• In recent year, facing the age of nanoscale engineering, the new technologies of device, circuit and architecture supported by novel physical guidance principles are highly expected, just as the similar situation as the predawn of semiconductor technology when Bardeen and Shockley discovered the secret of transistors. Therefore, in our research approach, the architectures, circuits, devices and CAD design tools for nanoscale LSI are systematically investigated in the following three main research subjects.
• 1. Study on nanoscale device and circuit
• Aiming at the nanoscale silicon semiconductor integrated circuit, we are mainly working on the following directions for new devices and circuits:
• ①Analysis for novel physical phenomenon based on nanostructural effects
• ②Device and circuit technology with new operating principle
• ③Restraint technology for increasing variability of device characteristics
• ④Architecture and circuit technology for robust information processing
• 2. Study on the 3-dimention-structual device and circuit
• The elementary element of recent LSI with planar-structural devices is coming close to the physical limitation of scaling. In order to break the limit and sustain the evolution of future LSI performance, we have started the research on the novel 3-dimension-structural devices and circuits.
• 3. research on wireless integrated circuit (IC) based on information transmission
• The ultracompact lightweight wireless IC is one of essential technologies for realizing the ubiquitous society which has the network available in anywhere, at anytime and from any surrounding items. For example, the IC tags for receiving information with reading function are getting close to the practical applications. In our laboratory, aiming at the automatic operating wireless IC with embedded power supply, we are systematically working on the following directions:
• ①The electrical power generation and storage devices
• ②Devices and circuits with Ultralow power consumption
• ③Sensing devices
• For all above subjects, We hope to conduct collaborative researches with companies interested in our research.

• Our laboratory conducts leading research on programming language theory and high-level computation models. In particular, we focus on research and application of (general proof methods for) program equivalence, functional programing, and type systems (also known as lightweight formal methods), which are attracting revived interests in recent years. Our Japanese translation of "Types and Programming Languages" (Benjamin C. Pierce, University of Pennsylvania)---compiled in cooperation with engineers from top-level electronics and software companies in Japan---has become the 42nd bestseller (rather exceptional as an academic Publications) among new books in Amazon.co.jp. For more information, please see the Web page: http://www.kb.ecei.tohoku.ac.jp/~sumii

Our technology can be used for design and development of software artifacts, especially programming languages and tools including DSL (domain specific languages), as well as application of functional programming, type systems, or formal methods.

• Aiming at developing practical quantum optimization technology known as quantum annealing, we are working on exploring basic technologies that can overcome the limitations and applications in collaboration with multiple companies. The advantage of the method is that it can be used simply by formulating a cost function that draws the goal to be optimized once, but we are not limited to the original method. We extend it by considering a much easier problem, sequential optimization by learning, black box optimization, etc.. In particular, it is being applied to automated driving, logistics in factories, and evacuation guidance during disasters.

Applications to route search problems such as automatic driving of various vehicles, evacuation route guidance at the time of disaster, process scheduling and a large number of combination problems. We can provide a solution to combinatorial optimization in each industry. (Transportation / distribution, manufacturing, materials, drug discovery, etc.)