Lukas Nagy is enrolled in the Elite Graduate Program “Advanced Optical Technologies” at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. Their partnership with the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NiTech) gave him the unique opportunity to do a research internship in Japan. With the support of the Elite Network of Bavaria Mr Nagy experienced the academic environment and life in a large Japanese industrial city from August to November 2025. He is certain that he will return.
NiTech was particularly attractive to me because I was interested in the strong focus of research on the (semiconductor) industry. This is a field that Assistant Prof. Miyagawa's group is also addressing by investigating the generation of periodic nanostructures on metal surfaces using simple laser systems. Together with other lab mates, I experimentally investigated how a ns-pulsed supercontinuum laser affects the quality and period of the periodic structures. In addition, I varied other influencing parameters such as the number of overlapping pulses, the targeted selection of specific wavelength ranges, and the angle of incidence, and analyzed the structures on different metals and coatings using an electron microscope. The aim of this project is to find out which parameters of the laser system have which effects in order to be able to control the process and the result and ensure reproducibility. The practical benefit would be to have found an economical method that allows optical surface properties to be influenced without the need for complex lithography processes.
The land of convenience, the long tradition of arts and crafts, the contrast between technology and customs, the unparalleled work culture - that was the image of Japan that piqued my curiosity, and I was by no means disappointed. I really liked Nagoya as a location: its proximity to the Japanese Alps and important arts and crafts workshops such as blacksmithing and ceramics, centrally located between Tokyo and Kyoto yet far away from the tourist crowds, and its enormously diverse cuisine. I danced for hours with my lab mates to centuries-old music and with people of all generations, or visited the Shinkansen Museum to learn about the planned 500 km/h magnetic levitation train.
The months I spent there enriched me greatly, both academically and culturally, and so I returned not only with additional knowledge for my work in the optics laboratory, but also with new friendships and an enthusiasm for Japanese bathhouses and cuisine, as well as the Japanese philosophy of life. All of this showed me once again what great opportunities university partnerships offer.
Link to the program site of the Elite Graduate Program “Advanced Optical Technologies”.
Text: Lukas Nagy, Elite Graduate Program “Advanced Optical Technologies”
