―Mr. Yamada, first, please tell us about your research?

Yamada: I was doing research on the development of gallium oxide films and crystal growth. These materials might be applied to power devices. I have repeatedly carried out film deposition experiments with students. In the laboratory, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) equipment is available as film deposition equipment. But you need to evacuate air from the inside of the chambers and it takes a lot of time. This was a drawback. It takes time to prepare even one sample, but in the college of technology, the time for students to carry out experiments is limited. So, it was difficult to push forward with the research.

―The environment for experiments is different between colleges of technology and universities, isn’t it?

Yamada: It is important to consider the characteristics of the college of technology for any research subject. When the given research subject requires cutting-edge equipment or facilities as can be found at universities, it would not be appropriate. It is important to set the research subject in consideration of the education of the students. This development of the equipment, which was supported by JAIST, was a very good research subject considering these perspectives.

―In FY 2018, you used JAIST on a trial basis. What made you use it?

Yamada: It all started when I was told from one of the teaching staff at Kanazawa University, which was a research partner, that Mr. Nakabayashi of JAIST was doing research on the mist CVD method. Until now, we have been doing collaborative research.

Nakabayashi: JAIST allows technical personnel to improve skills by themselves. Currently, my research subject is functional thin films using the mist CVD method. Several years ago, I visited a university where the teaching staff were pioneering this technology, so I was fascinated by the characteristics of the film deposition method. So after coming back to JAIST, I developed my original equipment. This time, I accepted a request from the National Institute of Technology, Ishikawa College, making use of this experience.

Yamada: Unlike typical CVD equipment, mist CVD equipment is able to achieve film deposition at atmospheric pressure. That is, it takes a short time to achieve film deposition, has a simple system, and has an element of equipment development. That is why I thought it was perfect for research at the college of technology.