Spintronics Research Center

Director: Kohei M. Itoh (Professor, Faculty of Science and Technology)

Main Campus: Yagami

Spintronics is a new academic field that creates innovation in the electronics, information, and communication industries—such as electronics, magnetics, and photonics—by utilizing new physical phenomena obtained by controlling both the electrical and magnetic properties of materials. In other words, it is an extremely rare field of scientific and technological innovation where basic scientific innovation and industrial innovation develop in a coordinated manner. It is necessary for Keio to proactively lead the development of this field while being conscious of competition and cooperation with the rest of the world.

From this perspective, our objective is to open our doors to researchers nationwide, build a collaborative research network that integrates resources such as advanced academic achievements and joint research facilities from national, public, and private universities, and expand this network globally to establish a system that secures Japan's advantages and priorities.

Spintronics, Physics, Chemistry, Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering

■ Activities Continuing from the Previous Fiscal Year: Background, Rationale, and Goals

We will expand our network with partner universities and research institutions both in Japan and overseas, and continue to hold joint workshops with Keio. We will also maintain the on-demand video streaming webpage

(http://www.appi.keio.ac.jp/Itoh_group/spintronics/) and continue to: 1) provide a collection of cutting-edge video presentations to deliver the latest research results to experts in a timely manner; 2) offer a video collection in which leading researchers explain in simple terms their research objectives and activities for those outside the field; 3) prepare a series of introductory lecture videos for newcomers to the field in both Japanese and English; and 4) continue public relations activities by exhibiting at the Keio Tech Mall.

Furthermore, we will continue our active and pioneering research activities as a center, keep publishing papers in journals such as *Nature*, and develop our activities as a "center" of research in the world.

■ New Activity Goals and Content for FY2018, and Implementation Background

As a pillar of the Top Global University Project's "Quantum Community" creative cluster project, we will further develop the center's activities related to advanced research, educational programs, and public relations. Additionally, by actively applying for and acquiring competitive research funds and pioneering new joint research with domestic and international institutions, we will strongly promote spintronics research and enhance Keio University's international presence in the field. As a spintronics academic research infrastructure and collaborative network hub selected for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)'s "Roadmap on the Basic Concept for Promoting Large-Scale Academic Research Projects," we will expand the scope of quantum spintronics research, an area of strength for Keio University, and establish our presence as a hub that attracts researchers from around the world.

■ Implementation Details for the Fiscal Year's Business Plan, Research Results, and Degree of Achievement

Since being selected for the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Core-to-Core Program (Advanced Research Networks) in FY2013, we have developed our center's activities as an international advanced research hub for spintronics for five years until FY2017, with an annual budget of approximately 16 million yen. Under this program, we have promoted joint research with institutions such as the Technical University of Munich, University College London, the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, Princeton University, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and the University of New South Wales, and have been able to co-publish many papers. Furthermore, the "Development of Spintronics Academic Research Infrastructure and Collaborative Network Hub" initiative, jointly proposed with the University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, and Osaka University, was selected as one of the new projects in the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)'s "Roadmap on the Basic Concept for Promoting Large-Scale Academic Research Projects." This Keio Advanced Research Center has been positioned as a "Quantum Spintronics Hub," and was granted a budget of 22 million yen in FY2017 for its development. Using this budget, we hired a project associate professor and a technical staff member for the center, continuing from the previous fiscal year, to further strengthen its functions as a "Quantum Spintronics Hub" in the research space established at the Yagami Campus. We co-hosted international conferences in Fukuoka in June and in Matsue in August.

Center members published more than 25 papers in world-leading academic journals such as *Nature Nanotechnology*, *Physical Review Letters*, *Physical Review B*, and *Applied Physics*. The number of conference presentations exceeded 50 domestically and 40 internationally.

The center co-hosted two international conferences. One was the 9th International School and Conference on Spintronics and Quantum Information Technology (SpinTECH9), held in Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, from June 4 to 8, 2017, where approximately 230 participants engaged in discussions on spintronics and quantum information. The other was the 29th International Conference on Defects in Semiconductors (ICDS-29), held in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, from July 31 to August 4, 2017, where about 300 researchers participated in discussions on semiconductors in general. We believe these conferences greatly enhanced the reputation of the Keio University Spintronics Research Center.

Our external achievements include being selected as an advanced research hub for the JSPS Core-to-Core Program, being listed in MEXT's "Roadmap on the Basic Concept for Promoting Large-Scale Academic Research Projects" as a quantum spintronics hub, and receiving 22 million yen in government support as a quantum spintronics hub in FY2017, following on from FY2016. In addition, within the Top Global University Project's "Quantum Community" creative cluster project, this center's initiatives have been developed as one of its four pillars.

In terms of research content, our achievements include leading the world in the research and development of silicon quantum computers, diamond quantum sensors, and spin current/magnon research.