Publications

Journal articles and conference contributions.

Journal articles

  • Laser Processing of Lunar Regolith Simulants for Beneficiation and Metal Extraction Lucas-Brian Christen, Masataka Watanabe, Hiroto Yamakami, Hokuto Sekine, Kimiya Komurasaki, Ai Momozawa, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Vacuum, 2025, Vol. 240, Article 114417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2025.114417
  • Hydrogen diffusion in liquid and boiling alumina by laser ablation towards a carbon-free aluminum production Lucas-Brian Christen, Masataka Watanabe, Hiroto Yamakami, Hokuto Sekine, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Optics and Laser Technology, 2025, Vol. 181, Part C, Article 111935. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optlastec.2024.111935
  • Pore formation and aluminum deposition by laser reduction of alumina in a hydrogen atmosphere Masataka Watanabe, Lucas-Brian Christen, Naoki Tanaka, Kimiya Komurasaki, Hokuto Sekine, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Plasma Applied Science, 2024, Vol. 32, No. 1, pp. 29–34. https://doi.org/10.34377/aps.32.1_29
  • Laser spot size and preheating effects on alumina reduction using laser ablation Seiya Tanaka, Shin Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, published online, 2020. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.T5977
  • Characterization of Reduction Products Generated by Laser Ablation of Alumina Shin Yamada, Seiya Tanaka, Kimiya Komurasaki, Rei Kawashima, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Journal of IAPS, Vol. 26 (2018), No. 1, pp. 33–38. https://doi.org/10.34377/aps.26.1_33
  • Alumina reduction by laser ablation using a continuous-wave CO2 laser toward lunar resource utilization Seiya Tanaka, Shin Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, Rei Kawashima, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Vacuum, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vacuum.2018.07.054
  • Alumina Reduction by Coupling Laser Ablation and Laser Sustained Plasma Soichiro Sano, Ryota Soga, Maximillian Frank, Kimiya Komurasaki, Hiroyuki Koizumi, and Tsuro Kobayashi Frontier of Applied Plasma Technology, Vol. 9 (2016), No. 2, pp. 49–54.
  • Alumina reduction by laser sustained plasma for aluminum-based renewable energy cycling Makoto Matsui, Naohiro Fukuji, Masakatsu Nakano, Kimiya Komurasaki, Yoshihiro Arakawa, Tetsuya Goto, and Hirofumi Shirakata Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, 5, 039101 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4807607
  • Evaluation of Airflow Characteristics and Alumina Reduction Efficiency in Laser-Plasma Wind Tunnel by Optical Emission Spectroscopy Naohiro Fukuji, Makoto Matsui, Yoshiki Yamagiwa, Masakatsu Nakano, Akira Kobayashi, Kimiya Komurasaki, Yoshihiro Arakawa, Tetsuya Goto, and Hirofumi Shiragata Applied Plasma Science, Vol. 21, No. 1 (2013), pp. 47–50.

International conferences

  • Changes in evaporated species with surface temperature on lunar regolith simulants Lucas-Brian Christen, Hiroto Yamakami, Hokuto Sekine, Maho Matsukura, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi The 35th International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS 2025), Tokushima, Japan, July 2025.
  • Selective metal oxide extraction from regolith using laser heating Lucas-Brian Christen, Masataka Watanabe, Hiroto Yamakami, Hokuto Sekine, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi Space Resources Week 2025, Luxembourg, Luxembourg, May 2025.
  • Continuous-wave laser ablation of lunar regolith simulants JSC-2A, EAC-1A, and FJS-1 towards in-situ resource utilization Lucas-Brian Christen, Masataka Watanabe, Hiroto Yamakami, Hokuto Sekine, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi The 14th International Symposium on Applied Plasma Science (ISAPS 2024), Otsu, Japan, September 2024.
  • Aluminum collection by heterogeneous condensation in alumina laser reduction for lunar regolith Seiya Tanaka, Shin Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, online, August 2020.
  • Effect of preheating in alumina reduction using laser ablation toward utilization of lunar resources Seiya Tanaka, Shin Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, Rei Kawashima, and Hiroyuki Koizumi AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, Indianapolis, USA, August 2019.
  • Aluminum collection at close range from laser ablated alumina toward aluminum smelting from lunar regolith Shin Yamada, Seiya Tanaka, Kimiya Komurasaki, Makoto Matsui, Rei Kawashima, and Hiroyuki Koizumi 32nd ISTS, Fukui, Japan, June 2019.
  • Alumina reduction by laser ablation using a continuous-wave CO2 laser toward aluminum energy cycle Seiya Tanaka, Shin Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, Makoto Matsui, Rei Kawashima, and Hiroyuki Koizumi AIAA Propulsion and Energy Forum, Ohio, USA, July 2018.
  • Alumina reduction by laser ablation toward use of moon resources Seiya Tanaka, Soichiro Sano, Ryota Soga, Kimiya Komurasaki, Hiroyuki Koizumi, and Rei Kawashima The 11th International Symposium on Applied Plasma Science, Warsaw, Poland, September 2017.

Domestic academic conferences

  • Aluminum particle generation on laser-irradiated alumina surfaces in lunar resource laser reduction Masaya Tanaka, Naoki Tanaka, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi 32nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Microgravity Applications (JASMAC), online, October 2020.
  • Effect of zirconia mixing on plume temperature increase in laser alumina reduction Seiya Tanaka, Shota Sato, Shin Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi 51st Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, cancelled due to COVID-19, April 2020.
  • Effect of increasing the laser spot diameter on laser reduction of alumina on the lunar surface Seiya Tanaka, Shin Yamada, Makoto Yamada, Shota Sato, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi 63rd Space Science and Technology Conference, Tokushima, November 2019.
  • Measurement of laser spot diameter dependence of ablation gas temperature for alumina reduction on the lunar surface Masaya Tanaka, Makoto Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi 50th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Tokyo, April 2019.
  • Improving energy conversion efficiency by sample preheating in laser ablation of alumina reduction Masaya Tanaka, Makoto Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, and Hiroyuki Koizumi 39th Annual Meeting of the Laser Society of Japan, Tokyo, January 2019.
  • Alumina reduction by CW laser ablation aiming at acquisition of aluminum and oxygen from regolith Masaya Tanaka, Makoto Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, Hiroyuki Koizumi, and Ryo Kawashima 49th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Tokyo, April 2018.
  • Alumina reduction by CW laser ablation towards metal recovery from regolith Seiya Tanaka, Makoto Yamada, Kimiya Komurasaki, Hiroyuki Koizumi, and Rei Kawashima 37th Symposium on Space Energy, Kanagawa, March 2018.