Spintronics
Nano-Molecular Devices
Nano-Spin Memory

Laboratory for Brainware Systems

Recognition and learning systems
Real-World ComputingIntelligent Nano-Integration System
New Paradigm VLSI System

Research Center for21st Century Information Technology

Project Planning Division
Technology Development Division:
Mobile Wireless Technology Group
Storage Technology GroupIntelligence Archive GroupManagement Office for Safety and HealthCommon Research
Facilities

Nano-Photoelectronics
Quantum-Optical Information Technology
Solid State Electronics
Dielectric Nano-Devices
Materials Functionality Design
Magnetic Dvices

Flexible Information System Center

Fundamental Technology Center

Administration
OfficeGeneral Affairs Section
Cooperative Research Section
Library Section
Accounting Section
Purchasing Section
Support Division
Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems
Research Organization of Electrical Communication
Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems

3

2014 Information Devices Division
3.

Research Activities

Targets and achievements of the Information Devices Division
The main aim of the information devices division is to create new materials and devices fornext generation communication technology.
To accomplish this goal, we have the following 6 sub-divisions. The research fields include
nano-scale photoelectronic conversions, quantum-optical information technology, noveltransport properties in low-dimensional systems, new dielectrics-based nano-devices for
information storage, and design of new materials having exotic functionalities. We also have apartnership with Nano-Integration Devices and Processing section in the Laboratory for
Nanoelectronics and Spintronics.
1. Nano-Photoelectronics
2. Quantum-Optical Information Technology
3. Solid State Electronics
4. Dielectric Nano-Devices
5. Materials Functionality Design
6. Magnetic Devices (Visitor Section)
The research target and the summary of activities of each sub-division in 2014 are describedin the following pages. The summary of activities of Nano-Integration Devices and Processing
section is described in the chapter of Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics.

5

2014 Information Devices Division
Nanophotoelectronics

Exploring optical and electronic properties of nanometer-sized structures andtheir applications in photoelectronic devices

Nanophotoelectronics Yoichi Uehara, Professor
Nano photomolecular electronics Satoshi Katano, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Our main interest lies in studying the physical and chemical
phenomena that take place in nanometer-scale regions and theirapplications in nanophotoelectronic devices. We investigate thematerial properties of nanostructures through their opticalresponses to the local excitation induced by electrons from the tipof a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), as illustrated in Fig. 1.
STM light emission spectra of Sb2Te3 were measured in theFig. 1 STM light emission spectroscopy.
configuration that the tip-sample gap of the STM is irradiated bya pair of pump and probe laser pulses with a duration less than 2 ps each, and were analyzed as afunction of optical delay time between the pump and probe pulses. We found that the peak energyof the STM light emission, which is excited via electronic transitions of Sb2Te3, is shifted toward thehigher energy side when the optical delay time is in the range between around 2 ps to 13 ps. This
result demonstrates that the proposed method has temporal resolution of ps.
Fluorescence and quenching of light from graphene oxide (GO) have been extensively
investigated due not only to the basic interests but also to the technological applications, such astransparent conductors and biosensors. In this year, we carried out the nano-scale observation of
GO on Au(111) covered with the self-assembled monolayer (SAM) as a first step towards revealing
the local electronic states of GO. In the STM image of GO, we clearly identified the single GOlayer with the thickness of 0.8 nm. We found that the bandgap value varies depending on thelocation of the STS measurement, reflecting the nano-scale heterogeneity of sp2 domain in GO.
[Staff]
Professor
Yoichi Uehara, Dr.
Associate Professor
Satoshi Katano, Dr.
[Profile]
Dr. Yoichi Uehara obtained his D. Eng. degree from the Department of Engineering, Universityof Osaka prefecture in 1986, after which, he was initially appointed as an Assistant Professor at the
Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University. He eventually became a Full
Professor at the institute in 2005. Dr. Uehara has worked on three main surface physics problems
at Tohoku University: (1) light emission from metal-insulator-metal and metal-oxide-semiconductor(MOS) tunnel junctions, (2) low-energy electron spectroscopy, and (3) light emission spectroscopy of
STM.
Dr. Satoshi Katano received his D. Sci. degree from Department of Electronic Chemistry, Tokyo
Institute of Technology in 2003.
He was a postdoctoral research fellow in RIKEN (2003-2006).
He joined RIEC, Tohoku University as an assistant Professor in 2006 and was promoted to an
associate Professor in 2012. His research interests include surface physical chemistry andnano-scale molecular optoelectronics.
[Papers]
[1]

[2]
[3]

6

Y. Uehara, M. Kuwahara, and S. Katano, "Measurement of Phonon Energy of Sb2Te3 by Scanning TunnelingMicroscope Light-emission Spectroscopy", Solid State Commun., 177, 29-32 (2014).
Y. Uehara, S. Katano, M. Kuwahara, and T. Suzuki, "Electromagnetic effects of STM tip–sample gap in the THz
spectral range", 22nd International Colloquium on Scanning Probe Microscopy, Atagawa Heights, Japan (2014).
S. Katano, Y. Kim, M. Kawai, and M. Trenary, "Surface Hydrogenation Reactions at the Single-Molecule Level",
Chem. Rec., 14, 819-826 (2014).

Contact to Professor Yoichi Uehara : uehara@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Information Devices Division
Quantum-Optical Information Technology

Development of optoelectronic devices for quantum information andcommunication technology
Quantum-Optical Information Technology: Keiichi Edamatsu, Professor
Quantum Laser Spectroscopy: Yasuyoshi Mitsumori, Associate professor[Research Target and Activities]
Our goal is to develop the quantum information devices
utilizing quantum interaction between photons and electrons
in solids. In 2013, we have achieved (1) experimental demonstration of error-disturbance uncertainty relations in photon
polarization measurement, (2) observation of local-field effects
on optical coherent transients of semiconductor quantum dots.
[Staff]
Professor: Keiichi Edamatsu, Dr.
Associate Professor: Yasuyoshi Mitsumori, Dr.
[Profile]
Keiichi Edamatsu received B.S., M.S., and D.S. degrees inPhysics from Tohoku University. He was a Research Associate
in Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku University, a Visiting Associate in California Institute of Technology, and an Associate
Professor in Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka
University.

Fig. 1 Experimental results(filled circles) and predicted lower
bounds(curves)oferror-disturbance uncertainty relations (EDR) in photon polarization measurement. The Heisenberg EDR (blue) is violated while
the EDRs proposed by Ozawa(red) and Branciard (purple andgreen) hold.

Yasuyoshi Mitsumori received B.S., M.S. and D.S. degrees in Applied Physics from Tokyo Institute ofTechnology. He was a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, a Researcher
in NTT Basic Research Laboratories, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Tokyo Institute of Technology, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Communications Research Laboratory, a Research Associate in Research Instituteof Electrical Communication, Tohoku University.

[Papers][1] K. Edamatsu, “A shy quantum’s uncertainty relation”, Oyo Butsuri (in Japanese) 83, No.5, 390-393 (2014)．
[2] K. Edamatsu, “Polarization quantum bits and entanglement -photon polarization and quantum information-”, Optical
Alliance (in Japanese) 25, No.11, 1-5 (2014)．
[3] K Edamatsu, F. Kaneda, So-Young Baek, and M. Ozawa, “Experimental test of error, disturbance, and uncertainty
relations in quantum measurement”, Butsuri (in Japanese) 70, No. 3, 188-193 (2015)．

Contact to Professor Keiichi Edamatsu : eda@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

7

2014 Information Devices Division
Solid State Electronics Laboratory

Paving a Way for Introducing Graphene into Silicon Technology
Solid State Electroncis Maki Suemitsu, Professor
Solid State Physics for Electroncis Hirokazu Fukidome, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Graphene is a two-dimensional honeycomb network of carbon atoms. Its extremely high carrier
mobility, which is ~100 times as high as that of silicon, makes graphene a dream material. We havedeveloped a method to form an epitaxial graphene onto silicon substrates for the first time by
growing a heteroepitaxial SiC thin film on a Si substrate and by sublimating the surface Si atoms
from the SiC film (graphene-on-Si, or GOS, technology). We are currently working on theclarification of the growth kinetics of the epitaxial
SiC
graphene formation in GOS as well as on theGraphene
Silicondevelopment of graphene devices such as gas
SiC
sensors, digital and RF field-effect transistors, and＋optical devices using the GOS structure.
Graphene
In FY2014, we have developed several methods
GOS (Graphene on Silicon)
SiC
to improve the 3C-SiC and epitaxial graphene films
on SiC crystals as well as operando analysis to characterize them.
[Staff]
Professor : Maki Suemitsu, Dr.
Assistant Professor : Hirokazu Fukidome, Dr.
Visiting Professor : Hiroyuki Nagasawa, Dr.
Research Assistant : Sai Jiao, Dr.
Research Assistant: Venugopal Gunasekaran
Technical Assistant : Kumi Namiiri[Profile]
Prof. Maki Suemitsu received Ph.D on electronic engineering from Tohoku University in 1980.
He started his service at Research Institute of Electrical Communication (RIEC) in 1980, became
associate professor in 1990, and became professor at Center for Inderdisciplinary Research, Tohoku
University in 2003. Since 2008, he has been professor at RIEC. He has been engaged mainly on
surfaces of semiconductor thin fims. He was awarded the 30 th Kumagai prize of the best paper
from the Vacuum Soceity of Japan (2005) and the Best Paper Award from the Surface Science
Society of Japan (2011).
Prof. Hirokazu Fukidome received Ph.D on chemistry from Osaka University. After serving forBell Labs and RIKEN, he became assistant professor at RIEC in 2008. He has been associate
professor at RIEC since 2012. He has been engaged on two-dimensional Dirac electron systems andtheir operando-microscopy analysis. He was awarded the Best Paper Award from the Surface
Science Society of Japan (2011).
[Papers][1] Hirokazu Fukidome, …, Maki Suemitsu, “Microscopically-tuned band structure of epitaxial graphene throughinterface and stacking variations using Si substrate microfabrication,” Scientific Reports, 4, pp 5173-1-6, 2014.
[2] Maki Suemitsu, Sai Jiao, Hirokazu Fukidome, Yasunori Tateno, Isao Makabe, Takashi Nakabayashi , “Epitaxial
graphene formation on 3C-SiC/Si thin films,” Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 47, pp. 094016-1-11, 2014.
[3] H. Fukidome, M. Kotsugi, K. Nagashio, M. Suemitsu, T. Kinoshita, “Orbital-specific tunability of many-bodyeffects in bilayer graphene by gate bias and metal contact,” Scientific Reports, 4, pp. 3713-1-5, 2014.

8

Contact to Professor Maki Suemitsu : suemitsu@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Information Devices Division
Dielectric Nano-Devices

Research on Dielectric Nano Science and Technology

Dielectric Nano-Devices

Yasuo CHO, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Our main area of interest is evaluation anddevelopment of dielectric materials, including
ferroelectric and piezoelectric materials and theirapplication to communication devices and ferroelectric
data storage systems. Our major contributions toadvancement in these fields are the invention and thedevelopment of “Scanning Nonlinear Dielectric
Microscope” (SNDM) which is the first successful Fig.1 Digital bit data written on ferroelectric
single crystal with the areal recording
purely electrical method for observing the ferroelectric
density of 4 Tbit/inch2.
polarization distribution without the influence of theshielding effect by free charges and it has already been put into practical use. The resolution of the
microscope has been improved up to atomic scale-order. Therefore, it has a great potential for realizing
the ultra-high density ferroelectric recording system.
Major achievements of studies in 2014 are as follows: (1) Si(100) 2×1 surface andhydrogen-intercalated graphene on 4H-SiC(0001) surface were observed using noncontact scanning
nonlinear dielectric microscopy (NC-SNDM) with an atomic resolution. Additionally, surface potential
distribution image of Si(111) 7×7 surface was obtained with an atomic resolution. (2) Dopant profiles of
SiC MOS devices were obtained using super-higher-order nonlinear dielectric microscopy. Additionally,
dopant profile observation of amorphous Si solar cell devices was also achieved. (3) In the developmentof a ferroelectric data storage technology, dot array writing using HDD-type test system wasdemonstrated. The recording density reached 3.4 Tbit/inch2. Additionally, improvement for PZT film
media by ion beam radiation was reported.
[Staff]
Professor ： Yasuo Cho, Dr.
Assistant Professor ： Yoshiomi Hiranaga, Dr.

Assistant Professor ： Kohei Yamasue, Dr.
Technical Official ： Yasuo Wagatsuma[Profile]
Yasuo Cho graduated in 1980 from Tohoku University in electrical engineering department. In 1985 hebecame a research associate at Research Institute of Electrical Communication Tohoku University. In
1990, he received an associate professorship from Yamaguchi University. He then became an associate
professor in 1997 and a full professor in 2001 at Research Institute of Electrical Communication
Tohoku University. During this time, his main research interests included nonlinear phenomena inferroelectric materials and their applications, research on the scanning nonlinear dielectric microscope,and research on using the nonlinear dielectric microscope in next-generation ultrahigh density
ferroelectric data storage (SNDM ferroelectric probe memory).
[Papers]
[1]

[2]
[3]

N. Chinone, T. Nakamura, and Y. Cho, “Cross-sectional dopant profiling and depletion layer visualization of SiC
power double diffused metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor using super-higher-order nonlinear dielectric
microscopy”, J. Appl. Phys, Vol. 116, p.084509, 2014
K. Yamasue, M. Abe, Y. Sugimoto and Y. Cho, “Atomic-dipole-moment induced local surface potential on
Si(111)-(7×7) surface studied by non-contact scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy”, Appl. Phys. Lett. Vol. 105, p.
121601, 2014
Y. Hiranaga and Y. Cho, “Pb (Zr, Ti)O3 recording media for probe data storage devices prepared by rf magnetron
sputtering”, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys, vol.53, p.09PA05, 2014
Contact to Professor Yasuo Cho : yasuocho@riec.tohoku.ac.jp92014 Information Devices Division
Materials Functionality Design

Computational Design of Functional Materials for Spintornics Devices
Materials Functionality Design: Masafumi Shirai, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Our research targets are as follows: (1) theoretical analyses of quantum phenomena which appear
in materials and nanostructures for advanced information devices, (2) computational design ofmaterials and nanostructures which possess new functionalities for improvement of device
performance, and (3) development of new design procedures based on large-scale computational
simulation techniques.
Our research activities in FY 2013 are as follows:(1) Transport in magnetic tunnel junctions
We investigated the magnetic properties of L10-FeNi
alloy doped with light elements by using the firstprinciples calculation. The uniaxial magnetic anisotropy
energy Ku is enhanced by doping of B, C or N at an
octahedral interstitial site. By the 2.6 at% C-doping, Ku
increased from 5.5 MJ/m3 for undoped FeNi to 9.8
MJ/m3 (Fig. 1). The enhancement of Ku is related to theincreased number of Fe 3d electrons by the doping.
(2) Detection of spin-resolved electronic structures
We successfully detected spin-resolved electronic
Fig. 1structure of a buried ferromagnetic film. Utilizing theforward Mott scattering in Au capping layer on the ferromagnetic film, we can resolve the spins ofphotoelectrons efficiently without using any standard spin detectors. This method enables us tomeasure the spin-resolved electronic structure in spintornics devices [1].
[Staff]
Professor: Masafumi Shirai, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Kazutaka Abe, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Masahito Tsujikawa, Dr.
[Profile]
Masafumi Shirai received the Doctor of Engineering degree from Osaka University in 1989. From1988 to 1996, he was a Research Associate, and then, from 1996 to 2002, an Associate Professor at
Osaka University. From 2002 to the present, he has been a Professor at Tohoku University. Now his
research interest is focused on computational design of functional materials for spintronics devices.
[Papers]
[1]

[2]
[3]

10

S. Ueda, M. Mizuguchi, T. Kojima, S. Ishimaru, M. Tsujikawa, M. Shirai, and K. Takanashi,“Detection of spin-resolved electronic structures from a buried ferromagnetic layer utilizing forward
Mott scattering,” Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 104, No. 13, Article No. 132402, pp.1-5, 2014
H. Nishihara, K. Suzuki, R. Y. Umetsu, T. Kanomata, T. Kaneko, M. Y. Zhou, M. Tsujikawa, M.
Shirai, T. Sakon, T. Wada, K. Terashima, and S. Imada, “Magnetic properties of Ni2N,” Physica B,
Vol. 449, pp.85-89, 2014
S. Kanai, M. Tsujikawa, Y. Miura, M. Shirai, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, “Magnetic anisotropy in
Ta/CoFeB/MgO investigated by x-ray magnetic circular dichroism and first-principles calculation,”
Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 105, No. 22, Article No. 222409, pp.1-4, 2014

Contact to Professor Masafumi Shirai : shirai@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Broadband Engineering Division
Broadband Engineering Division: Research Target and Results
In order to establish the future broadband communication systems and novel devices
that are flexibly applied to the future ubiquitous ultra-large capacity information
communication, research and development are carrying out over the wide bands ofmicrowaves, millimeter/submillimeter waves, terahertz waves, and lightwaves withregard to the information generation, transmission, processing, and storage
technologies.
(1) Advanced Wireless Information Technology
We are actively engaged in the research work on the dependable wirelessinformation technologies for the next generation wireless systems which include
terrestrial / satellite communications. We cover the whole technical fields from thelower to higher layers, i.e., signal processing, RF/Mixed signal device, antenna,
MODEM and network technologies.

We have developed network selection scheme

using map based on communication quality and positioning information forheterogeneous wireless system. A concept of “Traffic-navigation” has been proposed byusing that scheme. We have also developed RF-IC and modules such as sample-holdcircuit and phased array module for high speed wireless communication systems.
(2) Ultra-Broadband Signal Processing
We are developing novel, integrated electron devices and circuit systems operatingin the terahertz region. One of our major concerns is a new material called “graphene”, asingle-layered honeycomb-lattice carbon crystal.
First, we theoretically discovered and experimentally verified the giant THz gain ofthesurface

plasmonpolaritonsinpopulation-inverted

graphene.

We

also

experimentally verified the amplified-spontaneous and stimulated THz emission in
optically

pumpedgrapheneatroom

temperature.

Second,wedeveloped

plasmon-resonant THz emitters/detectors, verifying the validity of the physicalmodeling for the frequency dependence of the detection sensitivity by using
experimental results including the record-breaking sensitivity at room temperature.
(3) Ultrahigh-Speed Optical Communication
To achieve a global high-capacity optical network, we have been engaging in the
research on ultrahigh-speed Optical Time-Division Multiplexing (OTDM) transmission
and highly spectral-efficient coherent Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)
transmission.
This year, we newly proposed a time-domain orthogonal TDM transmission, in
which optical Nyquist pulses are transmitted and demultiplexed by a homodyne

112014 Broadband Engineering Division
detection with a phase-locked synchronous Nyquist LO pulse. By adopting this scheme,
we succeeded in 1.92 Tbit/s/ch transmission with a spectral efficiency as high as 10.6
bit/s/Hz. We also proposed a simple and highly-precise injection-locked homodyne
detection circuit for coherent QAM signals, which was successfully applied to a 256
QAM transmission.
(4) Applied Quantum Optics
Novel functional semiconductor photonic devices including photonic integrated
circuits are being investigated to explore new-generation photonic network systems.
The study on cross gain modulation (XGM) laser with external cavity is being
continued. It was confirmed that the laser source can be operated up to 80 GHz. The
study on compact and narrow linewidth semiconductor laser sources is also being
proceeded. A compact and simple optical negative feedback scheme was proposed which
need only an optical filter. By applying the scheme to a semiconductor laser, it was
confirmed experimentally that the spectral linewidth of the laser was able to be reduced
to 6 kHz (1/1,000). Furthermore, the study on a flat-top optical frequency comb block
generation is being carried out by using a semiconductor Mach-Zehnder modulator(InP-MZM). It was confirmed that very flat (< 0.5 dB) 9-ch optical frequency comb wasable to be generated by using the modulator.
(5) Information Storage Systems
Research on next-generation perpendicular magnetic recording is carrying out forhigh density data storage to meet the strong demand of rapid information increase in
the Internet, and storage system technology as well.
We unveil that areal density of 5 Tbit/inch2, which is five times of the current
density, is achieved by the bit-patterned media in association with thermal assist
recording technique that heats a narrow recording area. High areal densities are
possible with a novel media whose grain location is somewhat controlled. Storage
system technology to enhance the data transfer rate was also developed. A
Two-Dimensional-Magnetic-Recordingwasinvestigatedsimultaneously to double the data transfer rate.

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to

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two

tracks2014 Broadband Engineering Division
Research Laboratory of Ultrahigh-Speed Optical Communication

Advanced optical communication technologies approaching the Shannon limit

Research Area of Optical Transmission
Masataka Nakazawa, Professor
Toshihiko Hirooka, Associate Professor
Research Area of Optical Signal Processing
Research Area of High Accuracy Measurements using Optical Fibers
Masato Yoshida, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Waveform
Waveform After 150 km (X-pol)With the vast growth of Internet
Nyquist profile
Nyquist profile10
 After 150 km (Y-pol)10traffic, it has become increasingly
0.8
-10
0.6
importanttorealizea-20
5.5 ps-30
0.4
FEC limit
160
GHz
high-capacity
andhigh-speed
-40
0.2
-50
network. This laboratory aims to
0
-60
1537
1538
1539
1540
-25
-12.5
0
12.5
25
achieve a global ultrahigh-speed
Wavelength [nm]Time [ps]
(a)
(b)
(c)
optical network by engaging in theFig.
1Spectrum(a)andwaveform(b)ofacoherent
Nyquistresearch of ultrashort pulse and
pulse
and
(c)
1.92
Tbit/s,64
QAM-150km
transmission
result.
coherent transmission. This year,
we newly proposed a time-domain orthogonal TDM transmission, in which optical Nyquist pulses
are transmitted and demultiplexed by a homodyne detection with a phase-locked synchronous
Nyquist LO pulse. By adopting this scheme, we succeeded in 1.92 Tbit/s/ch, 64 QAM transmission
over 150 km within a bandwidth of 170 GHz, resulting in a spectral efficiency as high as 10.6
bit/s/Hz.
[Staff]Distinguished Professor: Masataka Nakazawa, Dr. Associate Professor: Toshihiko Hirooka, Dr.
Associate Professor: Masato Yoshida, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Keisuke Kasai, Dr.
[Profile]
Masataka Nakazawa received the Ph. D. degree from the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1980. He
joined the Ibaraki Electrical Communication Laboratory, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Public
Corporation. He was a visiting scientist at MIT in 1984-1985. In 2001, he became a Professor of the
Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, where he has been engaged inresearch on ultrahigh-speed optical communication including soliton transmission, nonlinear
effects in fibers, mode-locked lasers, and photonic crystal fibers. He is currently the Director of
Research Organization of Electrical Communication.
-log(BER)

Intensity [a.u]Power [dB]

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2
3
4
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Tributary

Toshihiko Hirooka received the Ph. D. degree from Osaka University in 2000. From 2000 to 2002,
he was a Research Associate at University of Colorado at Boulder. He is currently an Associate
Professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University. He has been
engaged in research on ultrahigh-speed optical communications and nonlinear fiber optics.
Masato Yoshida received the Ph.D. degree from Tohoku University in 2001. In 2001, he joined the
Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, where he is currently an
Associate Professor. His research interests include mode-locked fiber lasers, coherent opticalcommunication, and photonic crystal fibers.
[Papers][1] M. Nakazawa, M. Yoshida, and T. Hirooka, “The Nyquist laser,” Optica vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 15-22,
July (2014).
[2] K. Harako, D. O. Otuya, K. Kasai, T. Hirooka, and M. Nakazawa, “High-performance TDM
demultiplexing of coherent Nyquist pulses using time-domain orthogonality,” Opt. Express, vol. 22,
no. 24, pp. 29456–29464, December (2014).
[3] S. Beppu, K. Kasai, M. Yoshida, and M. Nakazawa, "2048 QAM (66 Gbit/s) single-carrier
coherent optical transmission over 150 km with a potential SE of 15.3 bit/s/Hz," Opt. Express, vol.
23, no. 4, pp. 4960-4969, February (2015).

Contact to Professor Masataka Nakazawa : nakazawa@riec.tohoku.ac.jp13

2014 Broadband Engineering Division
Applied Quantum Optics

Research on Innovative Highly Functional Photonic Semiconductor Devices

Highly Functional Photonics

Hiroshi Yasaka, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Novel functional semiconductor photonic devices including InP-based photonic integrated
circuits are being investigated to explore new-generation photonic network systems.
The study on cross gain modulation (XGM) laser with external cavity is being continued. It
was confirmed that the laser source can be operated up to 80 GHz, and 3-dB bandwidth wider than
40 GHz was measured experimentally by using a fabricated device.
The study on compact and narrow linewidth semiconductor laser sources is also being
proceeded. A compact and simple optical negative feedback scheme was proposed which need only
an optical filter. By applying the scheme to a semiconductor laser, it was confirmed experimentallythat the spectral linewidth of the laser was able to be reduced from 6 MHz to 6 kHz.
Furthermore, the study on a flat-top optical frequency comb block generation is being
carried out by using a semiconductor Mach-Zehnder modulator (InP-MZM). It was confirmed thatvery flat (< 0.5 dB) 9-ch optical frequency comb was able to be generated by using the modulator.
InP MZ modulator Module

DFB-LD Lens

Ext. Cavity

0
-3

-12
0
20 40 60 80
Modulation frequency [GHz]v ~ 6 kHz

-40

-20
0
20
40
Optical frequency [kHz]FP

LD
RF Amp.

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FP Etalon

0

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DC DC

OSA

0.77dB

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1535
1536
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Wavelength [nm]0Power [arb.unit]

DFB LDXGM laser with external cavity (left), compact narrow linewidth semiconductor laser (middle), andflat optical frequency comb generation with InP-MZM (right).

[Staff]
Professor ：Hiroshi Yasaka, Dr.
Assistant Professor ： Nobuhide Yokota, Dr.
[Profile]
Hiroshi Yasaka received M.S. degrees in physics from Kyusyu University in 1985, and Ph.D.
degree in electronic engineering from Hokkaido University in 1993. In 1985 he joined Nippon
Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) Corporation. Since then, he has been engaging in research anddevelopment on semiconductor photonic devices for optical fiber communication systems. From2008 he has been a professor of Tohoku University.
[Papers][1]

S. Mieda, S. Shiratori, N. Yokota, W. Kobayashi, and H. Yasaka, “Ultra-high-speed Operation of Laser Diodewith External Cavity by Cross-gain Modulation,” Applied Physics Express, vol. 8, No. 2, 022701, 2015 (Feb.) DOI 10.7567/APEX.8.022701[2]
K. Aoyama, R. Yoshioka, N. Yokota, W. Kobayashi, and H. Yasaka, “Experimental demonstration of linewidth
reduction of laser diode by compact coherent optical negative feedback system,” Applied Physics Express, vol. 7,
No. 12, 122701, 2014. (Dec.) - DOI 10.7567/APEX.7.122701[3]
K. Aoyama, R. Yoshioka, N. Yokota, W. Kobayashi, and H. Yasaka, “Optical Negative Feedback for Linewidth
Reduction of Semiconductor Lasers,” IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 340-343, 2015.
(Feb.) - DOI 10.1109/LPT.2014.2371074

14

Contact to Professor Hiroshi Yasaka : yasaka@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Broadband Engineering Division
Advanced Wireless Information Technology

For realization of the next generation mobile network

Advanced Wireless Information Technology Noriharu Suematsu, Professor
Advanced Wireless Network Technology
Suguru Kameda, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Toward the realization ofRadio wave (UHF/microwave/mm-wave)
a ubiquitous and broad-band
MIMO
wireless network, we areTx Mixer
Tx Signal
HPA
Multi(Digital)
Antenna
actively engaged in the
DAC
EncoderModulator
FilterFilterresearch work on dependable
Channel selector
Voltage controlled
Control
oscillator (VCO)
Tx/Rx
and low power consumption
signalChannel measurement
Switchand estimation
Synthesizer
advanced wireless IT. We
PLL
LNA
Frequency
domaincover the whole technical
DeDecoder
ADC
Filterequalizer
modulator
Filter(FDE)
Rx Signal
fields from the lower to
Rx Mixer
Beam(Digital)
Heterogeneous/Forminghigher layers, i.e., signal
Multi-band RF/mmWave CMOS IC
Channel Estimation
Beam-forming Transmitter/Receiverprocessing, RF/Mixed signal
Signal Processing
device, antenna, MODEM
Fig. The target system ofand network technologies.
Advanced Wireless Information Technology Laboratory.
We
havedeveloped
network selection scheme using map based on communication quality and positioning information forheterogeneous wireless system. And, we propose the Traffic-navigation by using these scheme. We
have also developed RF-IC and modules like sample-hold circuit and phased array module for highspeed and wideband wireless communication system.
[Staff]
Professor: Noriharu Suematsu, Ph. D
Associate Professor: Suguru Kameda, Ph. D
Assistant Professor: Mizuki Motoyoshi, Ph.D
[Profile]
Noriharu Suematsu received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electronics and Communication
Engineering from Waseda University in 1987 and 2000. From 1987 to 2010, he had been with the
R&D center of Mitsubishi Electric, Japan. Since 2010, he has been a professor of Research Institute ofElectrical Communication (RIEC), Tohoku University. He received the OHM technology award fromthe promotion foundation for electrical science and engineering in 2002 and Prize for Science andTechnology, the Commendation for Science and Technology by the Minister of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology in 2009.
Suguru Kameda received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electronics Engineering from Tohoku
University in 1997, 1999 and 2001, respectively. From 2001, he was an assistant professor of the
RIEC. From 2012, he has been currently an associate professor.

[Papers][1] N. Suematsu, et al., ""A 60-GHz-Band 2 x 4 Planar Dipole Array Antenna Module Fabricated by 3-D SiP
Technology," IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 61 (2014) 012036 (Invited).
[2] S. Kameda, et al., "Development of Satellite-Terrestrial Multi-Mode VSAT Using Software Defined RadioTechnology," 2014 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference (APMC2014), TH1A-5, Nov. 2014.
[3] N. Suematsu et al., "Multi-Mode Portable VSAT for Disaster-Resilient Wireless Networks," 2014 Asia-PacificMicrowave Conference (APMC2014), TH2E-4, Nov. 2014 (Invited).
Contact to Professor Noriharu Suematsu : suematsu@riec.tohoku.ac.jp15

2014 Broadband Engineering Division
Information Storage System

Research on Large Capacity Information Storage System using High Density
Perpendicular Magnetic Recording
Information Storage Systems: Hiroaki Muraoka, Professor
Recording Theory Computation: Simon J. Greaves, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
The amount of digital information is rapidly growing year by year, and isestimated to reach to Zata-byte in 2020. For such extremely large storage
capacity high density magnetic recording is required. Next-generation
perpendicular magnetic recording is explored in order to continuously develop
the areal density of hard disk drives beyond the conventional density limit, i.e.,a near-future target of 1 Tbit/inch2 and ultimately exceeding 5 Tbit/inch2.
Theoretical studies including a micromagnetic computer simulation inassociation with an experimental approach are carried out to develop the next
generation of high density perpendicular recording devices.
As we have proposed, the magnetic nano-structure of recording media is
the most essential parameter to achieve high density perpendicular recording.
Bit-patterned medium (Fig 1) is a promising candidate. We have revealed thepossibility of an areal density of 5 Tbit/inch2 in conjunction with heat assisted
recording. Disk noise reduction by improving microstructure is in progress.
Research on information storage systems (Fig. 2) is being carried out.
High data transfer rate by distributed file system with grouped disk drives
was investigated. It was experimentally demonstrated that the data transfer
rate of properly designed system was proportional to the number of drives.
[Staff]
Professor: Hiroaki Muraoka, Ph.D. (since 2000)
Associate Professor: Simon J. Greaves, Ph.D. (since 2003)
Secretary: Chie Watanabe[Profile]
Hiroaki Muraoka joined Tohoku University in 1991. Since then, he has been engaged in research on
high-density magnetic recording devices, systems and recording theories, mainly for perpendicularmagnetic recording. He received PhD degree in 1981. He is a Fellow of IEEE.
Simon J. Greaves has been at Tohoku University since 2003. He uses micromagnetic simulations atmagnetic recording to investigate the potential of future storage devices. He received his Ph.D in 1993
from Salford University, UK.
[Papers][1] Akihiro Hara and Hiroaki Muraoka, “Jitter noise reduction by improving grain uniformity in
granular media,” J. Appl. Phys., 115, 17B730, May 2014.
[2] Moulay Rachid Elidrissi, Kheong Sann Chan, Simon Greaves, Yasushi Kanai, and Hiroaki
Muraoka, “Skew Angle Effects in SMR System with double/triple reader head array,” J. Appl. Phys.,
115, 17B53, May 201416

Contact to Professor Hiroaki Muraoka : muraoka@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

英語版研究報告書（Annual Report）
分野の報告レイアウトのルール

2014 Broadband Engineering Division

Ultra-broadband Signal Processing

Novel Millimeter-wave and Terahertz Integrated Electron Devices and Systems
Ultra-Broadband Devices and Systems: Taiichi OTSUJI, Professor
Ultrafast Electron Devices: Tetsuya SUEMITSU, Associate Professor
Ultra-Broadband Device Physics: Stephane BOUBANGA TOMBET, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]

Ultrafast photonic, electronic and plasmonic devices using graphene and III-V semiconductors.
(Left: giant terahertz (THz) gain via cooperative resonances of the surface plasmon-polaritons and plasmon-assisted
resonant tunneling in optically pumped double-graphene-layer nano-capacitor structure, right: InP-based asymmetricdual-grating-gate (A-DGG) HEMT, fabricated device cross section and SEM images, and record-breaking ultrahighresponsivity in good agreement with theoretical modeling.)

We are developing novel, integrated electron devices and circuit systems operating in the terahertz(THz) region. Recent works and achievements are schematically shown in the above figures.
[Staff]
Professor: Taiichi OTSUJI, Dr. Eng.
Visiting Professor: Victor RYZHII, Ph.D.
Associate Professor: Tetsuya SUEMITSU, Dr. Eng.
Associate Professors: Stephane Albon BOUBANGA TOMBET, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor: Akira SATOU, Dr. Comp. Sci.
Assistant Professor: Susumu TAKABAYASHI, Dr. Eng.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow: Adrian DOBROIU, Ph.D.
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow: Takayuki WATANABE, Dr. Eng.
Secretary: Kayo UENO
[Profile]
Taiichi OTSUJI: received the Dr. Eng. deg. from Tokyo Tech., Japan, in 1994. After working for NTT
Labs., Japan, since 1984, he joined Kyutech in 1999, as an Assoc. Prof., being a prof. from 2002. Since
2005, he has been a Prof. at RIEC, Tohoku Univ., Japan. Recipient of the Outstanding Paper Award of
the 1997 IEEE GaAs IC Symposium. Distinguished Lecturer, Electron Device Society, IEEE, since2013. Member of IEEE (Fellow), OSA (Senior), MRS, SPIE, IEICE, and JSAP.
Tetsuya SUEMITSU: received Dr. Eng. from Waseda Univ., Japan, in 2000. Research Scientist, NTT
Labs., Japan (1994- 2006); Visiting Scientist, MIT, USA (2002-2003); Assoc. Prof., Tohoku Univ., Japan(2006-). Recipient of the Best Paper Award, IEICE (2003), and the ELEX Best Paper Award, IEICE(2007). Member of IEEE(Senior), APS, JSAP, and PSJ.
Stephane BOUBANGA TOMEBET: received Ph.D. from Montpellier 2 Univ., France, in 2008. JSPS
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tohoku Univ., Japan (2009-2010); Postdoctoral Researcher, Tohoku
Univ., Japan (2011); Physics Consultant, University of Rouen, France (2011); Postdoctoral Researcher,
Los Alamos National Lab., USA (2012-2013). Associate Professor, Tohoku Univ., Japan (2013-present).
[Papers][1] D. Svintsov, T. Otsuji, V. Mitin, M.S. Shur, and V. Ryzhii, "Negative terahertz conductivity in disordered graphenebilayers with population inversion," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 106, pp. 113501-1-5, March 2015.
[2] K. Kobayashi, S. Hatakeyama, T. Yoshida, Y. Yabe, D. Piedra, T. Palacios, T. Otsuji, and T. Suemitsu, "Improved
breakdown voltage and RF characteristics in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors achieved by slant field
plates," Appl. Phys. Express, Vol. 7, pp. 096501-1-4, 2014.
[3] S.A. Boubanga Tombet, Y. Tanimoto , A. Satou , T. Suemitsu , Y. Wang , H. Minamide , H. Ito , D. V. Fateev , V.V.
Popov , and T. Otsuji, "Current driven detection of terahertz radiation in dual-grating-gate plasmonic detector," Appl.
Phys. Lett., Vol. 104, pp. 262104-1-4, 2014.
[4] Y. Kurita, G. Ducournau, D. Coquillat, A. Satou, K. Kobayashi, S.A. Boubanga-Tombet, Y.M. Meziani, V.V. Popov, W.
Knap, T. Suemitsu, T. Otsuji, "Ultrahigh sensitive sub-terahertz detection by InP-based asymmetric dual-grating-gatehigh-electron-mobility transistors and their broadband characteristics," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 104, pp. 251114-1-4, 2014.
Contact to Professor Taiichi Otsuji : otsuji@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

17

2014 Human Information Systems Division
Aims and Achievements of Human Information Systems Division
To realize advanced information communications systems, it is essential to understandand apply sophisticated information processing mechanisms of human being as well as toestablish communications environments in that human can communicate anywhere,anytime without recognizing the communications tools. The aim of this division is toresearch and develop core and system technologies essential to advanced human friendly
information and communications systems through understanding biological information
generation mechanisms, human information processing mechanisms focusing on acoustic
and visual inputs, and optimizing the communications environments.
To achieve the goal of the Division, four laboratories have been carrying out
researches and developments in the following areas: (1) Electomagnetic Bioinformation
Engineering, (2) Advanced Acoustic Information Systems, (3) Visual Cognition and Systems,and (4) Ubiquitous Communications Systems.
The goals and achievements in the fiscal year 2013 of each laboratory are described indetail below.
(1) Electomagnetic Bioinformation Engineering(Aims) To realize future high-definition communications systems with rich and natural senseof presence, this laboratory aims at developing acoustic information processing
technologies based on good knowledge of human auditory system as well as multimodal
perception relating to hearing.
(Achievements) We obtained highly sensitive strain sensor utilizing the method of
inverse-magnetostriction. The sensor shows 10000 times greater sensitivity compare withthe conventional strain gage. New method to obtain nano-composite materials byelectro-chemical technique was found. This method realizes the high-energy thin film
magnet. New mechanism to reduce the iron loss of the magnetic core materials was studied.
Collaborating research with steel companies has been started. The study about themagnetic actuator was carried out for tiny pump which can set in blood tube with amanufacturer of medical equipment.
(2)Advanced Acoustic Information Systems(Aims) To realize future high-definition communications systems with rich and natural senseof presence, this laboratory aims at developing acoustic information processing
technologies based on good knowledge of human auditory system as well as multimodal
perception relating to hearing.
(Achievement) In FY2013, we deepen the understanding human spatiotemporal perceptual
processes of audio-vestibular information. We also studied how the sense of presence andverisimilitude is affected by physical factors involved in multimodal content consisting ofauditory, visual and vestibular information. These studies are particularly important to18

2014 Human Information Systems Division
realize future multi-modal sensory information processing and communication systems.
Moreover, we continued to develop advanced acoustic systems. These inlude 3D virtual
auditory displays based on our accumulated knowledge of human auditory space perception,
sensing and reproduction system based on High-order Ambinonics consisting of over 100
channels, and 252-ch real-time binaural spatial sound sensing system (SENZI). They arekeenly required to realize super-definition audio-visual communications in near future.
(3) Visual Cognition and Systems(Aims) This laboratory aims at understanding the mechanisms of human visual perception in
our brain to improve the design of visual information display in the information &communication technologies.
(Achievements)
Firstly, we investigated coordinated movements of eyes and head in vision for action. We
found multiple saccades during one continuous head movement, and the contribution ofhead movement increased with the number of saccades. This relationship suggests
eye-head coordination over several saccade-fixation sequences suggests the role ofeye-head coordination in visual cognitive processing. Secondly, we investigated effect ofmaterial perception on the mode of color appearance. The change in mode of color
appearance between surface and light source was tested in relation to the material
perception from the display media. The subjects showed concrete perception of surface
when fabric material was perceived with high convincingness. The present result
demonstrated that the discrepancy between display media for digital publishing might besolved by displaying compelling perception of material surface property.

19

2014 Human Information Systems Division
Electromagnetic Bioinformation Engineering

Communication with human body
Electromagnetic Bioinformation Engineering, Kazushi Ishiyama, Professor
Electromagnetic Biomaterial Engineering, Shuichiro Hashi, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
We studied the mechanism of obtaining the magnetic anisotropy of the magnetic thin films for thesensitive magnetic sensors. We obtained a non-metal probe for high frequency magnetic field, andconfirmed the probe can measure the high frequency magnetic field with its phase information. In
addition, 3D position detecting system using magnetic markers was studied to improve its position
accuracy. The study about the magnetic actuator driven by the external magnetic field was carried out
for biomimetic robots using the rotational magnetic field, and small wireless pumps were obtained andclarified for their application for an artificial heart-support pump.
Signal generator
λ : 670 nm

Ref.
Lock-in amplifier
OutputObjective lensHalf mirror
Differential
Garnet XY electrical stage
detector

1.0[Staff]
Professor: Kazushi Ishiyama, Dr.
Associate Professor: Shuichiro Hashi, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Sung Hoon Kim, Dr.

Y [mm]

0.0
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Magnetic
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Magnetic field [Oe]

0.35

0.0

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0.7

0.70

0.5

Fig. 1 Prototype of wireless artificial heart
assist blood pump[1]DUT

MirrorPulsed laser

0.35

Meas. (10 m)
Simulation (10 m)
Simulation (20 m)

0
-0.35
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-1

-0.5

0
Y [mm]

0.5

1

Fig. 2 High frequency magnetic field imaging
system using magneto-optical crystal probe[Profile]
Kazushi Ishiyama received his MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tohoku University
in 1986 and 1993, respectively. His research interests are in the area of magnetics and magnetic
applications.
Shuichiro Hashi received the DE degree in Electrical Engineering from Tohoku University in 1998. His
research interests are in the area of magnetic measurement and magnetic materials.
[Papers][1] S. H. Kim, K. Ishiyama, “Hybrid Speed Control of a DC Motor for Magnetic Wireless Manipulation
Based on Low-Power Consumption: Application to a Magnetic Wireless Blood Pump,” IEEE
Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 50, No. 4, p. 5000307, April (2014).
[2] J. Shin, Y. Miwa, K. H. Kim, S. Hashi, K. Ishiyama, “Observation of the magnetic properties according
to changes in the shape of thin-film giant magnetoimpedance sensor,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics,
Vol. 50, No. 11, p. 4005603, November (2014).
[3] Y. Miwa, J. Shin, Y. Hayashi, S. Hashi, K. Ishiyama, “Basic study of fabricating high sensitive strain
sensor using magnetostrictive thin film on Si wafer,” IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, Vol. 51, No. 1, p.
2000604, January (2015).

20

Contact to Professor Kazushi Ishiyama : ishiyama@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Human Information Systems Division
Advanced Acoustic Information Systems

Development of next generation communication systems
Advanced Acoustic Information Systems: Yôiti Suzuki, Professor
Auditory and Multisensory Information Systems: Shuichi Sakamoto, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
The main interest of this laboratory is the study of
information processing by the human auditory system.
At the same time, we aim to realize a 'comfortable'sound environment by exploiting digital signal
processing techniques. One example is thedevelopment of three-dimensional auditory displays,
which present sound images by simulating thetransfer functions for the sound paths from the soundsources to the listeners' external ears. Anotherexample is the proposal of 3D sound field information
sensing systems. These systems are expected to convey
a high-quality virtual sound space, which is keenly
sought for multimedia communications, cyberspacesystems and virtual reality systems. Moreover, in 2014, Fig. 1 Application for the training of
we put a lot of effort to develop systems to acquire 3D spatial cognition using a high-definition
virtual auditory display
sound-space
information
capableofsaving,transmitting, and reproducing accurate sound-space
information at a distant place. In regards to three-dimensional sound space information recording
using microphone arrays, we proposed the use of spherical and cylindrical arrays with numerous
microphones on their surfaces. From a psychoacoustical point of view, we also investigated the effect ofself-motion, including head rotation, on the auditory space perception.
[Staff]
Professor: Yôiti Suzuki, Dr., Associate Professor: Shuichi Sakamoto, Dr.,
Assistant Professor: Tomoko Ohtani, Dr., Jorge Treviño, Dr., Research Fellow: Zheng Lie Cui, Dr.
Technical Staff: Fumitaka Saito[Profile]
Yôiti Suzuki graduated from Tohoku University in 1976 and received his Ph. D. degree in electricaland communication engineering in 1981. His research interests include psychoacoustics and digital
signal processing of acoustic signals. He served as president of the Acoustical Society of Japan from ‘05
to ‘07. He is a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.
Shuichi Sakamoto graduated from Tohoku University in 1997 and received his Ph. D. degree inelectrical and communication engineering in 2004. His research interests include human auditory andmultisensory information processing and development of advanced multimodal information systems.
[Papers]
[1]

[2]
[3]

W. Teramoto, Z-L. Cui, S. Sakamoto and J. Gyoba, “Distortion of auditory space during visually induced self-motion
in depth,” Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 848 (2014).
S. Sakamoto, S. Hongo and Y. Suzuki, “3D sound-space sensing method based on numerous symmetrically arranged
microphones,” IEICE Transactions on Fundamentals of Electronics, Communications and Computer Sciences,
E97-A(9), 1893-1901 (2014).
J. Trevino, S. Koyama, S. Sakamoto and Y. Suzuki, “Mixed-order Ambisonics encoding of cylindricalmicrophone array signals,” Acoustical Science and Technology, 35(3), 174-177 (2014).
Contact to Professor Yôiti Suzuki : suzuki@ais.riec.tohoku.ac.jp

21

2014 Human Information Systems Division
Visual Cognition and Systems Laboratory

Understanding human visual system for the better communication with visual
information
Visual Cognition and Systems Satoshi SHIOIRI, Professor
Cognitive Brain Functions Ichiro KURIKI, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
1. Eye-head coordination for visual cognitive
processing
We investigated coordinated movements of eyes andhead (“eye-head coordination”) in vision for action.
We found multiple saccades during one continuous
head movement, and the contribution of head
movement increased with the number of saccades. This
relationship suggests eye-head coordination over
several saccade-fixation sequences suggests the role ofeye-head coordination in visual cognitive processing.
2. Effect of material perception on the mode ofcolor appearance.
The rays that appear brown and gray from object
surfaces appear dark orange and dark white,
respectively, when they appear to be emitted from light sources. This change in mode of color appearance wastested in relation to the material perception from the display media. The subjects showed concrete perception of
surface when fabric material was perceived with high convincingness. The present result demonstrated that thediscrepancy between display media for digital publishing might be solved by displaying compelling perception ofmaterial surface property.
[Staff]
Professor: Satoshi SHIOIRIAssociate Professor: Ichiro KURIKI
Associate Professor: Kazumichi MATSUMIYA[Profile]
Satoshi SHIOIRI: Received Dr. Eng from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1986. He was a postdoctoral researcher at University of Montreal(until May, 1989) and at Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute (until April, 1990). He worked at Chiba University, as an
assistant professor, an associate professor, and a professor until February, 2005. In March 2005, he moved to Research Institute ofElectrical Communication, Tohoku University as a professor.
Ichiro KURIKI: Received Ph.D. degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1996. He worked at Tokyo Institute of Technology (until
September 1999), at the University of Tokyo (until March, 2001) as a research associate, and for NTT-CS Labs. until December, 2005. He
joined the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University as an Associate Professor in January, 2006.

[Papers][1] Fang, Y., Nakashima, R., Matsumiya, K., Kuriki, I. & Shioiri, S. Eye-head coordination forvisual cognitive processing. PloS one 10, e0121035 (2015).
[2] Fang Y, Emoto M, Nakashima R, Matsumiya K, Kuriki I, Shioiri S: Eye-position distribution
depending on head orientation when observing movies on ultrahigh-definition television. ITE
Transactions on Media Technology and Applications 3(2), 149-154, 2015[3] Horiuchi, K., Kuriki, I., Tokunaga, R., Matsumiya, K. & Shioiri, S. Chromatic induction fromsurrounding stimuli under perceptual suppression. Visual neuroscience 31, 387-400 (2014).
[4]
Kuriki, I. (2015). Lightness dependence of achromatic point loci in color-appearance coordinates. Frontiersin Psychology, 6:67, 2015. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00067

22

Contact to Professor Satoshi Shioiri : shioiri@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Human Information Systems Division
Ubiquitous Communications System

Realization of Wireless Harness System and Wide Area Sensor Networks

Fig. ２

Ubiquitous Communications System: Shuzo Kato, Professor

Image of Wide Area WirelessSensor Networks[Research Target and Activities] The goal of ubiquitous communications is to provide
communications environments in which everybody can communicate with anybody, anywhere andanytime without paying attention on the communications tools much. The laboratory has beenworking on core technology R&D on ubiquitous communications.
[FY2014 Major Results]
1) Hi reliable Wireless Harness Systems
Successfully reduced wired harness weight to 1/10, increased the transmission speed by 10,000
times and higher reliability than wired harness. Various materials for the small diameter radio
hoses have been validated and has progressed to the practical implementation level very well.
2) Wide Area Sensor Networks
Through the propagation tests in Rural, City areas, the 5 km transmission capability with 90 %probability has been validated that is good enough for practical applications. Also fast chipsynchronization and low C/N demodulation schemes have been developed to clarify thetransmission and anti-interference performances(Fig.2). They have effectively proved thepractical implementation of 900 MHz wide area sensor networks in Japan.
[Staff]Prof.: Shuzo Kato, Ph.D, Technical staff: Tuncer Baykas(~8/E/ 2014), Technical assistant: Naomi
Aizawa(~ 7/E/2014)[Profile]
A Manager, Researcher and Engineer having a successful broad range of experiences from R&D,
Manufacturing, Quality management, Product planning, Marketing, Sales, HRs in Japan and USA.
Recently working on millimeter wave communications systems and wide area sensor networks.
Graduated from Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku University with Ph. D in 1977, Published over 300
technical papers and held over 100 patents, Fellow of the IEEE and IEICE Japan.
[FY2014 Major Papers]
1.
2.
3.

T. Baykas and S. Kato. “On the Spectrum Efficiency of Mesh and Star Topology Wider Area
Wireless Sensor Networks", Proc. of PIMRC2014, 2014, Washington DC, USA.
Yosuke Sato、 Shuzo Kato、“Small and Low Side Lobe Beam-forming Antenna Composed of
Narrow Spaced Patch Antennas for Wireless Sensor Networks”, SENSORCOMM 2014
November, 2014 Lisbon Portugal
Yasutaka Tada and Shuzo Kato,”High Deployability of IEEE 802.15.4k DSSS Systems inInterference Dominated Bands” SENSORCOMM 2014 November, 2014 Lisbon Portugal

Contact to Professor Shuzo Kato : shukato@riec.tohoku.ac.jp23

2014 Systems & Software Division
Research Targets and Activities of Systems & Software Division

The goal of System & Software Division is to realize Ubiquitous environment. In an ideal
ubiquitous environment, everyone can communicate with anybody, anywhere, with any kindof information, at any time, freely and in real time. Our division has the following fiveresearch fields related to such high-level system, software and content by integrating
computer and communication:― Software Construction: Reliable and high-level software.
― Computing Information Theory: Fundamental theory of new software.
― Communication Network: Symbiotic computing.
― Information Content: Technologies for interactive content.
― Structure of Information Society (Visitor Section).
An overview of research results from Apr. 2014 to Mar. 2015 of these fields except the visitor
section is described in this section.

(1) Software Construction
We have been researching on theoretical foundations for flexible and reliable programming
languages, and have been developing SML#, a new programming language in the ML family
embodying our research results. The major results of the 2014 academic year include thefollowing. (1) We developed an approach for constructing a formal semantics of Ruby, apractical programming language, by decomposing its entire semantics into independentcalculi and combining them systematically. (2) Development of the SML# compiler includes
the following: (i) We added the latest 64-bit platform support to SML# compiler. (ii) We
developed a feature that supports efficient code reading by extracting a variable reference
relationship from SML# programs.

(2) Computing Information Theory
Rewriting systems are mathematicalformalisms which can offer both flexible computing
and effective reasoning with equations.

Our research focuses on theoreticalfeatures ofrewriting systems and applications to automated theorem proving, algebraic specifications,and functional and logic programming languages.

The main results of this year are as

follows. (i) We proposed a new formalization of orthogonal nominal rewriting systems, which
is a framework of higher-order rewriting systems with variable binding. The newformalization offers a confluence condition effectively applicable to many standard nominal
rewriting systems. (ii) We continued to develop an automated confluence prover ACP for term
rewriting systems based on various proof techniques.
(CoCo 2014), ACP has won first place.

24

In the 3rd confluence competition

2014 Systems & Software Division(3) Communication Network
In a research project on applications of Active Information Resources, a management
method of ICT units allocated dynamically, and a cooperation method of heterogeneouscontents for user-oriented information navigation system are developed. A study on
applications of regional network in usual/unusual situation is launced and a conceptual
design on a personalization method of regional servieces based on mesh networks is started.
On the other hand, in a research project on multiagent-based sensor infrastructure, a methodof agentification of an IoT device is developed and verified its usefulness by the developmentof prototype systems. Furthermore, in the studies on evolutional agent systems, a measure ofobserving system’s behavioral situation for system monitoring is proposed and validated its
effectiveness. Moreover, a design of dynamic deployment method of agent platforms over the
distributed environment is started.

(4) Information Content
We are conducting comprehensive research on a variety of technologies rerated tointeractive content which creates new value through interactions with humans. This year wefirstly developed a novel touch scroll interface that achieves continuous scroll across on andoff screen surfaces. Secondly, we developed MovemenTable, which is an exploration of moving
interactive tabletops. It can physically move, gather together or depart according to people’s
dynamically varying interaction tasks and collaborative needs. Thirdly, the joint research
project intended to commercialization with industry in terms of D-FLIP, which is ouralgorithm to interactively, flexibly, and dynamically display a set of digital photographs, wason track this year and was determined to be commercialized.

25

2014 Systems & Software Division
Softwere Construction Laboratory

Foundations for Developing High-level and Reliable Programming Languages

Software Construction Atsushi Ohori, Professor
Type Inference[Research Target and Activities]
Today's software systems are becoming more and more complicated
SML# Program
due to the need of integrating various computation resources available
in the Internet. A key to control the complexity and to enhance thereliability of such a system is to develop a high-level programming
Type-safe FFIPolymorphic Records
language that can directly represent various resources andautomatically detect potential inconsistencies among the components
in a system. Based on this general observation, our research aims at
OS, C Libraries
Databases
establishing both firm theoretical basis and implementation method
for flexible yet reliable programming languages for advanced
SML#: a high-level and reliable language
applications. Research topics on theoretical foundations include:
logical foundations for compilation, verification of low-level code, and type-directed compilation forpolymorphic languages. We are also developing a new practical ML-style programming language,
SML#, which embodies some of our recent results such as record polymorphism, rank-1 polymorphism,and high-degree of inter-operability with existing languages and databases.
The major results of the 2014 academic year include the following. (1) Developments in theoreticalfoundations: we presented a formal operational semantics of Ruby by decomposing Ruby into a set ofwell-structured components, each of which is a straightforward specification of individual language
feature. (2) Development of the SML# compiler: We extended the SML# compiler to the latest 64-bit
platforms by adding 64-bit support to the compiler frontend, the SML# runtime and the basis library.
We also developed a tool that assists code-reading by using name dependencies calculated by thecompiler.

[Staff]
Professor ： Atsushi Ohori, Dr.
Assistant Professor ： Katsuhiro Ueno, Dr.
[Profile]
Atsushi Ohori Professor Atsushi Ohori was born in 1957. He received his BA degree in Philosophy
from University of Tokyo, 1981; received his MSE degree in Computer and Information Science from
University of Pennsylvania, 1986; and received his Ph.D. degree in Computer and Information Sciencefrom University of Pennsylvania, 1989. He worked for Oki Electric Industry as a programmer, aresearcher and a senior researcher from 1981 until 1993. From 1989 until 1990, he spent one year in
University of Glasgow as a postdoctoral research fellow funded by Royal Society Research Fellowship.
In 1993, he joined Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Kyoto University as an Associate
Professor. In 2000, he joined Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology as a Professor. In
2005, he moved to RIEC, Tohoku University as a Professor.
[Papers][1] Atsushi Ohori, Katsuhiro Ueno, Kazunori Hoshi, Shinji Nozaki, Takashi Sato, Tasuku Makabe,
Yuki Ito. SML# in Industry: A Practical ERP System Development. In Proceedings of The 19th ACM
SIGPLAN International Conference on Functional Programming, 2014.
[2] Katsuhiro Ueno, Yutaka Fukasawa, Akimasa Morihata, Atsushi Ohori. The Essence of Ruby. In:
Programming Languages and Systems, 12th Asian Symposium, APLAS 2014, Lecture Notes in
Computer Science, Vol. 8858, pp. 78-98, 2014.

26

Contact to Professor Atsushi Ohori : ohori@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Systems & Software Division
Computing Information Theory

Towards a New Software Paradigm Arising from Computation and Proof

Computing Information Theory Yoshihito TOYAMA, Professor
Computing logical system
Takahito AOTO, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
We are working on the development of a new software paradigm that arises from computation and proof. For
this, we focus on a rewriting formalism which offers both flexible and effective reasoning with equations. In therewriting formalism, proofs by equational reasoning and computations by rewriting systems can be combined ina unified framework (see the figure above). We aim at applying our new paradigm to the development of formal
techniques for construction and verification of reliable software. We are currently working on rewriting theories
for termination, confluence, program transformation, and program verification. Recent research activities
include higher-order rewriting systems, automated inductive theorem proving, combination of functional-logic
languages and automated theorem proving systems.

[Staff]
Professor ：Toyama, Yoshihito Dr
Associate Professor ：Aoto, Takahito Dr
Assistant Professor ：Kikuchi, Kentaro Dr[Profile]
Professor TOYAMA Yoshihito Toyama was born in 1952. He received his B.E. from Niigata University in 1975,
and his M.E. and D.E. from Tohoku University in 1977 and 1990. He worked as a Research Scientist at NTT
Laboratories from 1977 to 1993, and as a Professor at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(JAIST) from 1993 to 2000. Since April 2000, he has been a professor at the Research Institute of ElectricalCommunication (RIEC) of Tohoku University. His research interests includes term rewriting systems, program
theory, and automated theorem proving.
Associate Professor Takahito AOTO Takahito Aoto was born in 1969. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. fromJapan Advanced Institute for Science and Technology (JAIST). He was at JAIST from 1997 to 1998 as an
associate, at Gunma University from 1998 to 2002 as an assistant professor, and at Tohoku University from 2003
to 2004 as a lecturer. He has been in Tohoku University from 2004 as an associate professor. His current researchinterests include rewriting systems, automated theorem proving, and foundation of software.
[Papers][1]Kentaro Kikuchi , Takafumi Sakurai , A Translation of Intersection and Union Types for the λμ-Calculus,In
Proceedings of the 12th Asian Symposium on Programming Languages and Systems, LNCS 8858, pp.120-139, 2014.
[2]Takahito Aoto, Yoshihito Toyama , Kazumasa Uchida, Proving confluence of term rewriting systems via
persistency and decreasing diagrams, Proceedings of Joint 25th International Conference on Rewriting
Techniques and Applications and 12th International Conference on Typed Lambda Calculi and Applications(RTA-TLCA 2014), Vienna, Austria, LNCS 8560, pp.46-60, 2014.
Contact to Professor Yoshihito Toyama : toyama@nue.riec.tohoku.ac.jp27

2014 Systems & Software Division
Communication Network Systems

Support for Cooperation and Communication between Human and Systems

Intelligent Communication Tetsuo Kinoshita, Professor
Intelligent Network Gen Kitagata, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
In this year, the following studies have been done. (a) Active Information Resources: A management
method of ICT units allocated dynamically and a cooperation method of heterogeneous contents foruser-oriented information navigation system are developed. (b) Multiagent-based sensor
infrastructure: A method of agentification of an IoT (Internet of Things) device and a cooperation
mechanism are developed and verified its usefulness by the development of prototype systems.
Sink node

UGV-0

TV program

USB

SunSPOTIEEE 802.15.4

UAV

Tablet (UI)
Select a content

Laptop PC

AWP3

Agent

Personal
contents

Souce nodeDetect changes of scene
UAV(Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle)

Extracted relevant contents

UAVInternet
Providecontents

Message
Relevance

AIR

AIR
Tablet(UI)User Agent

AIR

AIR

UGV-1

AIRization
Mechanism

AWP1
Wi-Fi

UGV-1 (Unmanned
Ground Vehicle)

AIR

AIR workplace

Personal

User-Oriented Information Delivery System Using Active Information Resources[Staff]
Professor： Tetsuo Kinoshita, Dr.
Associate Professor： Gen Kitagata, Dr.
Assistant Professor： Hideyuki Takahashi, Dr.
Assistant Professor： Kazuto Sasai, Dr.

UGV-1
Bluetooth

UAV

AWP2

Touch

Motor

UltrasonicMultiagent-based Cooperation of IoT Devices[Profile]
Tetsuo Kinoshita received his B.E. degree in electronic engineering from Ibaraki University, Japan,
in 1977, and M.E. and Dr.Eng. degrees in information engineering from Tohoku University, Japan,
in 1979 and 1993, respectively. He received the IPSJ Research Award, the IPSJ Best Paper Awardand the IEICE Achievement Award in 1989, 1997 and 2001. Dr. Kinoshita is a member of IEEE
(SM), ACM, AAAI, IEICE (Fellow), IPSJ (Fellow) and JSAI.
Gen Kitagata is an associate professor of the Research Institute of Electrical Communication of
Tohoku University, Japan. He received a doctoral degree from the Graduate School of Information
Sciences, Tohoku University in 2002. His research interests include agent-based computing,network middleware design, and symbiotic computing. He is a member of IEICE and IPSJ.

[Papers][1] W. Wei, A. Takahashi, T. Kinoshita, "Design and Evaluation of Energyconsumption-aware
Evolutional Agent System for Portable Devices," Journal of Information Processing, No.22, Vol.4,
pp.660–668, Oct. 2014.
[2] K. Sasai, "A Review of Morphological Computation from a Perspective of Hetearchy," In Helmut
Hauser, Rudolf M. Füchslin, Rolf Pfeifer (eds.), Opinions and Outlooks on Morphological Computation,
ISBN 978-3-033-04515-6, 2014.
[3] T. Kinoshita, H. Takahashi, K. Sasai, G. Kitagata, "User-Oriented Information Delivery System
Using Active Information Resources," Advanced and Applied Convergence Letters (AACL 03),
pp.240-243, Nov. 2014.

28

Contact to Professor Tetsuo Kinoshita : kino@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Systems & Software Division
Information Content

Technologies for Interactive Content
Interactive Content Design

Yoshifumi KITAMURA,

Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Good media content has the power to enrich our lives. The effectiveness of content delivery is becoming
more and more important in a wide variety of fields, such as industry, education, culture,entertainment, and so on. Expectations of its use in the general public are also increasing. We focus on
non-traditional contents other than movies, music and games, conducting comprehensive research ona variety of interactive content which creates new value through interactions with humans. This year
we mainly conduct research projects about evaluation of dynamic and a flexible interactive display
method, a magnetic motion tracking system for dexterous 3D interactions, and a 3D cooperativeinteraction environment connecting physical and virtual worlds, and so on.
[Staff]
Professor: Yoshifumi Kitamura, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Kazuki Takashima, Dr.

Coupled-Clay: Physical-Virtual 3D Collaborative Interaction Environment[Profile]
Yoshifumi KITAMURA received B.Sc., M.Sc. and PhD. degrees in Engineering from Osaka University
in 1985, 1987 and 1996, respectively. From 1987 to 1992, he was at the Information Systems ResearchCenter of Canon Inc. From 1992 to 1996, he was a researcher at the ATR Communication Systems
Research Laboratories. From 1997 to 2002, he was an Associate Professor at the Graduate School ofEngineering and Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University. Since
April 2010, he has been a Professor at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku
University. He is a fellow of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan.
[Papers][1]
Kasim Ozacar, Takuma Hagiwara, Jiawei Huang, Kazuki Takashima, Yoshifumi Kitamura,
Coupled-Clay: Physical-Virtual 3D Collaborative Interaction Environment, Proceedings of IEEE
Virtual Reality 2015, March 2015.
[2]
Jiawei Huang, Kazuki Takashima, Shuichiro Hashi, Yoshifumi Kitamura, IM3D: Magnetic Motion
Tracking System for Dexterous 3D Interactions, SIGGRAPH 2014 Emerging Technologies, August
2014.
[3]
Chi Thanh Vi, Kazuki Takashima, Hitomi Yokoyama, Gengdai Liu, Yuichi Itoh, Sriram
Subramanian, Yoshifumi Kitamura, A dynamic flexible and interactive display method of digital
photographs, Entertainment Computing, Volume 5, Issue 4, pp. 451-462, November 2014.
Contact to Professor Yoshifumi Kitamura : kitamura@riec.tohoku.ac.jp29

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
The Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics of the Research Institute of ElectricalCommunication was established on April of 2004. Its purpose is to develop and establish thescience and technology of nanoelectronics and spintronics for information technology.
Utilizing the facilities installed in the Nanoelectronics-and-Spintronics building and undercollaboration between the RIEC and electro-related laboratories of the Graduate Schools ofEngineering, Information Sciences, Biomedical Engineering, Tohoku University, R&D of
nanotechnologies of materials and devices in Nanoelectronics and Spintronics will be
continued extensively. Furthermore, nation-wide and world-wide collaboration research
projects will be conducted to build a systematic database in the electrical communication
research area.
The Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics mainly consists of research groups
which promote following sections: Nano-Integration Devices and Processing,

Semiconductor

Spintronics and Nano-Molecular Devices; together with the groups of Intelligent
Nano-Integration System, Quantum-Optical Information Technology, and Ultra-Broadband
Signal Processing. These groups cooperatively carry out the research aimed at establishing aworld-wide COE in the research area of nanoelectronics and spintronics.

30

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
Highlights of Research Activities in 2014
Nano Integration● Nano-Integration Devices and Processing (S. Sato and M. Sakuraba)(1) Toward the integration of quantum nano-devices, we have studied on STM lithographyusing hydrogen resist for manipulation of a single atom. We confirmed desorption of hydrogenatoms on a hydrogen-terminated Si surface, which was obtained by a treatment in a NH4F
aqueous solution with low dissolved oxygen concentration, by injecting electrons from an STM
tip. As a result, we have found that desorption of hydrogen atoms occurs for a bias voltage
larger than 3.1V, and also that the area of desorption is proportional to the injection current.
(2) Epitaxial growth of strained SiGe alloy on Si(100) using low-energy ECR plasma CVD
without substrate heating has been studied. It is found that increasing tendency of reaction
rates for SiH4 and GeH4 with increase of Ge fraction is dependent on partial pressure region.
Moreover, it is found that epitaxial growth of a Si / strained SiGe alloy / Si heterostructurewith superior flatness and abruptness of surface and interface can be realized in the smaller
partial pressure region.
(3) As a first step to develop a spatial perception system by using motion-stereo vision, we have designed
an LSI in which local-motion is detected. We have confirmed by RTL (Register Transfer Level) simulationthat the frame rate of 70 fps in 100 MHz operation can be achieved combined with a 3-stage pipeline.
● Intelligent Nano-Integration System (K. Nakajima)(1) We proposed an inverse function delay-less (IDL) model for high speed numerical calculation of
artificial neural networks, and we combined the model with a DS-Net and succeeded to apply to someproblems in TSP-LIB with up to 51 cities. (2) We applied an IDL model to back propagation (BP) learningwith higher success rate and succeeded to analyze the dynamical operation to explain the solving of local
minimum problems in the BP learning. (3) We fabricated a superconducting Schmitt trigger inverter anddemonstrated successfully a relaxation oscillator using the inverter.
Semiconductor Spintronics and Information Technology● Semiconductor Spintronics(H. Ohno)
Our research activities focus on realizing low-power functional spintronic devices. The
outcomes in the last fiscal year are following. (1) Preparation of (Ga,Mn)As with large

magnetization by codoping with Li. (2) Demonstration of different relationship between electricalconductivity and Hall conductivities of (Ga,Mn)Sb from that of (Ga,Mn)As. (3) Demonstration of ascheme for magnetization switching in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with two successive voltage
pulses to utilize both spin-transfer torque and electric field effect. (4) Clarification of the junction size
dependence of magnetic properties of a CoFeB free layer in CoFeB-MgO based MTJs from 35 nm to
100 nm in diameter by homodyne-detected ferromagnetic resonance. (5) Clarification of junction size31

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
dependence of thermal stability factor and intrinsic critical current in perpendicular-anisotropy MTJs
with double CoFeB-MgO interface down to world's smallest junction diameter of 11 nm. (6)Demonstration of enhanced thermal stability and writing properties of domain wall-motion device
with decreasing the dimensions down to 20 nm.
1. Research activities in "Research and Development of Spintronics Material and Device
Science and Technology for a Disaster-Resistant Safe and Secure Society" program under
Research and Development for Next-Generation Information Technology of MEXT. (1)Demonstration of controlling B composition, and thus magnetic properties of CoFeB film in
MgO-CoFeB-Ta stack by changing CoFeB and Ta thicknesses as well as annealing condition. (2)Clarification of origin of magnetic anisotropy in Ta/CoFeB/MgO junction by x-ray magnetic
circular dichroism. (3) Determination of electric-field modulation ratio of magnetic anisotropy in
CoFeB-MgO MTJ by homodyne-detected ferromagnetic resonance and (4) X-band ferromagnetic
resonance.
2. Research activities in "Achieving ultimate Green IT Devices with long usage times withoutcharging" program under Impulsing Paradigm Change through Disruptive Technologies
Program of CAO. (1) Determination of university classes of current– and external magnetic field–

induced domain wall motion in CoFeB/MgO wire. (2) Demonstration of perpendicular-anisotropy
MTJs with double CoFeB-MgO interfaces having capability to withstand annealing at 400oC
required for standard back-end-of-line process.
● Ultra-Broadband Signal Processing (T. Otsuji, T. Suemitsu, and S. Boubanga-Tombet)
1. Ultra-Broadband Devices and Systems
We are developing novel, integrated electron devices and circuit systems operating in the
millimeter-wave and terahertz regions.

III-V- and graphene-based active plasmonic

heterostructures for creating new types of terahertz lasers and ultrafast transistors aremajor concerns.

By making full use of these world-leading device/circuit technologies, weare exploring future ultra-broadband wireless communication systems as well as
spectroscopic/imaging systems for safety and security.
2. Ultrafast Electron Devices
We are focusing on two important material systems for high-speed and high-frequency
devices: the indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) for ultimately high-frequency operation
including sub-millimeter-wave regime, the gallium nitride (GaN) for high-power
millimeter-wave

applications.

Our

activities

includethedesign,process,andcharacterization of these devices and their integrated circuits.
3. Ultra-Broadband Device Physics
We theoretically and experimentally investigate the physics of plasmonics in III-V
semiconductor- andgraphene-based heterostructure material systems and their device

applications. Our main goal is to develop new and original plasmonic integrated devices
operating in the millimeter-wave and terahertz regions for the next generation of imaging,32

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
spectroscopy, and ultra-broadband communication systems.
● Quantum-Optical Information Technology (K. Edamatsu and Y. Mitsumori)
1. We are experimentally investigating error-disturbance uncertainty relations in quantum
measurements. We have demonstrated in photon polarization measurement that the
Heisenberg error-disturbance uncertainty relation (EDR) is violated while the EDRs
proposed by Ozawa and Branciard hold. We also have examined the condition in which
Heisenberg relation is attained.
2. We have investigated the excitonic Rabi oscillations in semiconductor quantum dots
using a single dot spectroscopy for the development of the optical coherent manipulation of
the electric states in the quantum dots. We have observed the interesting behavior of the
Rabi oscillations arising from the longitudinal electric field effect of the excitonic
polarization in a quantum dot.
Nano-Molecular Devices● Nano-Molecular Devices (M. Niwano)
1. Fabricationofpolymer/TiO2-nanotube-based

hybridstructures:The

incomplete

infiltration and non-uniform coating of polymer material in inorganic nanostructures
have hindered the applications of hybrid nanostructure. In this work, a novel
solvent-vapor-assisted coating (SVAC) method is proposed for uniform coating ofpolymers in inorganic nanostructure. Hybrid solar cells, made by filling the tube-in-tube
structure with hole transporting material, produced drastically improved short circuitcurrent and serial resistance. (Mater. Res. Express)
2. Improvement of Electrical Characteristic of P3HT Organic Electrochemical Transistors(OECTs) with Ionic Liquid: We fabricated P3HT OECTs with an ionic liquid by varying
conditions of annealing, and investigated effects of annealing temperature and process
on the P3HT crystallinity and the characteristics of P3HT OECTs. We found that
increasing a crystallinity of an organic active layer by slow cooling in annealing process
is crucial to improving electrical characteristic of OECTs. (ECS 226th meeting)
3. The onset and closure of critical period plasticity regulated by feedforward inhibition:
Synaptic circuits are highly sensitive to sensory experience during a critical period inearly development. The maturation of GABA inhibition in the visual cortex is suggested
to be required for both the onset and closure of the critical period for ocular dominance(OD) plasticity, although the underlying mechanism is unclear. This study examines amodel of a visual cortical cell to investigate the mechanism by which inhibitory pathway
regulates OD plasticity, through the competition between the groups of correlated inputs
from two eyes. (Neurocomputing 143, 261 (2014))

33

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
Nano-Integration Devices and Processing

Nano-integration beyond the existing technology
Nano-Integration Devices
Group IV Quantum Heterointegration

Shigeo Sato, Professor
Masao Sakuraba, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
In addition to the conventional demands such as faster operation and larger throughput, lowpower operation for low-carbon emission and robust operation not damaged even in a disaster are
required for the development of the next generation information technology. To meet these demands,studies on high functional and high performance Si-based semiconductor devices realized by 3-D
nano-processing and large scale integration of such devices are important research subjects. We
study the subjects such as new transistors and memories using new materials, new devices basedon new principles like quantum effects, and required 3-D processing. Moreover, we develop
advanced technologies related to 3-D nano-integration, dependable mixed signal LSI, and non von
Neumann architecture.
In this year, following experimental results have been obtained: 1) STM lithography usinghydrogen resist for manipulation of a single atom has been studied. It is confirmed that desorptionof hydrogen atoms on a hydrogen-terminated Si surface by electron bombardment, and that thearea of desorption is proportional to the injection current. (2) Epitaxial growth of strained SiGe
alloy on Si(100) using low-energy ECR plasma CVD without substrate heating has been studied. It
is found that epitaxial growth of a Si / strained SiGe alloy / Si heterostructure with superior flatness
and abruptness of surface and interface can be realized in the smaller partial pressure region.
[Staff]
Professor :Shigeo Sato, Dr.
Associate Professor :Masao Sakuraba, Dr.
Assistant Professor :Nobuyuki Sato, Dr.
Assistant Professor:
Hisanao Akima, Dr.
[Profile]
Shigeo Sato was received his B.E. and Ph.D.
degrees from Tohoku University, in 1989 and1994, respectively. In 1996, he joined the
Research Institute of Electrical Communication,
Tohoku University. Now, he studies brain
computer and quantum computer as a professor.
Masao Sakuraba received his B.E. and Ph.D.
Towards the Realization ofdegrees from Tohoku University in 1990 and
a Prototype Brain Computer
1995, respectively. In 1995, he joined the
Research Institute of Electrical Communication,
Tohoku University. Now, he studies group IV quantum heterointegration as an associate professor.

[Papers][1] “Epitaxial Growth of B-Doped Si on Si(100) by Electron-Cyclotron-Resonance Ar Plasma Chemical Vapor
Deposition in a SiH4-B2H6-H2 Gas Mixture without Substrate”, Y. Abe, M. Sakuraba and J. Murota, Thin Solid
Films, 557, 10-13, 2014.
[2] “Measurement of large low-order aberrations by using a series of through-focus Ronchigrams”, H. Akima, T.
Yoshida, Microscopy, 63, 325-332, 2014.
[3] "Izhikevich neuron circuit using stochastic logic", S. Sato, H. Akima, K. Nakajima, M. Sakuraba, Electronics Letters,
50, 1795-1797, 2014.

34

Contact to Professor Shigeo Sato : shigeo@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
Semiconductor Spintronics

Advanced technology for spintronics-based devices
Functional Spintronics: Hideo Ohno, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
We are working on spin-related phenomena in semiconductors,
magnetic semiconductors, and magnetic metals, as well as novel
functional spin materials and devices, in order to realize low-powerfunctional spintronic devices. In particular, we are tackling thefollowing challenges; development of functional spin materials andstructures by using molecular beam epitaxy and sputtering,understanding and characterization of spin-related phenomena such as
electric field-induced and current-induced magnetization reversal,
development of new spintronic devices utilizing them, and fabricationof various prototype integrated circuits employing spintronic devices.
The outcomes in the last fiscal year are (1) clarification of junction
size dependence of thermal stability factor and intrinsic critical current
in perpendicular-anisotropy magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with double CoFeB-MgO interface down to world's
smallest junction diameter of 11 nm, (2) preparation of (Ga,Mn)As with large magnetization by codoping with Li,(3) demonstration of a scheme for magnetization switching in MTJs with two successive voltage pulses to utilize
both spin-transfer torque and electric field effect.
[Staff]
Professor: Hideo Ohno, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Shun Kanai, Dr.

Assistant Professor: Michihiko Yamanouchi, Dr.
Research Fellow: Hiroyasu Nakayama, Dr[Profile of Professor Hideo Ohno]
Hideo Ohno received his Ph. D. degree from the University of Tokyo in 1982. He was with the Faculty ofEngineering, Hokkaido University as a Lecturer (1982) and then as an Associate Professor (1983). He moved to
Tohoku University in 1994 as a Professor. He received the IBM Japan Science Prize (1998), the IUPAP
Magnetism Prize (2003), the Japan Academy Prize (2005), the 2005 Agilent Technologies Europhysics Prize,Thomson Reuters Citation Laureates (2011), JSAP Outstanding Achievement Award (2011), and IEEE David
Sarnoff Award (2012). He is Institute of Physics (IOP) Fellow (2004), Honorable Professor at Institute of
Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, JSAP fellow (2007), and APS fellow (2012), Distinguished
Professor at Tohoku University (2008), and IEEE Magnetic Society Distinguished Lecturer for 2009.
[Papers][1]

H. Sato, E.C.I. Enobio, M. Yamanouchi, S. Ikeda, S. Fukami, S. Kanai, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, "Propertiesof magnetic tunnel junctions with a MgO/CoFeB/Ta/CoFeB/MgO recording structure down to junction diameterof 11nm," Applied Physics Letters 105, 062403 (2014).
[2]
S. Miyakozawa, L. Chen, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, "Properties of (Ga,Mn)As codoped with Li," Applied
Physics Letters 104, 222408 (2014).
[3]
S. Kanai, Y. Nakatani, M. Yamanouchi, S. Ikeda, H. Sato, F. Matsukura, and H. Ohno, "Magnetization switchingin a CoFeB/MgO magnetic tunnel junction by combining spintransfer torque and electric field-effect," Applied
Physics Letters 104, 212406 (2014).

Contact to Professor Hideo Ohno : ohno@riec.tohoku.ac.jp35

2014 Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
Nano-Molecular Devices

Control of surface and interface of molecular informational devices anddevelopment of novel nano-molecular devices

Nano-Molecular Devices: Michio Niwano, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Development of the semiconductor nanofabrication technology as typified by photolithography has
miniaturized and sophisticated electronic devices. On the other hand, the progress of nanotechnology
and biotechnology enables us to synthesize and use biological molecules, supramolecules, andnanostructures with electrically and optically unique features. By combining these technologies, we areaiming to develop molecular scale devices which allow advanced information process.
1.
Fabrication of polymer/TiO2-nanotube-based hybrid
structures: The incomplete infiltration and non-uniform coatingof polymer material in inorganic nanostructures have hindered
the applications of hybrid nanostructure. In this work, a novel
solvent-vapor-assisted coating (SVAC) method is proposed foruniform coating of polymers in inorganic nanostructure. Hybrid
solar cells, made by filling the tube-in-tube structure with holetransporting material, produced drastically improved short Hybrid solar cell with TiO2 nanotube
film.
circuit current and serial resistance. (Mater. Res. Express)
2.
Improvement of Electrical Characteristic of P3HT Organic Electrochemical Transistors(OECTs) with Ionic Liquid: We fabricated P3HT OECTs with an ionic liquid by varying conditions ofannealing, and investigated effects of annealing temperature and process on the P3HT crystallinity
and the characteristics of P3HT OECTs. We found that increasing a crystallinity of an organic active
layer by slow cooling in annealing process is crucial to improving electrical characteristic of OECTs.
3.
The onset and closure of critical period plasticity regulated by feedforward inhibition: Synaptic
circuits are highly sensitive to sensory experience during a critical period in early development. The
maturation of GABA inhibition in the visual cortex is suggested to be required for both the onset andclosure of the critical period for ocular dominance (OD) plasticity, although the underlying mechanism
is unclear. This study examines a model of a visual cortical cell to investigate the mechanism by which
inhibitory pathway regulates OD plasticity, through the competition between the groups of correlated
inputs from two eyes. (Neurocomputing 143, 261 (2014))[Staff]
Professor: Niwano, Michio Dr.
[Profile]
Michio Niwano 1998 – present RIEC, Tohoku University, Japan, Professor, Doctorate of Science.
Memberships: The Electrochemical Society (ECS), The Japan Society of Applied
Physics (JSAP), The Surface Science Society of Japan (SSSJ).
[Papers][1] A. Hirano-Iwata, R. Matsumura, R. Tezuka, M. Niwano, T. Bliss, M. Sugawara: “Interference between field excitatory
postsynaptic potentials and simultaneously recorded chronoamperometric L-glutamate currents in mouse hippocampal
slices”, Electrochemistry Communications 45 (2014) 1-4.
[2] I. Sakurai, S. Kubota, M. Niwano, “A Model for Ocular Dominance Plasticity Controlled by Feedforward and Feedback
Inhibition”, IEICE Transactions on Fundamentals of Electronics Communications and Computer Sciences E97A (2014)
1780-1786.
[3] I. Sakurai, S. Kubota, M. Niwano, “The onset and closure of critical period plasticity regulated by feedforward
inhibition”, Neurocomputing 143 (2014) 261-268.
[4] Teng Ma, Ryota Kojima1, Daisuke Tadaki, Jinyu Zhang, Yasuo Kimura and Michio Niwano, “Fabrication ofpolymer/TiO2-nanotube-based hybrid structures using a solvent-vapor-assisted coating method”, Materials Research
Express 1 (2014) 045048.

36

Contact to Professor Michio Niwano : niwano@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Laboratory for Brainware Systems
Research Targets and Activities of Laboratory for Brainware Systems
The Laboratory for Brainware Systems of the Research Institute of Electrical Communication wasestablished in 2004 and renewed in 2014. Its purpose is to contribute to the research and developmentof advanced information science and technology for Brainware systems which realize a seamless fusionof the changeable and complex real world and the cyber space.
We aim at establishing scientific and technological foundations and at exploring human-likebrainware computing applications for Adaptive Cognition and Action Systems Division (Recognition
and Learning Systems Group), Autonomous Decentralized Control Systems Division (Real-World
Computing Group), Brainware LSI Systems Division (New Paradigm VLSI System Group andIntelligent Nano-Integration System Group), and brain architecture Division (planned ). The
Laboratory for Brainware Systems consists of the above four divisions which cooperatively carry out
the research. At the same time they serve as a laboratory for nation-wide cooperative research in thefield of Brainware systems.
The technology developed in the Laboratory is expected to enhance the research carried out in thefour Divisions of the Institute, and the research conducted in the Divisions, in turn, is expected toprovide scientific basis for the information technology developed in the Laboratory.

[Research Target]
Real-World Computing Section: The main contributions achieved in 2014 are summarized asfollows: (1) we have proposed a novel measure that can quantitatively measure locomotion
patterns of legged animals/robots; (2) we have successfully modeled the inter-arm coordination
mechanism underlying ophiuroid locomotion; (3) we have formulated a new decentralized control
mechanism for the scaffold-based locomotion of snakes; (4) we have proposed a novel CPG model
for bipedal locomotion by exploiting plantar sensation generated by deformable feet; (5) we haveproposed a decentralized control mechanism for the interlimb coordination underlying hexapod
locomotion.
New Paradigm VLSI System Section: Rapid progress in recent deep submicron regime has led
the capability to realize giga-scaled embedded systems on a chip (SoC), while performancedegradation of SoCs due to wiring complexity, power dissipation and device-characteristic37

2014 Laboratory for Brainware Systems
variation are increasingly getting serious problems in the recent VLSI chip. Our research activity
is to solve the above problems primarily by the following two ways: the use of logic-in-memoryarchitecture based on nonvolatile logic, and the use of asynchronous data-transfer schemes basedon multiple-valued current-mode logic, which would open up a novel VLSI chip paradigm, called a“new-paradigm VLSI system.”Intelligent Nano-Integration System Section: Our research activities cover the fields ofarchitectures of Brain computing systems, characterization and application of artificial neuralnetworks, computer aided designs and fabrications of intelligent integrated circuits, andexploitation of new devices for neural circuits. At present research is focused on the large scale
integration of Brain computing system and exploitations of new neural devices proposing aneuromorphic quantum computation.
Recognition and Learning Systems Section: Humans can perform various actions based on therecognition of the outside world that is constructed through multiple sensory inputs such as visionand touch, even though they frequently move their own body parts in the environment. Here we
investigate the adaptive-process and functions of the human cognitive system for action throughpsychophysical experiments. On the basis of the experimental evidence, we aim to createcomputational models of the recognition and learning processes in the human brain.
[Research Activities]
Real-World Computing Section: The main contributions achieved in 2013 are summarized asfollows: (1) we have successfully reproduced the versatile gait patterns of quadrupeds and the gaittransition between them, e.g., from walk to trot to bound, with real physical robots. To ourknowledge, this is the first successful robotic case study that achieves the gait transition ranging
from walk to bound gait; (2) we have developed a decentralized-controlled snake-like robot thatexhibits omni-directional locomotion. We have also constructed a decentralized control rule thatenables concertina locomotion observed in narrow spaces; (3) we have discussed the applicabilityof our CPG model for quadruped locomotion to bipedal and hexapod locomotion; (4) we havemodeled a decentralized control rule that can well reproduce the inter-limb coordination of
Ophiuroids. This result could be helpful for realizing resilient robotic systems.
New Paradigm VLSI System Section: The major contributions achieved in 2014 are summarized
as follows: (1) a self-terminated write driver for magnetic-tunnel-junction (MTJ) device-based
nonvolatile logic LSI is proposed. By optimally monitoring the output voltage of a single MTJ
device, a write-completion state has been detected at the minimal delay for writing. The use of
dynamic logic-circuit style makes the proposed circuit simple. As a result, 70% of write energy
reduction is achieved in comparison with that of a conventional one; (2) a low-power SCN-based
search engine LSI is designed and fabricated. Storage elements and search functions arecompactly realized using an MTJ-based logic-in-memory (LIM) structure, leading to an 89%
energy reduction compared to a conventional counterpart; (3) an MTJ/MOS-hybrid motion-vector
prediction LSI is designed and fabricated by using MTJ/MOS-hybrid LSI-oriented automated design
flow. The power supply for each processing element is controlled independently cycle by cycle, which
achieves 75% wasted power reduction.
Intelligent Nano-Integration System Section: (1) We proposed an inverse function delay-less (IDL)
model for high speed numerical calculation of artificial neural networks, and we combined the modelwith a DS-Net and succeeded to apply to some problems in TSP-LIB with up to 51 cities. (2) We applied
an IDL model to back propagation (BP) learning with higher success rate and succeeded to analyze thedynamical operation to explain the solving of local minimum problems in the BP learning. (3) We
fabricated a superconducting Schmitt trigger inverter and demonstrated successfully a relaxation
oscillator using the inverter.
Recognition and Learning Systems Section: First, we found a motion aftereffect that shows
spatial selectivity relative to one’s own hand. This finding suggests the existence of neurons that
represent spatial location in hand-centered coordinates, which might be useful for guiding
movements of one’s own body parts. Second, we found that there is the retinotopic process of facial
expression in the human brain. Using the face aftereffect, our results showed that the magnitudeof the facial-expression aftereffect depends on the retinal distance between adaptor and test. Thisfinding suggests that facial expression information is coded not only in a non-retinotopic visual
representation but also in a retinotopic visual representation in the human brain.
38

2014 Laboratory for Brainware Systems
Recognition and learning systems laboratory

Understanding the human recognition and learning systems(Visual Cognition and Systems, Satoshi Shioiri, Professor)
Adaptive Cognition and Action Systems, Kazumichi Matsumiya, Associate Professor(Auditory and Multisensory Information Systems, Shuichi Sakamoto, Associate Professor)[Research Target and Activities]
To create computational models of the process that the human brain integrates multiple sensory
inputs from the outside world, we are investigating the visual and auditory functions in the humanbrain for implementing these functions in hardware under biologically plausible settings. Our
approaches include psychophysics, brain wave measurements, and computer simulations.
First, we investigated whether a motion aftereffect (MAE) is induced by actively moving a handthat is felt to be one’s own. We found that the MAE that shows spatial selectivity in hand-centeredcoordinates appears only when participants actively move a hand that is seen in front of them. In
addition, we found the link between the hand-centered MAE and hand ownership using the rubber
hand illusion. These results suggest that sense of owning an actively moved hand generates aperceptual representation of the space encoded in hand-centered coordinates. Second, weinvestigated whether the characteristic of the retinotopy of the facial aftereffect (FAE) for facial
expression is the same as that of the FAE for facial identity. Our results showed that, althoughdependence of the FAE on adaptation-test distance is similar between facial expression and facial
identity, the FAE for facial identity tends to be larger
than that for facial expression when a test face ispresented in the opposite hemifield. We discussed
adaptation mechanisms underlying facial expression
processing and facial identity processing.
[Staff]
Professor ： Satoshi Shioiri, Ph.D.
Associate Professor : Kazumichi Matsumiya, Ph.D.
Associate Professor : Shuichi Sakamoto, Ph.D.

Fig. Senses of hand ownership andagency influence the hand-centered
MAE.

[Profile]
Kazumichi Matsumiya, Dr. Matsumiya received Ph.D. degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology in2000. After then, he worked at Centre for Vision Research, York University in Canada as a
postdoctoral fellow. He worked as a researcher at the Imaging Science and Engineering Laboratory,
Tokyo Institute of Technology until December, 2003. He worked as a full-time researcher at ATR
Human Information Science Laboratories until March, 2005. He joined the Research Institute ofElectrical Communication, Tohoku University as a Research Associate in April, 2005. Since then, he
has been an Associate Professor from July, 2014.
[Papers]

1. Matsumiya K, Shioiri S: Moving one’s own body part induces a motion aftereffect anchored to thebody part. Current Biology 24(2), 165-169, 2014.
2. Matsumiya K: Retinotopy of facial expression adaptation. Multisensory Research 27(2), 127-137,
2014.
3. Onizawa N, Katagiri D, Matsumiya K, Gross WJ, Hanyu T: Gabor filter based on stochastic
computation. IEEE Signal Processing Letters 22(9), 1224-1228, 2015.

Contact to Associate Professor Kazumichi Matsumiya : kmat@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

39

2014 Laboratory for Brainware Systems
Intelligent Nano-Integration System

Basic Technology of Integrated System for Intelligent Processing

Intelligent Nano-Integration System, Koji NAKAJIMA, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Our research activities cover the fields of architectures of Brain computing systems, characterization
and application of artificial neural networks, computer aided designs and fabrications of intelligent
integrated circuits, and exploitation of new devices for neural circuits. We also presented a neuralsystem and an FFT operated by using a flux quantum logic in superconducting integrated circuits. At
present research is focused on the large scale integration of Brain computing system.
Research Activities in 2014 :(1) We proposed an inverse function delay-less (IDL) model for high speed numerical calculation of
artificial neural networks, and we combined the IDL model with a DS-Net and succeeded to apply tosome problems in TSP-LIB with up to 51 cities.
(2) We applied an IDL model to back propagation (BP) learning with higher success rate andsucceeded to analyze the dynamical operation to explain the solving of local minimum problems in the
BP learning.
(3) We fabricated a superconducting Schmitt trigger inverter and demonstrated successfully arelaxation oscillator using the inverter.

[Staff]
Professor : Koji Nakajima, Dr.
Assistant Professor : Takeshi Onomi, Dr.
[Profile]
Koji Nakajima was received his B.E. M.E. and Dr. Eng. from Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan, in
1972, 1975, and 1978, respectively. Since 1978, he has been working at the Research Institute ofElectrical Communication, Tohoku University. He is a professor at the same institute of Tohoku Univ.,and is currently engaged in the study of VLSI implementation of neural network, and Josephson
junction devices for digital applications.
[Papers]
K. Nakajima, “Over View from Josephson Transmission Line to SFQ Logic Circuit and Inverse Function
Delay-Less Model ,” Proceedings of Superconducting SFQ VLSI Workshop SSV 2014, pp.8-9, Ookubo
Sannomiya Japan, Dec. 2014
Yuta Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Hayakawa , Takeshi Onomi, and Koji Nakajima, “Back Propagation Learning[2]
Based on an IDL Model,” Proceedings of the 2014 International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and its
Applications (NOLTA2014), Luzern, Switzerland, Sep. 17, 2014.
[3] Chunyu Bao, Takeshi Onomi , Yoshihiro Hayakawa, Shigeo Sato, and Koji Nakajima, “Performance Analysis
of Bidirectional Associative Memories by Using the Inverse Function Delay-less Model,” Proceedings of the2014 International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and its Applications (NOLTA2014), Luzern, Switzerland,
Sep. 17, 2014.
[4] Takeshi Onomi, “Relaxation Oscillator Using Superconducting Schmitt Trigger Inverter ,” Proceedings of the 2014
International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and its Applications (NOLTA2014), Luzern, Switzerland, Sep.
17, 2014.
[1]

40

Contact to Professor Koji Nakajima : hello@nakajima.riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Laboratory for Brainware Systems
New Paradigm VLSI System Research Group

Realization of a New-Paradigm VLSI-Computing World

New Paradigm VLSI System: Takahiro Hanyu, Professor
New Paradigm VLSI Design: Masanori Natsui, Associate Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Rapid progress in recent deep submicron regime has led the capability to realize giga-scaled
embedded systems on a chip (SoC), while performance degradation of SoCs due to wiring complexity,
power dissipation and device-characteristic variation are increasingly getting serious problems in the
recent VLSI chip. Our research activity is to solve the above problems primarily by the following two
ways: the use of logic-in-memory architecture based on nonvolatile logic, and the use of asynchronous
data-transfer schemes based on multiple-valued current-mode logic, which would open up a novel
VLSI chip paradigm, called a “new-paradigm VLSI system.”This year, we have succeeded to design MTJ (Magnetic Tunnel Junction)-based low-power VLSIs,
such as self-terminated write driver (Fig. 1), search engine LSI (Fig. 2), and motion-vector prediction
LSI (Fig. 3).
[Staff]
Professor ： Takahiro Hanyu, Dr.
Assistant Professor ： Naoya Onizawa, Dr.

Associate Professor ： Masanori Natsui, Dr.
Assistant Professor ： Daisuke Suzuki, Dr.

[Profile]
Takahiro Hanyu received the D.E. degrees in Electronic engineering from Tohoku University, Sendai,
Japan, in 1989. His general research interests include multiple-valued current-mode logic and its
application to high performance and low-power arithmetic VLSIs.
Masanori Natsui received the Ph.D. degrees in information Sciences from Tohoku University, Sendai,
Japan, in 2005. His research interest includes automated circuit design technique, nonvolatile-based
circuit architecture and its application, and design of high speed low-power integrated circuits.

[Papers][1] Daisuke Suzuki, et al., “Cost-Efficient Self-Terminated Write Driver for Spin-Transfer-Torque RAM and Logic," IEEE
Trans. Magn., vol. 50, no. 11, pp. 3402104~1-3402104~4, Nov. 2014.
[2] Hooman Jarollahi, et al., “A Non-Volatile Associative Memory-Based Context-Driven Search Engine Using 90 nm
CMOS/MTJ-Hybrid Logic-in-Memory Architecture," IEEE Journal on Emerging and Selected Topics in Circuits andSystems, vol. 4, no. 4, pp. 460-474, Dec. 2014.
[3] Masanori Natsui, et al., ``Nonvolatile Logic-in-Memory LSI Using Cycle-Based Power Gating and its Application to
Motion-Vector Prediction," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits (JSSC), vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 476-489, Feb. 2015.
Contact to Professor Takahiro Hanyu : hanyu@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

41

2014 Laboratory for Brainware Systems
Real-world Computing

Toward Understanding Design Principle for Life-like Resilient Systems

Real-world Computing Akio Ishiguro, Professor[Research Target and Activities]
Living organisms exhibit surprisingly adaptive and versatile behavior in real time under
unpredictable and unstructured real world constraints. Such behaviors are achieved via
spatiotemporal coordination of a significantly large number of bodily degrees of freedom. Clarifying
these remarkable abilities enable us to understand life-like complex adaptive systems as well as toconstruct truly intelligent artificial systems. A prominent concept for addressing this issue is“autonomous decentralized control”, in which non-trivial macroscopic functionalities are emerged via
spatiotemporal coordination among vast amount of autonomous components that cannot be explained
solely in terms of individual functionality. We study the design principle of autonomous decentralized
systems that exhibit life-like resilient behaviors from the viewpoints of robotics, mathematics,
nonlinear science, and physics.

Fig.1: Ophiuroid-like robot thatexhibits resilient locomotion.

Fig.2: Hexapod robot driven
by central pattern generator
that
well
reproduces
quadruped gait patterns

Fig.3: Biped robot with soft
deformable feet.

[Staff]
Professor: Akio ISHIGURO, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Dai OWAKI, Dr., Takeshi KANO, Dr., Kazuhiro SAKAMOTO, Dr.
[Profile]
Akio ISHIGURO received B.E., M.E., and Ph.D. degrees from Nagoya University in 1987, 1989, and1991, respectively. From 1991 to 1997, he was with Nagoya University as an assistant professor. From
May 1997 to 2006, he was an associate professor, Nagoya University. From 2006 to 2011, he was aprofessor of the Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University. Since April 2011, he has been aprofessor of Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University. His main researchinterests are in bio-inspired robotics, nonlinear dynamics. He received 2003 IROS Best Paper Award
Nomination Finalist, 2004 IROS Best Paper Award, 2008 Ig Nobel Prize (Cognitive Science Prize),2009 IROS Best Paper Award Nomination Finalist, 2011 IEEE/RSJ NTF Award Finalist forEntertainment Robots and Systems, Living Machines 2012 Best Paper Award.
[Papers]
[１]
[２]
[３]

42

T. Kano, D. Owaki, and A. Ishiguro, “A Simple Measure for Evaluating Gait Patterns during Multi-legged
Locomotion”, SICE Journal of Control, Measurement, and System Integration, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 214-218, 2014
T. Kano, H. Date, and A. Ishiguro, "Simple Decentralized Control Scheme Can Reproduce Versatile Gait Patternsof Snakes", The 2014 International Symposium on Nonlinear Theory and its Applications (NOLTA 2014), pp.
20-23, 2014
D. Owaki and A. Ishiguro, "CPG-based Control of Bipedal Walking by Exploiting Plantar Sensation”, 17th
International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots, pp. 335-342, 2014.
Contact to Professor Akio Ishiguro : ishiguro@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Research Center for 21st Century Information Technology
IT-21 center

Research and Development of the IT-Based Practical Technology
by the Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration[Research Target and Activities]
The purpose of the IT-21 center is development of practical technologies for IT based on theadvanced technologies of RIEC with the partnership among Industry, Government and University.
The term of development is limited less than 5 years. The projects are planed on matching with bothbasic technologies in the University and application in the Industry. Combination of the technologiesof the University and Industry makes practical technologies with availability for the commercial
products. The center actively accelerates to obtain the intellectual properties generated from thedevelopment of practical technology to the Industry. Presently, two projects for mobile and storage
technologies are being carried out.
1. Development of Dependable Wireless System and Devices
Our new project “Development of Dependable Wireless System and Devices” was accepted in 2007
as the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) CREST type research program “Fundamental
Technology for Dependable VLSI System.” The project has been executed by the collaborations
between RIEC including IT21 mobile wireless technology group, major Japanese mobile terminal
manufacturers and other universities. In this project, concept of Dependable Air, which is multi-mode
and multi-band dependable wireless network, is proposed. Within the term until 2014, the project aims
at DWS (Dependable Wireless System) wireless terminal, in which transmission distance,
communication speed, power consumption, and QoS are all optimized. In 2014 the project attained (1)SS-CDMA communication technology by QZSS location short message synchronization, (2) Researchon RF front end module for wide-band communication.
2. Development of High Availability Information Storage Systems
Severe information loss took place due to damage of storage servers at the Tohoku Earthquake. We
started research on reliable information storage with smart file backup and restoration, which
contributes to anti-disaster information storage technology. A project “Research and Development onhighly-functional and highly-available information storage technology” supported by MEXT started in2012 under the collaborations of RIEC including IT21 storage technology group, Hitachi, a major
Japanese Storage manufacturer, and Hitachi Solutions East Japan. The goal of the project is thedevelopment of highly functional and highly available storage system. In 2013, (1) A storage systemthat realizes 90 % of information can be available even when a half (50%) servers are lost or damaged
was developed based on the risk-aware algorism, (2) Simulation of high-speed data-transfer was
carried out for parallel-track storage device and software defined network systems, (3) Prototyping andtesting of the highly reliable storage system.
[Staff]Director: Hiroaki Muraoka, Professor
Project Planning Division
Makoto Furunishi, Visiting Professor
Technology Development Division (Mobile Wireless Technology Group)
Kazuo Tsubouchi, Visiting Professor
Tadashi Takagi, Visiting Professor
Technology Development Division (Storage Technology Group)
Takaki Nakamura, Associate Professor
43

2014 Research Center for 21st Century Information Technology
IT21 Center Mobile Wireless Technology GroupFor Realizing Dependable Air

Kazuo Tsubouchi, Visiting Professor (Project Leader)
Tadashi Takagi, Visiting Professor
Akinori Taira, Associate Professor
Dependable Air
TDMA

CDMA

PhysicalDistribution

Broadcast
Network

OFDMA

Car・ITS[Research Target and Activities]
Distance
Smart Grid
Dependable
Wireless System“Development of Dependable Wireless System
Medical1000m
and Devices” project was accepted in 2007 as
Plant
Wide-area
Wide-area(Cellular)
Agriculture
the Japan Science and Technology Agency
Fishery(JST) CREST type research program.
High data rate
100m
・・・
・・・
・・・
1. All Si CMOS RFIC: For realizing DWS, we
Wireless LAN
have developed a 5GHz- and 60GHz-band
Ultra highdata rate
10m
RF circuits using 90nm CMOS technology.
Short-range
communication
2. Digitally
Assisted
Compensation
Technology: We have developed a novel
100k
10M
100M
1G
1M
10G
Data rate [bit/s]
Broadband
Narrowband
frequency
domainequalizer(FDE)
technology implemented to an application
Fig. Dependable Air
specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
3. Adaptive and Scalable ADC/DAC: We have devised a current mode pipeline ADC, which is suitablefor process miniaturization and low supply voltage.
PDC cdmaOne

W-CDMA

HSPA

cdma2000

Multi-Mode on One-Chip

802.16e802.20LTE

802.11 802.11b

PHS

LTEAdvanced

802.11a/g

Zigbee802.15.4

Bluetooth802.15.1

VHT SG

802.11nmmWave802.15.3c

UWB

RF-ID

Standard
Non IEEEIEEE (IP friendly)[Staff]Visiting Professor: Kazuo Tsubouchi, Ph. D, Tadashi Takagi, Ph. D
Associate Professor: Akinori Taira, Ph. D[Profile]
Kazuo Tsubouchi received the Ph.D. degree in Electronics Engineering from Nagoya University in
1974. In 1974, he joined the RIEC. In 1982, he spent at Purdue University as a visiting associate
professor. From 1993 to 2010, he has been a professor of RIEC. From 2002 to 2010, he has been the
director of IT-21 Center. He is currently a visiting professor. He is a member of the IEEE, the IEICE,
the Physical Society of Japan, the Japan Society of Applied Physics, et al.
Tadashi Takagi received the B.S. degree in physics from Tokyo Institute of Technology and Ph.D.
degree in electronic engineering from Shizuoka University in 1973 and 1995, respectively. In 1973,
he joined the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, where he was engaged in development on microwave
and millimeter-wave circuits technology. From 2005 to 2010, he has been a professor of IT-21 Center.
He is currently a visiting professor. He is a fellow of IEICE and a senior member of the IEEE.
Akinori Taira received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electronics and communication engineeringfrom Waseda University in 1994, 1996 and 2008, respectively. In 1996, he entered the Mitsubishi
Electric Corporation, where he had been engaged in research and development of broadband wirelesscommunication system. He is currently an assistant professor of IT-21 Center.

[Papers][1] K. Tsubouchi, “Extended Dependable Air: Heterogeneous Wireless Network for Surface, Space and Sea,” APMC2014,
TH3A-1, Nov. 2014 (Invited).
[2] A. Taira et al., “System Stability of SS-CDMA Location and Short Message Communication Using QZSS,”APMC2014, TH3G-24, Nov. 2014.
[3] K. Terajima et al., “A 2.0 GHz CMOS Triple Cascode Push-Pull Power Amplifier with Second Harmonic Injection for
Linearity Enhancement,” EuMW2014, EuMC/EuMIC01-04, Roma, Oct. 2014.

44

Contact to Professor Noriharu Suematsu : suematsu@riec.tohoku.ac.jp / Contact to Associate Professor Suguru Kameda : kameda@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Research Center for 21st Century Information Technology
IT21 Center Storage Technology Group

Realization of Highly-available Storage System

Takaki Nakamura, Associate Professor
Hiroshi Matsuoka, Visiting Professor

Application on Smart Phone Working with
Highly-Available Storage System

A Snapshot in Field Test ofHighly-Available Storage System[Research Target and Activities]
The Storage Technology Group continue to be engaged in the research and development of storage
technology in a collaboration between industry, academia, and government. Our group successfullycompleted two national projects commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology from FY2002 to FY2011.
Recently, as social and information systems become more complicated, one of the urgent researchareas in storage, in addition to “devices” and “drives”, is the “system”. Because of this our group
started a new national project “Research and Development on Highly-functional andHighly-available Information Storage Technology” in FY2012. The project will continue until
FY2016. Furthermore, in collaboration with the storage system industry, we will focus on bringing
the results of our research into practical use within five years, which is the prime mission of the
IT-21 center.
[Staff]
Associate Professor: Takaki Nakamura, Ph.D.
Visiting Professor: Hiroshi Matsuoka, Ph.D.
Research Fellow: Masachika Harada[Profile]
Takaki Nakamura received B.E, M.E, and Ph.D. in information science from Osaka University in
1996, 1998, and 2011 respectively. He joined Central Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. in 1998. He
is currently an associate professor at RIEC, Tohoku University. He has been engaged in research on
storage system.
[Papers][1][2]

S. Matsumoto, T. Nakamura, and H. Muraoka, "Risk-based Method for Data Redundancy Determination to
Improve Replica Capacity Efficiency," The 3rd Asian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS2014), 2014.
H. Kamei, O. Yashiro, and T. Nakamura, "A Method of Shared File Cache for File Clone Function for Fast Virtual
Machine Boot," The 3rd Asian Conference on Information Systems (ACIS2014), 2014.

Contact to Associate Professor Takaki Nakamura : takaki@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

45

2014 Management Office for Safety and HealthManagement Office for Safety and HealthRealizing and Maintaining a Safe and Comfortable Environment to Support
Research[Research Target and Activities]

Safety and health seminarFirst aid training course
1. Outline of the Management Office for Safety and Health
The Management Office for Safety and Health is established to maintain the safety and health ofstudents and staff working at the institute. The use of chemicals, high-pressure gas and radiation in
research activities at the institute entails many risks. The Management Office for Safety and Healthprovides support for safety and health management in research laboratories, experimental facilities
and the Fundamental Technology Center through various activities to ensure safe and smooth
research activities within the institute.
2. Activities by the Management Office for Safety and Health
For the actual management of safety and health at the office, the Safety and Health Committee firstpresents the basic policies of safety management at the institute, and the Management Office for
Safety and Health then plans and executes activities based on them. At the institute, laboratories andother individual sections are highly independent of each other; unlike a general corporate organization,
top-down safety management is not suitable and measures appropriate for independent sections need
to be taken. Various considerations are also necessary for students, researchers, and other members
engaged in research activities as well as faculty staff. At this institute, extremely hazardous materials
and facilities are used, including chemicals, high-pressure gas, and X-ray devices. Since there is also aclean room and other special workplaces, safety management should be extended by considering them.
In these circumstances, the Management Office for Safety and Health will monitor situations andcharacteristics in each section at the institute, plan and recommend practical management methods
and improvement measures, and support their implementation for the efficient and effective
management of safety and health. The main activities in this fiscal year are as follows:○ Holding safety and health seminar and high-pressure gas seminar for staff and students at theinstitute○ Inspection of and assistance in improving the safety and health management system and working
environment within the institute○ Holding first aid training course○ Investigation of laws related to safety and health and collection of information regarding safety
and health management○ Providing advice and information to safety and health personnel in each department[Staff]
Manager: Satoshi Shioiri, Professor

Deputy Manager: Yoichi Uehara, Professor
Nobuyuki Sato, Assistant Professor
Maho Abe, Technical Staff
46

Yoshiko Kikuta, Clerk
anzen@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Flexible Information System Center
Flexible Information System Center

Development and Management of Flexible Information System[Research Target and Activities]
The present information systems represented bycomputers are inflexible systems, because their uses
are predefined and they provide only the fixed
processing and functions. The flexible information
system on the other hand, is a system which canperform the flexible information processing adapted
to the human intention and situation of its
environment beyond the limitations of the principlesof the inflexible information processing. The aims ofthis center are to manage and operate information
networks and systems based on the concept of theflexible information system, and support smooth
research activities of RIEC.
Moreover, utilizing technical know-how acquired
Figure 1 RIEC network systemthrough applying the information networks andsystems to practical use, we also design and construct a leading-edge system for advanced
organization, utilization, administration, operation and dispatching of scientific information.
1. Information collection, organization, dispatching, utilization and research support environment.
2. Advanced maintenance, management and operation of network.
3. Technical supports for information networks and systems in the institute.

[Staff](1) Steering Committee
Professor: Tetsuo Kinoshita, Dr., Yôiti Suzuki, Dr., Yoshihito Toyama, Dr., Masafumi Shirai Dr.,
Atsushi Ohori, Dr., Takuo Suganuma, Dr.
(2) FIR Committee
Professor: Yoshihito Toyama, Dr., Takuo Suganuma, Dr.
Associate Professor: Masato Yoshida, Dr., Gen Kitagata, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Takeshi Onomi, Dr., Dai Owaki, Dr., Katsuhiro Ueno, Dr., Kazuto Sasai, Dr.
Technical Official: Masahiko Sato, Kenji Ota
Technical Support Member: Keiko Taniguchi, Yumiko Mishima(3) Regular Staff
Associate Professor: Gen Kitagata, Dr.
Assistant Professor: Kazuto Sasai, Dr.
Technical Official: Masahiko Sato, Kenji Ota
Technical Support Member: Keiko Taniguchi, Yumiko Mishima[Profile]
Refer to the Communication Network Laboratory for the profile of Prof. Tetsuo Kinoshita.
Refer to the Computing Information Theory Laboratory for the profile of Prof. Yoshihito Toyama.

Contact to Associate Professor Gen Kitagata : minatsu@fir.riec.tohoku.ac.jp

47

2014 Fundamental Technology Center
Fundamental Technology Center

Supporting research with high-level specialized knowledge and technology

Overview of Fundamental Technology Center[Research Target and Activities]
The Fundamental Technology Center provides a wide range of technical supports for research anddevelopment (R & D) through the following four divisions; machine shop, evaluation, process, andinformation technology. The activities of the present year are summarized as follows except for thoseof Technical Official F. Saito and Y. Wagatsuma, which are separately described in the sections ofAdvanced Acoustic Information Systems and Dielectric Nano-devices, respectively.
1. Machine Shop Division
The Machine Shop Division supplied machining products of 96, following requests from researchers.
About 20 % of the requests were from the outside of the institute.
2. Evaluation Division
21 laboratories utilized evaluation and measurement apparatuses for shared usage (the utilization
time was 5355 hours in total), and furthermore there was utilization from the outside of university.
Glass processing products of 9 were supplied.

Several services relating to supply of cryogenic liquids

were provided.
3. Process DivisionThis division supplied electron-beam lithographic products of 215, in cooperation with technicaloffice, Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics.

Technical supports were provided for

operating and maintain clean rooms of Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics.

In addition,

optical mutilayered thin films were supplied to the outside of the university.
4. Software Technology DivisionThis division operated the in-house network at the institute and maintained shared-useinformation-equipment, in cooperation with Flexible Information System Center.

This division also

engaged in contracting affairs of collaborative research based on intellectual-property rights and ingiving advices to researchers who tried to apply patents.
[Staff]Director (Professor): Yoichi UEHARA.
Assistant Professor: Nobuyuki SATO.
Technical Officials:

Koichi SHOJI, Tamotsu SUENAGA, Keisuke SATO, Kento ABE, Yasuaki MAEDA,
Maho ABE, Takenori TANNO, Tsuyoshi ONOUE, Yurika IWAMI, Iori MORITA,
R i k i m a O N O , M a s a h i k o S AT O , Yu k o M A R U YA M A , K e n j i O H TA ,Yasuo WAGATSUMA, Shigeto AGATSUMA, Fumitaka SAITO, Katsumi SAGAE,
Setsuko ODAGIRI, Toshiko ISHIKAWA, Keiko TANIGUCHI, Yumiko MISHIMA.

48

Contact to : eac@riec.tohoku.ac.jp

2014 Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems (CSIS)
Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems (CSIS)＜About the Center＞
Establishment：CSIS, which was established on March 10th 2010 in order to implement the FIRST Program, isconducting research and development of ultra-low power spintronics-based VLSIs.
Organization：
・Director ：Hideo Ohno (Professor and Director of RIEC)
・Number of Researchers：25（including 11 concurrent appointments）
Research Target：CSIS has been advancing the following programs to assume a leading role in innovative change
by demonstrating the fusion of spintronics devices and logic integrated circuits, thus aiming at playing a pivotal
role in the global innovation cycle of VLSIs.
○“Distributed IT system project (project leader : Prof. Hideo Ohno)” in ImPACT program (program manager :Prof. Masashi Sahashi) of CSTI, 2014/10/2～
Research Activities： Research and development of spintronics device, 300mm integration process technology,
innovative circuit and the architecture technology, and realization of low power consumption microcontroller
driven by energy harvesting＜Major Achievements in 2014＞(1) Determination of universality classes of current– and external magnetic field– induced domain
wall creep in CoFeB/MgO wire. (2) Demonstration of perpendicular-anisotropy MTJs with double
CoFeB-MgO interfaces having capability to withstand annealing at 400oC required for standard
back-end-of-line process.
○“Research and Development of Spintronics Material and Device Science and Technology for a
Disaster-Resistant Safe and Secure Society (principal investigator: Prof. Hideo Ohno)” under “R&D Program for
ICT Key Technology” of MEXT, 2012/8/15～
Research Activities：Research and development of spintronics material and device for high functionality (highspeed)/ ultra-low power consumption (high capacity) working memory at technology node of less than 20 nm, andstudy on simulation of disaster-resistant computer system.
＜Major Achievements in 2014＞(1) Demonstration of controlling B composition, and thus magnetic properties of CoFeB film in
MgO-CoFeB-Ta stack by changing CoFeB and Ta thicknesses as well as annealing condition. (2)Clarification of origin of magnetic anisotropy in Ta/CoFeB/MgO junction by x-ray magnetic circulardichroism. (3) Determination of electric-field modulation ratio of magnetic anisotropy in
CoFeB-MgO MTJ by homodyne-detected ferromagnetic resonance and (4) X-band ferromagnetic
resonance.

49

s]
2014
e have been promoting
12 disaster-resilient I
two ongoingprojectswer
ns. Towards
In Construction
2014,of Disaster-Resistant
Information Communication Network
elivery project in Cross-ministerial Strateg
and a disaster management project supp
he research results concerning the disaster mesults produced by the promoted projects we
sk Reduction (WCDRR) held in Sendai oblished in 2014.
Research Organization of Electrical Communication (ROEC)

Research Organization of Electrical Communication (ROEC)[Purpose of our establishment]
Many serious problems have become clear as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which exposed theweaknesses of the most advanced information communications network in the world by severing the mobile phone andoptical fiber lines thus cutting off essential telecommunications services. To solve these problems, Tohoku
University’s Disaster Reconstruction and Regeneration Research Project includes an ICT Reconstruction Project for
restoring information communication. The mission given to the researchers in the Electrical Engineering andInformation Sciences group after the disaster was to achieve a disaster-resistant information communication network
through the ICT Reconstruction Project, taking the needs of the disaster areas into consideration.
To realize this network, we needed to employ the combined strength of our problem-solving abilities by linking
researchers in electrical engineering and the information sciences across multiple faculties, including the School ofEngineering, the Graduate School of Information Sciences, the Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering, theCyberscience Center, and the Research Institute of Electrical Communication. These faculties and schools came
together to form a new organization that could create close and flexible links between researchers and organizations,and on October 1, 2011 we established the Research Organization of Electrical Communication (ROEC) (Fig.1). The
ROEC intends to take an all-Japan approach based on collaboration between industry, academia and government, andassemble expertise from the university with the participation of related local governments, private companies, publicresearch organizations, and other universities with the goal of developing the most advanced disaster-resistantinformation communication network in the world (Fig.2).
[Main Activities]
Since 2012, we have been promoting 12 disaster-resilient ICT projects supported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs andCommunications. In 2014, two ongoing projects were promoted. We have also been engaged in a disaster
information delivery project in Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP) promoted by the
Cabinet Office and a disaster management project supported by RISTEX, JST. In addition, we demonstrated thefeasibility of the research results concerning the disaster management system and power ensure in the time of disaster.
The research results produced by the promoted projects were presented at the the 3rd United Nations World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) held in Sendai on March, 2015, and our activities were described in ROEC
Newsletters published in 2014.

Fig.1 Research Organization of Electrical Communication.

Fig.2 Overview of ICT Reconstruction Project.

[Staff]Prof. Masataka Nakazawa (Executive Director)
Prof. Fumiyuki Adachi (Vice Executive Director)
Specially Appointed Prof. Naomichi Numata (Vice Executive Director)
Specially Appointed Prof. Katsumi Iwatsuki (Research Administrator)
Mr. Yasuharu Ito (Office Manager)
Mr. Masayuki Kobayashi (Manager)
Ms. Izumi Ishikawa (Secretary)[Papers][1] M. Nakazawa, “Resilient ICT research activities of ROEC at Tohoku University and its cooperation with NICT”,
IEICE Tech. Rep., vol. 114, no. 287, MWP2014-42, pp. 1-6, Nov. 2014. in Japanese.
[2] F. Adachi, “Recent advances in disaster-resilient multilayered network,” IF&E Panel: Disaster-Resilient Networks,
2014 IEEE International Conference on Communications, Sydney, Australia, 11 June, 2014.
[3] Wei Zhao, Zubair Fadlullah, Hiroki Nishiyama, Nei Kato, and Kiyoshi Hamaguchi, “On Joint Optimal Placement ofAccess Points and Partially Overlapping Channel Assignment for Wireless Networks”, IEEE Global Communications
Conference 2014 (2014).

Organization of Electrical Communication.
50

2014 Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems (CIES)
Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems (CIES)＜Overview＞
Establishment: CIES was established in October 2012 to enhance industry-academic collaborations andcontribute to the further development of integrated electronic industry. The building wasconstructed in March 2013 as the first research center by private investment in Science Park at
Tohoku University’s Aobayama New Campus.
Organization: Director: Tetsuo Endoh (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering)Number of staff: 64 (including appointments across RIEC, Graduate School of Engineering,
Graduate School of Inforamtion Sciences, etc)
Mission: CIES aims to contribute to the enhancement of global competitiveness in the field of next
generation integrated electronics systems, and further, work toward the creation of practicalapplications and new industries, through the research and development of innovative devices
and its integrated electronic systems and constructing a consortium for this field under theinternational collaboration among industries, universities and government.
Research topics: Research and development by industry-university joint research projects,

national

research projects and so on in a wide variety of integrated electronics fields such as fornext-generation semiconductor memory, high-performance printed-circuit board, packaging, andimage processing technologies.

＜Major activities in FY2014＞
Toward practical applications from innovative core technologies created by Tohoku University, wemanaged the international industry-academic consortium (CIES Consortium) consisting of sevenindustry–academic collaborations, and three major national projects (JST-ACCEL, ImPACT and NEDO
projects) through our cooperation with a diverse range of Japanese and foreign companies from fields suchas materials, equipment, devices, circuits and systems. CIES produced remarkable results, especially,
pronounced achievement to be recognized worldwide with dozens of Japanese and foreign companies
participating. Through this our activity, CIES constructed the second such base for collaborative research
between industry and academia in the world to be organized by a university for this academic area (otherbeing in the U.S.) with first 300mm wafer process line and facilities for device characterization & physicalanalysis in Japanese university.
CIES has developed multiple innovative technologies, including next generation memories, highperformance board and package technologies, image processing and so on. Especially, KeyshightTechnologies, Inc. announced to develop new STT-MRAM test solution based on collaboration with CIES.
Thus, some of them have been emerged as the successful results in view of the production phase. These
results were presented at 1st CIES Technology Forum on March 2015, in which a total number of 400
participants, and promoted the domestic and international recognitions. CIES established efficient and active
academic-industrial collaboration framework, utilizing intellectual property management and operation51

2014 Center for Innovative Integrated Electronic Systems (CIES)
system, and safety and stable information security system in order to achieve the best balance between“collaboration synergy” and “information confidentiality” for participant entities during advanced
technology R&D activities.
In addition to the R&D activities, the CIES internship program has been conducted, which brought major
successes in high-level human resources training. CIES has also been involved in local initiatives designed tohelp rebuild the Tohoku area and assist the region. CIES consortium’s member companies enjoy the benefitsof “a special private-sector investment promotion zone system (for information service-related industries)”
under a joint application from Miyagi prefecture and local municipalities. Furthermore, these companies cantake advantage of a subsidy system that provides “financial assistance according to the amount of property
tax paid (created under an agreement between Tohoku University and the city of Sendai)”. CIES has also
started a technology matching program with regional and local companies.

52

2014 Spintronics Research and Education Promotion Office
Spintronics Research and Education Promotion Office<Overview>
Establishment: December, 2014
Organization:
・Chair of Steering Committee: Executive Vice President (for Research) Sadayoshi Ito
・Steering Committee: 10 members
Mission:・Discussing the items related to promotion of spintronics R&D in Tohoku University
・Liaison and coordination between relevant departments in Tohoku University
Activities:(1) Sharing information and innovative technologies on spintronics in Tohoku University(2) Promotion of spintronics research and training young researchers and students throughthe collaboration among research groups within and beyond Tohoku University(3) Establishment of "Center for 'spintronics research innovation and cooperative network' "according to "Basic concept on promotion of large-scale research project －Drawing-up
roadmap－ Roadmap 2014"(4) Other necessary items concerned with spintronics R&D<Major activities in 2014>
The first Steering Committee was held on January 20, 2015. The content of activities of thePromotion Office was confirmed and the current status of each activity was reported.
The website of the Promotion Office opened in February, 2015 in order to share information
on spintronics R&D in Tohoku University. It includes the list of spintronics research groups,
the activity of Graduate Program in Spintronics, Tohoku University, and so on.
The request for budgetary appropriations was prepared in order to establish the Center for'spintronics research innovation and cooperative network'. The main activities of the Center
are as follows: (1) accelerating the cooperative research of spintronics devices and integrated
systems, (2) contributing the establishment of inter-disciplinary spintronics R&D, (3) creating
the technical innovation in collaboration with industry, and (4) developing the next-generation
human resource possessing global vision.

53

2014 Leading Graduate Program
Leading Graduate Program
Interdepartmental Doctoral Degree Program for Multi-dimensional Materials Science Leaders<Overview>
Establishment: October , 2013
Organization:
・Program manager: Executive Vice President (for Education, Student Support and Student
International Exchange)Kimio Hanawa
・Program coordinator: Professor Tetsuya Nagasaka (Graduate School of Engineering)・Program member: about 60 Professors in Tohoku University
Mission:・Cultivating human resources through creating leaders who have a firm grasp of thefundamentals of material science and extensive research experience
・The term “multi-dimensional” (MD) refers to the extensive, panoramic perception ofmaterials through dimensions such as functionalities, characteristics, processes,
environmental compatibility, economics, safety, and assessment techniques.
<Major activities in 2014>
About 20 new students joined the program in 2014. They learned the fundamental andspecialized subjects and joined long-term internship at domestic corporations and/or foreign
institutions.
The joint symposium co-organized by two Leading Graduate Programs, i.e. MD Program in
Tohoku University and Ambitious Leader’s Program in Hokkaido University, was held on
March 10, 2015 at Tohoku University. Both programs were briefly introduced and research
activities are reported. Following to the open symposium, a closed workshop was held. The
results of long-term internship are reported by several students at the workshop. Afterlaboratory tour at Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, lectures were
given by researchers on March 11, 2015. The joint symposium was a fulfilling occasion for
exchange between the students of both programs.

54

2014 Graduate Program in Spintronics (GP-Spin)
Graduate Program in Spintronics (GP-Spin)<Overview>
Establishment: April 1, 2015
Organization:
・Program manager: Executive Vice President(for Education, Student Support and Student

International Exchange)Kimio Hanawa
・Program leader: Professor Yoshiro Hirayama (Graduate School of Science)・Program member: about 10 Professors in Tohoku University
・Foreign organization: Johannes Gutenberg Univ. Mainz (Germany), Tech. Univ. München(Germany), Tech. Univ. Kaiserslautern (Germany), Tech. Univ. Delft (The Netherland),Univ. Groningen (The Netherland), Univ. Chicago (USA), Univ. New South Wales(Australia)
Mission:・Education of world-class leaders in spintronics from fundamental to applications
Activities:
・Education by world-leading professors from all departments and institute in Tohoku
University with participation from all over the world
・Joint education with foreign organization including joint supervised degree/joint degree,
mutual visit and long-term internship, international school/workshop, qualifying
examination to guarantee the educational quality<Major activities in 2014>
The curriculum and the syllabus of the Graduate Program were prepared in 2014. The
selection based on the application requirements were carried out and as a result the first 6
students were selected.
A memorandum for jointly-supervised degree between Tohoku University and Johannes
Gutenberg University Mainz was concluded on February 17, 2015.

55

2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
4. Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
The Institute has a long history of fundamental contributions in many fields of engineering andscience that include the fields of semiconductor materials and devices, magnetic recording, opticalcommunication, electromagnetic technology, applications of ultrasonic, acoustic communication,
non-linear physics and engineering, and computer software. On the basis of this rich historicalbackground the Institute was designated as National Center for Cooperative Research in 1994.
Accompanying Tohoku University’s transformation to “a national university juridical entity” in
April,2004, this institution plays a leading role on the world stage, as its researchers, both domestic
and foreign, continue the task of “investigating the theory and application of universal science andtechnology to realize communication, to the enrichment of humanity.”
In such background, the Institute organizes Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects bycoordinating its activities with research workers. The main themes for Cooperative Research are
selected annually by the Committee for Cooperative Research Projects. Then invitations for project
proposals and participation are extended to university faculties and government laboratories aswell as industrial research groups. Each project approved by the Faculty Council of the Institute iscarried out by a team of researchers that include members of the Institute as well as outside
participants.
The advisory Council which includes members from other institutions has an advisory function to
the Director in defining the general direction of the research at the Institute and its Nation-wide
Cooperative Research Projects.
The Project Selection Committee that includes members from the outside of Tohoku University
has a Judging function for project proposals. The purpose of the Project Steering Committee is theproper operation of approved projects.

572014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Nation-wide cooperative research projects list 2014
Project Number
Research Project Theme
Ｈ２４／Ａ０２

Development of Solid Oxide Fuel
Cells with Thin Film Electrolyte
Ｈ２４／Ａ０３

Precise Interface Control of Grapheneand Nano Device Applications
Ｈ２４／Ａ０４

Basic Study of Plasma
Nanobio-Medicine
Ｈ２４／Ａ０６

Development of Atomically-Controlled
Plasma CVD Process for Quantum
Heterointegration of Group-IV
Semiconductors

Project Leader

Facilitator
in RIEC

Kiyoshi Uchiyama
Tsuruoka National College ofTechnology

Yasuo
Cho

Maki Suemitsu
Research Institute of ElectricalCommunication,
Tohoku University
Toshiro Kaneko
Graduate School ofEngineering,Tohoku University

Maki
Suemitsu

MichioNiwano

Masao Sakuraba
Research Institute of Electrical Michio
Communication,
NiwanoTohoku University

Ｈ２４／Ａ０７

Device Design, Evaluation andPreparation of Langasite Family
Piezoelectric Single Crystals forHigh-Temperature Acoustic Sensors at
1000℃

Yuji Ohashi
Graduate School ofEngineering,Tohoku University

H２４／Ａ１０

Koichi Maezawa
Graduate School of Science and Taiichi
OtsujiEngineering for Research,
University of Toyama

THz wave generation and detection
systems using resonant tunnelingdevices
Ｈ２４／Ａ１１

Distortion of auditory space caused byvestibular information
H２４／Ａ１２

A Fundamental Study on an Affective
Networking System
Ｈ２４／Ａ１３Fabrication of artificial lipid bilayers
and their application tobio-information devices
58

Wataru Teramoto
Muroran Institute ofTechnology
Masaki Omata
University of Yamanashi
Ayumi Hirano
Graduate School of
Biomedical Engineering,Tohoku University

Yasuo
Cho

Shuichi
Sakamoto
Gen
Kitagata
MichioNiwano2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme
Ｈ２４／Ａ１５

Contents-Oriented Computing inSuper-distributed Environment
H２４／Ａ１６

Research of Coordination Mechanismof Repository-based Multiagent
Framework for Symbiotic Computing
Ｈ２５／Ａ０1

Fabrication and characterization of
nanometer-scale chalcogenide
structures, and their application tomemory devices

Project Leader
Jun Munemori
Faculty of Systems
Engineering,
Wakayama University
Takahiro Uchiya
Information Technology
Center,Nagoya Institute of Technology
Masashi Kuwahara
National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science andTechnology

Yohtaro Umeda
Tokyo University of Science
Study on High-Power Terahertz Signal Faculty of Science andTechnology Electrical
Source with InGaAs HEMTs
Engineering

Facilitator
in RIEC

TetsuoKinoshita
TetsuoKinoshita

YoichiUeharaＨ２５／Ａ０２

Tetsuya
Suemitsu

Ｈ２５／Ａ０３

Self-assembling formation of highdensity ferromagnetic nanodots bycontrolled alloying of group IV
semiconductors with metals and its
magnetic properties
Ｈ２５／Ａ０４

Electronic structure and properties offerromagnetic
shape memory and other functional
magnetic materials
Ｈ２５／Ａ０５

Implementation of Large Scale
Superconducting Quantum Detectors
for Practical Applications
Ｈ２５／Ａ０６

High-precision communication systemfor kansei information of speech
Ｈ２５／Ａ０７

Multi-channel color representation inhuman brain

Seiichi Miyazaki
Graduate School ofEngineering,
Nagoya University

MichioNiwanoShin Imada
College of Science andEngineering,
Ritsumeikan University

Masafumi
Shirai

Satoshi Kohjiro
National Institute of Advanced
Industrial Science andTechnology

ShigeoSato

Akihiro Tanaka
Tokyo Woman's Christian
University

Sakamoto
Shuichi

Ichiro Kuriki
Research Institute of Electrical Ichiro
KurikiCommunication,
Tohoku University

592014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme

Project Leader

Masanori MoriseInterdisciplinary Graduate
Development of speech processing
School of medicine andtechnology by nonlinear time-varying
Engineering,auditory representation
University of Yamanashi
Ｈ２５／Ａ０９
Ko Sakai
Faculty of Engineering,
Study of the cooperative environment
Information and Systems,
for building visual cognition models
University of Tsukuba
Ｈ２５／Ａ１０
Takao Tsuchiya
Faculty of Science andEvaluation of sound field rendering
using a surrounding loudspeaker array Engineering,
Doshisha University
systemFacilitator
in RIEC

Ｈ２５／Ａ０８

Shuichi
Sakamoto

Satoshi
Shioiri

Yôiti
Suzuki

Ｈ２５／Ａ１１

Study of Information Principle ofBrainware and its applications
Ｈ２５／Ａ１２

Heterarchical analysis of adaptability
under indeterminacy and its
technological applications
Ｈ２５／Ａ１３

Interpersonal Communications in aMedia Space
Ｈ２５／Ａ１５

Study on knowledge acquirement in
information networks for agent-based
management system
Ｈ２６／Ａ０１

Development of graphene-based
electronic and photonic devices

Toshiyuki Kanoh
NEC Corporation

Koji
Nakajima

Tatsuji Takahashi
School of Science andEngineering,Tokyo Denki University

KazutoSasai

Ikuo Daibo
Motivation and Behavioral
Sciences,Tokyo Future University

Yoshifumi
Kitamura

Yukio Iwaya
Faculty of Engineering,Tohoku Gakuin Univercity

TetsuoKinoshita

Takashi Uchino
Tohoku Institute of Technology

TaiichOtsuji

Ｈ２６／Ａ０２

Measurement of polarization structure Hiroyuki Odagawa
National Institute ofin layered piezoelectric thin films
Technology, Kumamoto College
using scanning nonlinear dielectric
microscopy
Ｈ２６／Ａ０３
Hiroshi Okamoto
Graduate School of Science andFabrication of various type high-k/Ge
Technology,
structure by plasma processing andevaluation of their near-interface traps Hirosaki University

60

Yasuo
Cho

MichioNiwano2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme
Ｈ２６／Ａ０４

Development of Fe4N-based magnetic
tunnel junctions with ferroelectric
tunnel barrier
Ｈ２６／Ａ０５

Studies on fabrication offerromagnet/semiconductor hybrid
structures and their application for
spintronics devices
Ｈ２６／Ａ０６

Highly-Strained andAtomically-Controlled Formation of
Ge-Based Group-IV Semiconductors
and Nanodevice Application
Ｈ２６／Ａ０７

Project Leader

Facilitator
in RIEC

Masakiyo Tsunoda
Graduate School ofEngineering,Tohoku University

Masafumi
Shirai

Fumihiro Matsukura
Advanced Institute forMaterials Research,
Tohoku University

Hideo
Ohno

Masao Sakuraba
Research Institute of Electrical Michio
NiwanoCommunication,
Tohoku University
Toshiaki Kato
Graduate School ofEngineering,Tohoku University

Satoshi
KatanoYohei Shiokawa
Graduate School ofEngineering,Tohoku University

Satoshi
KatanoKeisuke Konno
Graduate School of
Research on fast design method ofEngineering,huge-scale multiband
Tohoku University

SuguruKamedaStructure-controlled synthesis andproperty elucidation of
two-dimensional emiconductormaterial
Ｈ２６／Ａ０８

Investigation of high sensitive
magnetic sensor with
Spin-torque-Oscillator
Ｈ２６／Ａ０９

Ｈ２６／Ａ１０Development of Wireless Network
Architecture for Dependable Air
Ｈ２６／Ａ１１

Study on the organization of corticalcircuits

Suguru Kameda
Research Institute of Electrical Suguru
KamedaCommunication,
Tohoku University
Shigeru Kubota

Yamagata University

Haruyuki Kamiya
Reconstruction of neuronal network for Hokkaido University Graduate
School of Medicine
generation of hybrid brain
Ｈ２６／Ａ１２

Ｈ２６／Ａ１３

Dynamic cues for auditory spaceperception

Akio Honda
Yamanashi Eiwa College

MichioNiwanoMichioNiwanoShuichi
Sakamoto

61

2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme

Project Leader

Facilitator
in RIEC

Kazuhiro Kondo
Yamagata University

Shuichi
Sakamoto

Tomoo Nakai
Industrial Technology
Institute, Miyagi Prefectural
Government

KazushiIshiyama

Ｈ２６／Ａ１４

Speech intelligibility estimation
without transmission characteristics
under long-path echo conditions
Ｈ２６／Ａ１５

Study for thin film functional device
obtained by controlling normal
magnetic field
Ｈ２６／Ａ１６

Yasuo Kimura
Teng
Development of nanostructured hybridTokyo University of Technology Ma
solar cells
Ｈ２６／Ａ１７

Evaluation of spatial structure and its
typology in designing
three-dimensional objects using toy
blocks with optical illusory patterns
Ｈ２６／Ａ１８

Application of 3D Interactive Technologies
to Medical Education based on the Methodof Design

Tomoko Ohtani
Research Institute of Electrical Tomoko
Communication,
OhtaniTohoku University
Yoshifumi Kitamura
Research Institute of Electrical Yoshifumi
Communication,
Kitamura
Tohoku University

Ｈ２６／Ａ１９

Keiichi Yasumoto
A study on new information processing
Nara Institute of Science andtechnology focusing on the flow ofTechnology
information

Gen
Kitagata

Ｈ２６／Ａ２０

Study on Cooperative Mechanism of
Tatsuya Yamazaki
Sympathetic Devices for Mental Status Niigata University
Sharing
Ｈ２６／Ａ２１

An accurate estimation for acousticaltransfer function of pinna from camera
imagesＨ２６／Ａ２２

Study of magnetic coupling and spintransport mechanisms in magnetic
semiconductors and oxides

Hideyuki
Takahashi

Masashi Itoh
Tohoku Institute ofTechnology

Shuichi
Sakamoto

Fumihiro Matsukura
Advanced Institute forMaterials Research,
Tohoku University

Hideo
Ohno

MEZIANI Yahya Moubarak
University of Salamanca

TaiichiOtsuji

Ｈ２６／Ａ２３

Japan-Spain International
Research Collaboration on
Terahertz Sensing Devices

622014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme
Ｈ２６／Ａ２４

Study on Direct Digital RF MODEM
Technologies
Ｈ２６／Ａ２５

Cultural and individual differences incolor lexicon

Project Leader

Noriharu Suematsu
Research Institute of Electrical Noriharu
Suematsu
Communication
Tohoku University
Keiji Uchikawai
Tokyo Institute of Technology

Ｈ２６／Ａ２６

Taku Komura
Machine Learning Hand-Manipulation
University of Edinburghfor HCI Application
Ｈ２６／Ａ２７
Yoshifumi Kitamura
Research Institute of Electrical
A Novel Development for 3D Natural
Communication
User Interfaces
Tohoku University
Ｈ２４／Ｂ０１

Fundamental characteristics andapplications in innovative functionaland reactive field generated withvarious plasma flow

Facilitator
in RIEC

Akira Ando
Graduate School ofEngineering
Tohoku University

Shuzo Kato
Research Institute of Electrical
Unlicensed Band WirelessCommunication
Communications
Tohoku University
Ｈ２４／Ｂ０３
Yoshihiro Hayakawa
Sendai National College ofProblems and perspectives ofTechnology
intelligent nano integrated system
Ｈ２４／Ｂ０５
Yoshifumi Kitamura
Research Institute of ElectricalEntertainment Computing forCommunication
Creative Rejuvenation
Tohoku University
Ｈ２４／Ｂ０６
Yoshifumi Kitamura
Research Institute of Electrical
A New Academic Association for HCI in theCommunication
Asia-Pacific Region
Tohoku University
Ｈ２４／Ｂ０７
Toshio Ogino
Graduate School of
Functionalization of oxide surfaces andEngineering
its application to nanodevices
Yokohama National University

Satoshi
Shioiri
Yoshifumi
Kitamura
Yoshifumi
Kitamura

Maki
Suemitsu

Ｈ２４／Ｂ０２

Ｈ２４／Ｂ０８

Research on planar measurement
techniques for earthquake, tsunami,
and crustal deformation using
optical-fiber networks

Masato Araya
Earthquake ResearchInstitute,
The University of Tokyo

Shuzo
Kato
Koji
Nakajima
Yoshifumi
Kitamura
Yoshifumi
Kitamura

MichioNiwanoMasataka
Nakazawa

63

2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme
Ｈ２４／Ｂ１０

Computational Ability of
High-Dimensional Neural Network
Ｈ２４／Ｂ１１

Study of human perceptual/cognitiveand decision processes

Project Leader

Facilitator
in RIEC

Akira Hirose
Graduate School ofEngineering,
The University of Tokyo

ShigeoSato

Ken-ichiro Tsutsui
Graduate School of Life
Sciences,
Tohoku University

Satoshi
Shioiri

Ｈ２４／Ｂ１２

Evolution of elementary technologies
of high performance Computing fornational security needs

Yoshihiko Orita
Japan Marine Science
Fundation

Ｈ２４／Ｂ１３

Akira NishimuraStudies on enrichment technologies for Tokyo University ofdigital contents
Information Sciences
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０１

New Principle Nano Devices Based on
Precision Control and Observation of
Spin Fluctuation and Correlations
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０２

Fabrication of novel nano-materials
based on fine particle plasma physics
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０３

Research in magnetic materials andmagnetic devices for advanced
communications equipment
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０４

Physics and applications ofelectric-field control of magnetism
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０５Novel photonics and nano photonic
informatic

64

Shintaro Nomura
Graduate School of Pure andApplied Sciences,
University of Tsukuba

Takahiro
Hanyu

Yôiti
Suzuki

Hideo
Ohno

Masaharu Shiratani
Graduate School and Faculty ofMichioInformation Science andNiwanoElectrical Engineering,
Kyushu University
Takeshi Yanai
Graduate School ofEngineering,Nagasaki University
Masafumi Shirai
Research Institute of ElectricalCommunication,
Tohoku University
Takashige Omatsu
Graduate School of Advanced
Integration Science,
Chiba University

KazushiIshiyama

Masafumi
Shirai
Keiichi
Edamatsu

2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０６

Research on Electromagnetic Wave
Technologies for Low-Carbon Energy
Society
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０７

Studies on cortical mechanisms forvisual perception of object-surface
attributes
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０８

Understanding of human adaptive
motor function based on the concept ofembodiment
Ｈ２５／Ｂ０９Development and Civilian Use of
Microwave and Laser Aided Synthetic
Aperture Radar

Project Leader

Facilitator
in RIEC

Takashi Ohira
Toyohashi Univercity ofTechnology

Noriharu
Suematsu

Katsunori Okajima
Yokohama National University
Graduate School ofEnvironment and Information
Sciences

IchiroKurikiToshiyuki Kondo
Akio
Tokyo University of Agriculture
Ishiguro
and Technology
Yuichiro Kogi
HiroshiFukuoka Institute of Technology
YasakaYukiyoshi Kameyama
Graduate School of Systems
Logical Approach to Metaprogrammingand Information Engineering,
University of Tsukuba
Ｈ２６／Ｂ０１
Shin-ichiro Umemura
Graduate School of Biomedical
Study of functional piezoelectricmaterials and applications to advanced Engineering
Tohoku University
communication devices
Ｈ２５／Ｂ１０

Ｈ２６／Ｂ０２

Research on the new concept
devices with integration of nanomaterials on silicon technology
Ｈ２６／Ｂ０３

Research for future electronic systems
by nano devices and circuits withnano semiconductor materials
Ｈ２６／Ｂ０４

Microwave magnetic materials andapplication to nano information
devices
Ｈ２６／Ｂ０５

Hybrid Semiconductor Circuit
Technologies and Their Applications
for Next Generation RFICs

Yoshihito
ToyamaYôiti
Suzuki

Heiji Watanabe
Hideo
Graduate School of
Ohno
Engineering, Osaka University
Kikuo Yamabe
Graduate School of Pure andApplied Sciences
University of Tsukuba
Masahiro Yamaguchi
Graduate School ofEngineering,Tohoku University
Kenjiro Nishikawa
Graduate School of Science andEngineering,Kagoshima University

Hideo
Ohno

KazushiIshiyama

Noriharu
Suematsu

65

2014 Nation-wide Cooperative Research Projects
Project Number
Research Project Theme

Project Leader

Hidemi Tsuchida
National Institute of Advanced
Advanced Communication andMeasurement Systems Using Coherent Industrial Science andTechnology
Multicarrier Lightwave
Ｈ２６／Ｂ０７
Koichi Oosuka
Graduate School of
KOTO-mimetics: Rethinking andEngineering,
Recreating Biomimetics
Osaka University
Ｈ２６／Ｂ０８
Kenzo Sakurai
Facultyof liberal arts.
Contribution of self-body motion to
Tohoku Gakuin University
multisensory integration

Facilitator
in RIEC

Ｈ２６／Ｂ０６Ｈ２６／Ｂ０９International Research Collaborationof Brainware LSI
Ｈ２６／Ｂ１０

Reliable and Scalable Foundation for
Parallel Computing on Many-Core
Architecture
Ｈ２６／Ｂ１１Sensing and Communication
Technologies for Human and Mobility

Masataka
Nakazawa
Akio
Ishiguro
Yôiti
SuzukiTakahiro Hanyu
Research Institute of Electrical Takahiro
Hanyu
Communication
Tohoku University
Kazuhiko Kato
Graduate School of Systems
and Information Engineering
University of Tsukuba

AtsushiOhori

Takeshi Oishi
Institute of Industrial Science,
the University of Tokyo

KazukiTakashimaTakashi Washio
Empathic Computing System based on The Institute of Scientific andIndustrial Research (ISIR)an innovative new concept associatedOsaka University
with human functions
Ｈ２６／Ｓ１
Hidenori Mimura
Project to construct the basis for future Research Institute ofElectronics,
science and technology of coherent
Shizuoka Universitywave
Ｈ２４／Ｓ１Ｈ２６／Ｓ２

Spintronics Academic Alliance
Ｈ２６／Ｓ３Collaborative Research on
Nano-electronics

66

Yoshifumi
Kitamura

HiroshiYasakaMasaaki Tanaka
Graduate School ofEngineering,
The University of Tokyo

Masafumi
Shirai

Tetsuya Osaka
Institute for Nanoscience &Nanotechnology,
Waseda University

MichioNiwano2014 Symposium organized by the Institute
5. Symposium organized by the InstituteThis Symposium is planned to exchange relevant information on current important
topics concerning Electrical Eng., Electrical Communications, Electronic Eng., andInformation Eng. Many related researchers inside and outside Tohoku University
participate the Symposium and stimulate discussion.

1

Symposium In Past
Title

Date

Quantum Electronics of Liglht Waves and Micro Waves

Feb. 6- 8, 1964

Magnetic Recording

Feb.14-15, 1964

2 Ultra-High Frequency Acoustelectronics

Feb.11-12, 1965

3 Artificial lntelligence

Mar. 8- 9, 1966

4 Thin Film Electronics

Jan.26-27, 1967

5 Crystal GrowthDec. 19-20, 1967

6 1968 Sendai Svmoosium on Acoustelectronics

Aug.19-20, 1968

7 Current Status and Future Trends of Superconductivitv

Jan.22-24, 1970

8 Soeech Information Processing

Feb.24-26, 1971

9 Surface Acoustic Wave Technology

May.25-26, 197210

Liquid Crystals · Their Molecular Orientations and Application to
Display Devices

11 Computer Network
12

The Memorial Symposium on the 40th Anniversarv of the Foundation of
RIEC

Dec.13-14, 1974
Mar.17-18, 1975
Sep.25-26, 1975

13 Application of Amorphous Ferromagnetic Materials

Mar.10-11, 1977

14 Stoichiometry of Compound Crystals

Nov.24-25, 1977

15 Submillimeter Waves

Nov.16-17, 1978

16 Solid State Chemical Sensors

Feb. 1- 2, 1980

17 Graph Theory and Algorithms

Oct.24-25, 1980

18 Perpendicular Magnetic Recording

Mar.11-12, 1982

19 Approach to Optical Computer

Mar.10-11, 1983

20 Plasma Non-Linear Phenomena - Basic Problems for Fusion Plasmas

Mar. 8- 9, 1984

21 New Computer Architecture

Jul.25-26, 1985

22 Guided Wave Technology and Its Application at Mid-Infrared

Mar.13-14,1986

23 Physics and Applications of Tunnelling Phenomena

Mar.12-14, 1987

24 Biomagnetics and Bioelectronics

Feb.26-27, 1988

25 Ultrasonic Electronics - New Applications of Piezoelectricity

Feb. 2- 3, 1989

26 Boundaries between Light and Electromagnetic Wave

Feb. 1-2, 1990

67

2014 Symposium organized by the Institute
27 Issues and Realization of Pattern Recognition and Understanding

Feb.28-Mar.1,1991

28 Discrete Algorithms

Oct.17-18, 1991

29

Perspective for New Computing Paradigm

Feb. 4- 5, 1993

Current Status and Future Prospects of System Control

Mar. 3- 4, 1993

30 Future Prospects of Electron Beam Devices

Nov. 1- 2, 1993

31 Discharge and EMC

Dec.20-21, 1994

32 Statistical Physics and Information Science

Mar.22-23,1995

33 Photo-and Plasma-Excited Processes on Surfaces

Nov.30-Dec.1,1995

34 Nano Spinics and Power Electronics

Feb.15-16, 1996

35 Potential Formation and Related Nonlinear Phenomena in Plasmas

Sep.17-19, 1996

36 New Trend in Ultrasonic Measurements

Feb. 3- 4, 1997

37

68

Toward the Realization of the High-Definition Multi-Media
Communication

Nov. 4- 6, 1997

2014 Symposium organized by the InstituteInternational Symposium Organized by the Institute
Title
1
2

Intrinsic Josephson Effect and THz Plasma Oscillation in High Tc
Superconductors
Design and Architecture of Information Processing Systems Based on
The Brain Information Principle

3 Novel Techniques and Applications of Millimeter-Waves
4
5

The International Joint Conference on Silicon Epitaxy andHeterostructures
International Workshop on Photonic and Electromagnetic Crystal
Structures

Date
Feb.23-25, 1997
Mar.16-18, 1998
Dec.14-16, 1998
Sep.13-17, 1999
Mar.8-10, 2000

6 Physics and Application Spin Related Phenomena in Semiconductors

Sep.13-15, 2000

7 Rewriting in Proof and Computation

Oct.25-27, 2001

8 Nonlinear Theory and its Applications

Oct.28-Nov.1,
2001

9 New Paradigm VLSI Computing

Dec.12-14, 2002

10 Ultra High Density Spinic Storage System

Oct.23-24, 2003

11 3rd International Workshop on New Group IV (Si-Ge-C) Semiconductors

Oct.12-13, 2004

12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19

3rd International Workshop on High Freaqency Micromagnetic Devices
and Materials (MMDM3)
4th International Conference on Silicon Epitaxy and Heterostructures(lCSl-4)
1st International WorkShop on New Group IV Semiconductor
Nanoelectronics
GSIS International Symposium on Information Sciences of New Era:
Brain, Mind and Society
The 1st RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics -Spin Transfer
Phenomena4th International Workshop on High Frequency Micromagnetic Devices
and Materials (MMDM4)
4th International Conference on Physics and Applications of
Spin-Related Phenomena in Semiconductors (PASPS-lV)
2nd International Workshop on New Group IV Semiconductor
Nanoelectronics

Apr.11-12, 2005
May.23-26, 2005
May.27-28. 2005
Sep.26-27, 2005
Feb.8-9, 2006
May 8,2006
Aug.15-18,2006
Oct.2-3,2006

20 2nd RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics

Feb.15-16,2007

21 Japan-China Joint Conference on acoustics, JCA2007

Jun.4-6,2007

22

International Conference on Discovery Science/
International Conference on Algorithmic Learning Theory

Oct.1-4,2007

69

2014 Symposium organized by the Institute
23 The 3rd RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics
24

3rd International Workshop on New Group ⅣSemiconductor
Nanoelectronics

25 International Workshop on Nanostructures & Nanoelectronics

Oct.
31-Nov.1,2007
Nov.8-9,2007
Nov.21-22,2007

The 18th International Symposium on Algorithms andDec.17-19,2007
Computation(ISAAC2007)
International Interdisciplinary-Symposium on Gaseous and Liquid27
Sep.5-6,2008
Plasmas (ISGLP 2008)
4th International Workshop on New Group IV Semiconductor28
Sep.25-27,2008
Nanoelectronics
26

29 The 4th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics

Oct.9-10,2008

30 Global Symposium on Millimeter Waves 2009 (GSMM2009)

Apr.20-22,2009

31 Mini R.I.E.C. workshop on multimodal perception

Apr.24,200932 The 4th International

Aug.4-5,2009

Symposium on Ultrafast Photonic Technologies

PIMRC2009 Personal Indoor and Mobile Radio Communications
Symposium 2009
2nd RIEC-CNSI Workshop on Nanoelectronics,Spintronics and Photonics
34(5th RIEC Symposium on Spintronics)
International Workshop on the principles and applications of spatial
35
hearing 2009 (IWPASH2009)
5th International Workshop on New Group IV Semiconductor
36
Nanoelectronics
33

Sep.13-16,2009
Oct.22-23,2009
Nov.11-13,2009
Jan.29-30,2010

37 6th RIEC International on Spintronics

Feb.5-6,2010

38 2nd International Workshop on Nanostructure & Nanoelectronics

Mar.11-12,2010

39 2nd RIEC International Symposium on Graphene Devices (ISGD2010)

Oct.27-29,2010

40 9th Japan-Korea Symposium on Surface Nanostructures

Nov.15-16,2010

41 The 7th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics

Feb.3-4,2011

42

The 42nd RIEC International Symposium
12th International Multisensory Research Forum (IMRF2011)

Oct.17-20,2011

43 The 8th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics

Feb.2-3,2012

44 The Sixth International Symposium on Medical, Bio- and Nano-Electronics

Mar.8,2012

45 3rd International Workshop on Nanostructures & Nanoelectronics

Mar.21-22,2012

46 9th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics

May.31-Jun.2,2012

47

The 1st International Workshop on Smart Technologies for Energy,
Information and Communication (STEIC2012)

Oct.18-19,2012

48 Technical University of Dresden and Tohoku University Symposium 2012 Nov.2,2012

70

2014 Symposium organized by the Institute49

The 1st RIEC International Symposium on Brain Functions and Brain

Computer
Tohoku – Harvard Joint Workshop New Directions in Materials for
50 anoelectronics,Spintronics and Photonics（10th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics）
11th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics &51
3rdCSISInternationalSymposiumonSpintronics-based VLSIs

Nov.15-16,2012
Jan.15-16,2013
Jan.31-Feb.1,2013

52 7th International Symposium on Medical, Bio- and Nano-Electronics

Mar.7,2013

53 6th Global

Apr.22-23,2013

54

Symposium on Millimeter Wave 2013

The 2nd RIEC International Symposium on Brain Functions and Brain
ComputerFeb.21-22,2014

55 8th International Symposium on Medical,Bio- and Nano-Electro

Mar.6-7,2014

56 5th International Workshop on Nanostructures and Nanoelectronics

Mar.6-7,2014

57 12th RIEC International Workshop on Spintronics

Jun.25-27, 2014

58 The IEEE International Conference on Microwave Magnetics

Jun.29-Jul.2,2014

59 RIEC International Symposium on Perception and Communication

Jul.24,2014

60 APMC 2014(2014 Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference)

Nov.4-7,2014

61

The 3rd RIEC International Symposium on Brain Functions and Brain
ComputerFeb. 18-19,2015

62 International Symposium on Brainware LSI

Mar.2-3,2015

63 The 9th International Symposium on Medical, Bio- and Nano-Electronics

Mar.2-4,2015

64 The 6th International Workshop on Nanostructures and Nanoelectronics

Mar.2-4,2015

65 RIEC International Symposium on Vision and Cognition

Mar.20,2015

71

2014 Study Groups on Electrical Communication
6.

Study Groups on Electrical Communication

Study Groups on Electrical Communication are organized to solve scientific and technologicalproblems and to promote research and development through the collaboration of the ResearchInstitute of Electrical Communication, Depts. of Electrical Eng., Electrical Communications,Electronic Eng., Information Eng., and related scientists and engineers inside and outside Tohoku
University. The Study Groups on Electrical Communication consist of 15 Sub-Groups as listed
below, to deal with specific subjects. Each Sub-Group holds workshops. The abstracts of theworkshops are published annually in The Record of Electrical and Communication Engineering

Conversazione Tohoku University.
Many scientists and engineers－not only from universities but also from government laboratories
and industries－attend the workshops, present papers, and discuss issues actively. We are pleased
to provide information on these activities upon request. Please contact each Sub-Group Chairman
or manager for general information or more specific questions.

Electromagnetic and Optical Waves Engineering
Chair

Prof.

Chen Qiang

Manager

Assistant Prof.

Keisuke Konno

Acoustic Engineering
Chair

Prof.

Akinori Ito

Manager

Associate Prof.

Manager

Lecturer

Shuichi Sakamoto

Takashi Nose

Sendai "Plasma Forum"
Chair

Prof.

Akira AndoManagerProf.

Toshiro Kaneko

Sendai Seminar on EMC
Chair

Prof.

Hideaki Sone

ManagerProf.

Masahiro Yamaguchi

73

2014 Study Groups on Electrical Communication
Computer Science
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Ayumi Shinohara
Eijiro Sumii

Systems Control
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Makoto Yoshizawa
Norihiro Sugita

Information-biotronics
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof .

Tatsuo Yoshinobu
Ayumi Hirano

Spinics
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Masakiyo Tsunoda

Manager

Assistant Prof.

Sho Muroga

Hidetoshi Matsuki

New Paradigm Computing
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Takahiro Hanyu
Naofumi Homma

Ultrasonic Electronics
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof .

74

Shin-ichiro Umemura
Shin Yoshizawa

2014 Study Groups on Electrical Communication
Brainware
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Assistant Prof.

Akio Ishiguro
Takeshi Kanou

Mathematical Physics and its Application to Information Sciences
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Kazuyuki Tanaka
Yuji Waizumi

Biocybernetics and Bioinformatics
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Satoshi Shioiri
Takeshi Obayashi

Nanoelectronics and Spintronics
Chair

Prof.

Shigeo SatoManagerProf .

Michio Niwano

Advenced Information Communication Engineering
Chair

Prof.

Manager

Associate Prof.

Tetsuo Kinoshita
Gen Kitagata

75

2014 International Activities
7.

International Activities

Many of the staff in RIEC contribute to the development of technology and science inthe world by serving as editors of referees of international journals or by chairing or
programming international conferences. In some fields in electronics, electricalcommunications, or information engineering RIEC serves as a Center of Excellence(COE), which attracts many visiting researchers and students from all over the world
every year. Several academic exchange programs with foreign colleges or institutes arein operation.
International academic exchange programs:
 The Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) ＊The Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorm University (Thailand) ＊Harbin Institute of Technology (China)
 ＊The James Frank Institute, The University of Chicago (U.S.A.) ＊Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London (U.K.)
 ＊Scientific Research Department, Shenzhen University (China)
 ＊Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Sung-Kyun-Kwan University (Korea)
 ＊Institute of Materials Science, Faculty of Applied Physics, University of Twente (Netherlands)
 ＊The Institute of Radioengineering and Electronics Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia)
 ＊Department of Electronics Science and Engineering, University of Nanjing (China)
 ＊School of Computer and Communication Engineering, Taegu University (Korea)
 The Interdisciplinary Center on Nanoscience of Marseille, National Center of Scientific Research (France)
 IHP-Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics (Germany) Institute of Semiconductors Chinese Academy of Sciences (China)
 WINLAB, Rutgers University (U.S.A.) University of Vigo (Spain) State University of New Nork, College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering(CNSE)(U.S.A)
 Department of Physics, National Sun Yat-Sen Univesity (Taiwan)
 Research and Educational Center“Photonics and Infrared Technology”and Institute ofRadio Electronics and Laser Technology , Bauman Moscow State Technical University(Russia) Research Laboratory of Electronics and Microsystems Technology Laboratories,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)(U.S.A.)(＊: expired program)International journals in which a staff in RIEC participates as an editor:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Acoustical Science and Technology
Advanced Robotics
Applied Intelligence
Chinese Journal of Acoustics
Frontiers in Virtual Environments (a section of Frontiers in Robotics and AI)
IEEE Magnetics Letter
IEICE Electronics Express
International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks (IJDSN)International Journal of Energy, Information and Communication77

2014 International Activities

10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
IET Nicrowaves, Antenna & Propagation
Journal of Magnetics, Korean Magnetics Society
Journal of SPIN
Nature Communications
Neural Networks
Nonlinear Theory and Its Applications, ZEZCENPG Asia Materials
Optical Fiber Technology
Optical Review
Scientific Reports
The Journal of Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Recent international conferences programmed by a staff in RIEC
1 14th European Conference Physics of Magnetism 2014 (PM’14)
2 32nd International Conference on Physics of Semiconductors (ICPS2014)
3 ACM Conference on Human-Agent Interaction (HAI 2014)
4 ACM SIGGRAPH Asia
5 ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2014:
The 7th SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics andInteractive Techniques in Asia 2014
6 ACM SIGGRAPH Asia 2015:
The 8th SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics andInteractive Techniques in Asia 2015
7 ACM Symposium on Satial User Interfaces (SUI 2014)
8 ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST 2014)
9 ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST)
10 APMC: Asia-Pacific Microwave Conference
11 Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision (APCV) 201512 Asia-Pacific Workshop on Fundamentals and Applications of Advanced
Semiconductor Devices (AWAD)
13 EUMC (European Microwave Conference)
14 Eurographics Workshop on Virtual Environment (EGVE)
15 European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC)
16 European Solid-State Device Research Conference (ESSDERC)
17 IEEE Global Conference on Consumer Electronics (GCCE2015)18 IEEE International Microwave Symposium (IEEE IMS)
19
20
21
22
23

IEEE International Symposium on Asynchronous Circuits and Systems
IEEE International Symposium on Multiple-Valued Logic
IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI)IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces (3DUI 2014)
IEEE/WIA/ACM International Joint Conference of Web Intelligence and Intelligent
Agent Technologies (WI-IAT2015)24 IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing)
25 INTERMAG
26 International Conference Industrial & Eingineering Applications of Artificial

78

2014 International Activities
27
28

intelligence & Expert Systems (IEA/AIE-2015)
International Conference on Artificial Reality and Tele-existence (ICAT)International Conference on Electron Dynamics in Semiconductors, Optoelectronics
and Nanostructures (EDISON)
International Conference on Indium Phosphide and Related Materials (IPRM)International Conference on Recent Progress in Graphene Research (RPGR)
International Conference on Superlattices, Nanostructures and Nanodevices (ICSNN)

29
30
31
32 International Conferences on Modern Materials & Technologies (CIMTEC)
33 International Symposium on Compound Semiconductors (ISCS)
34 Magnetism and Magnetic Materials(MMM)
35 Opto-Electronics and Communications Conference (OECC)
36 SPIE International Conference on Defense, Security, and Sensing

37 Spintronics Workshop on LSI
38 Technical Committee of Multiple-Valued Logic, IEEE Computer Society
39 The Tenth International Conference on Intelligent Information Hiding andMultimedia Signal processing (IIH-MSP-2014)
40 The25th IEEE Semiconductor Laser Conference (ISLC)2016
41 Topical Workshop on Heterostructure Microelectronics (TWHM)

79

2014 Periodicals Published by the Institute
8. Periodicals Published by the Institute
The Institute publishes the following two periodicals to inform readers on recent research results of
the Institute.

1. The Record of Electrical and Communication Engineering Conversazione Tohoku University
This journal aims at providing an opportunity to publish research results of the Institute as well as
the result of the Graduate School of Engineering, Information Sciences, Biomedical

Engineering.

Since the journal also aims at publishing general research activities of the Institute and of the
Graduate School such as records of the final lectures of retiring professors, records of the InstituteSymposium, and reviews.
The name of the Journal ‘Conversazione’ is attributable to the ‘Tuesday Conversazione’ at the
Department of Electrical Engineering, which had been held once a week on Tuesday since around 1920.
Minutes of the meetings had been distributed to researchers outside of the University via various
routes and therefore some of them had been referred to as 'Records of Tuesday Electrical Engineering
Conversazione Tohoku University' with the result that they came to be treated as official publications.
Though the meeting was once interrupted by World War Two, it was restarted in 1947. In 1952, thepublication of the records was succeeded by the Institute and the records have been published asperiodicals, two or three times a year recently, since No. 1 Vol. 21 was published in July, 1952.

2. The Annual Report of Research Activity at the Research Institute of Electrical Communication,
Tohoku University
Published annually since 1995. This report details the activities of each research division andresearch facility. Also included are reports on nation-wide co-operative research projects, international
symposium and seminars organized by members of RIEC, and the reports and evaluation on the RIEC
advisory board members.

English edition(digest version of Japanese edition) has been publishedsince 2007.
3. RIEC NewsAs a part of RIEC’s publication service, “RIEC News” is published.
With the 75th anniversary of the establishment of RIEC, RIEC News introduces cutting-edge’s
812014 Periodicals Published by the Instituteresearch and the vision of the future from RIEC’s contributions to the progression of science andtechnology in Japan. RIEC News was first launched in March 2011, In fiscal year 2014, 8th, 9th and 10th
issues were published. Every issue introduces special topics such as large scale projects andSpecially-Promoted Research, etc. RIEC News also includes current information about each laboratory
and center, all kinds of RIEC events, research exchange meetings, laboratories open to the public(RIEC Open Day), etc. English version is also published in March 2014. Further, RIEC News offers anotification service by mail whenever a new issue is released and an electronic version of every issue
published so far can be downloaded by following the link below.
http://www.riec.tohoku.ac.jp/riecnews/82

2014 Staff, Budget
9. Staff, Budget

1.Faculty & Staff
as of May 1, 2014
Professors

24

Associate Professors

18

Assistant Professors

25

Research Fellows

14

Specially Appointed Professors

3

Administrative Staff

18

Technical Staff

11

Total

113

2.Researchers (FY2014)
Foreign Researchers

Visiting Professors

6

Visiting Associate Professors

2

Cooperative Researchers of Private Company etc

5

JSPS Postdoctoral Fellows

7

Contract Researchers

5

Contract Trainees

1

Total

26

3.Students

as of May 1, 2014
School of Engineering

Graduate School ofInformation Science

Undergraduate Students

56

Master Course Students

78 ( 6)43 ( 6)

Doctor Course Students

30 ( 6)8 ( 3)

Graduate School of
Biomedical Engineering

164 (12)

Total
56

4

51 ( 9)125 (12)38 ( 9)Research Students
Total

RIEC

4

6 ( 5)

6 ( 5)

6 ( 5)

225 (26)※（）Foreigner

832014 Staff, Budget
5.BudgetBudget Shiftmillion yen

6,000

5,000

1,542
50

433

4,000

3,000

2,461

2,471

360

2,933

2,464

1,423

2,000

1,000

1,458

1,523

1,435

1,382

1,460

FY2010FY2011FY2012FY2013

FY20140Operation Grants

External Funds

Expenses for Facilities Improvement etc.

Budget Summary

thousand yen
Categories

Operation Grants

External Funds

FY2011FY2010FY2012FY2013

FY2014

Personnel Expenses

777,776

835,898

770,443

723,507791,174

Non-Personnel Expenses

680,411687,253

665,038

658,590668,941

Operation Grants Total

1,458,187

1,523,151

1,435,481

1,382,097

1,460,115

Grants-in-Aid for Scientiﬁc Research

418,680

469,840

407,629

343,824

399,311

Funds for Commissioned Research

962,712

1,122,944

1,344,071

1,890,012

1,007,060

1,034,827

813,777

671,668

660,578

0Donations

55,08554,16740,714

38,10016,890Indirect Expenses

275,547

311,801

326,869

336,037

212,669

2,471,304

2,460,728

2,464,082

2,932,514

1,423,261

432,607

4,993

0

0

FIRST Program ※1 • NEXT Program ※2

External Funds Total
Expenses for Reconstruction
Expenses for Relocation

0

0

0

49,632359,770

Expenses for Facilities Improvement00

1,536,530

000432,607

1,541,523

49,632359,7703,929,491

4,416,486

5,441,086

4,364,243

3,243,146

Expenses for Facilities Improvement etc. Total
Total
※1
※2

84

FIRST Program…Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (JSPS)
NEXT Program…Funding Program for Next Generation World-Leading Researchers (JSPS)2014 Staff, Budget
External Funds
million yen
2,000

1,890

1,800
1,600

1,344

1,400
1,200

963

1,000

1,123

1,035

1,007
814

800

672

600
400

470

419

661

408

399

344

200

55

54

41

38

0

0
FY2010FY2011

Grants-in-Aid for Scientiﬁ

FY2012FY2013Funds for Commissioned Research

17

FY2014

FIRST・NEXT Program

Donations

External Funds

thousand yen
Categories

FY2010FY2011FY2012FY2013

FY2014

Grants-in-Aid for Scientiﬁc Research

418,680

469,840

407,629

343,824

399,311

Funds for Commissioned Research

962,712

1,122,944

1,344,071

1,890,012

1,007,060

1,034,827

813,777

671,668

660,578055,08554,16740,714

38,10016,8902,471,304

2,460,728

2,464,082

2,932,514

1,423,261

FIRST Program ※1 • NEXT Program ※2

Donations

Total
※1
※2

FIRST Program…Funding Program for World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology (JSPS)
NEXT Program…Funding Program for Next Generation World-Leading Researchers (JSPS)85

Annual Report 2014
Research Institute of Electrical Communication
Tohoku University
2-1-1Katahira, Aobaku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
Tel. +81-(0)22-217-5422 Fax. +81-(0)22-217-5426
http://www.riec.tohoku.ac.jp/