C&A Corporation

C&A (Crystals and Applications) Corporation is a Japanese advanced-materials venture company founded on November 7, 2012 as a spin-off from the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University. Headquartered in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, the company describes itself as drawing on more than 15 years of experience in bulk single crystals grown from the melt. Its name reflects its focus: crystals and their applications. The company's core business is the development, growth and supply of single crystals and the devices built from them. Its best-known product family is the GAGG (Ce) scintillator — gadolinium aluminum gallium garnet doped with cerium — used to detect and measure radiation in applications such as SPECT, gamma cameras, Compton cameras and environmental radiation survey meters. C&A also offers high-energy-resolution HR-GAGG, the fast GFAG variant, La-GPS, SrI2 (Eu) and CeBr3 scintillators, and LiCAF single crystals, flexible sheets and fiber-optic probes for neutron detection. Beyond scintillators, it produces LTG/LTGA piezoelectric crystals and piezoelectric devices, flexible iridium alloy wire and thermocouples, and Ruscaloy ruthenium alloy wire. A second pillar of the business is crystal-growth equipment. C&A builds and sells Czochralski, Bridgman, micro-pulling-down (μ-PD) and tetra-arc furnaces, and it provides single-crystal growth services and consulting for customers' own research and development. The company also sells ready-made scintillator samples through Amazon, making small crystals available for rapid delivery. C&A operates as a small, research-intensive venture — its capital stock is 5.5 million yen and it reported 29 employees as of December 2024. Its leadership includes president Kei Kamada, CTO Akira Yoshikawa and CFO Yoshiko Ugaji. The company has pursued international expansion, including a Japan–India joint venture with the Indian corporation SHIVAKRM announced in 2025, collaboration discussions with Amrita Medical Center in India on next-generation PET equipment, and delivery of a μ-PD furnace to a university in Poland. Its OCCC method received an Excellence Award at the 38th Outstanding New Technology & Product Award for SMEs, and the company has publicly stated a "10 Billion Yen Declaration" growth ambition.

C&A (Crystals and Applications) Corporation was founded on November 7, 2012, as a spin-off venture from the Institute for Materials Research at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. The company was built on more than 15 years of accumulated experience in growing bulk single crystals from the melt, and it took its name from its two central concerns: crystals and their applications. Its headquarters are located at Ichibancho Square in Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. From its base in Sendai, C&A developed a portfolio spanning scintillator crystals, piezoelectric crystals, alloy wires and the crystal-growth furnaces needed to produce them. Its GAGG (Ce) scintillator — gadolinium aluminum gallium garnet doped with cerium — became a signature product, valued for high light yield, relatively fast decay time and good energy resolution, and used in SPECT, gamma cameras, Compton cameras and environmental radiation survey meters. The company expanded the family with high-energy-resolution HR-GAGG, the fast GFAG variant, and other scintillators such as La-GPS, SrI2 (Eu) and CeBr3. It also developed LiCAF crystals, flexible sheets and fiber-optic probes for neutron detection, positioning them as alternatives to helium-3 and tritium-based detectors. Alongside materials, C&A built a business in crystal-growth equipment, offering Czochralski, Bridgman, micro-pulling-down (μ-PD) and tetra-arc furnaces, and providing single-crystal growth services and consulting for external R&D programs. The company also produces flexible iridium alloy wire, Ir-Rh thermocouples and Ruscaloy ruthenium alloy wire, and it sells ready-made scintillator samples through Amazon for rapid delivery. C&A has pursued international growth. In October 2024 it delivered a μ-PD furnace to a university in Poland, and in January 2025 it exchanged views with Amrita Medical Center in India on next-generation PET equipment. In August 2025 it established a Japan–India joint venture with the Indian corporation SHIVAKRM. Its research has also spun out new entities, including the establishment of FOX Co., Ltd. in October 2024. In April 2026 the company's OCCC method received an Excellence Award at the 38th Outstanding New Technology & Product Award for SMEs, and its business verification project in India was selected for a JICA support program in May 2026. The company has publicly promoted a "10 Billion Yen Declaration" growth ambition and was selected for the Sendai City Regional Business Scale-Up Subsidy for fiscal year 2025. As of December 2024, C&A reported 29 employees and capital stock of 5.5 million yen. Its leadership team comprises president Kei Kamada, CTO Akira Yoshikawa and CFO Yoshiko Ugaji. The company remains a private, research-intensive venture closely tied to Tohoku University's materials science ecosystem.

• C&A Corporation founded as a spin-off venture from the Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University.

• C&A featured in the Japan Patent Office's "Foreign Application Subsidy Casebook."

• Participated in the international conference SCINT2024.

• Participated in the international conference ECCG.

• Began handling a new type of advanced detector.

• Research led to the establishment of FOX Co., Ltd.

• Delivered a μ-PD furnace to a university in Poland.

• Exchanged views with Amrita Medical Center in India on next-generation PET equipment.

• Ce:LuAG gemstones sold at Mineral Marche.

• Established a Japan–India joint venture with SHIVAKRM.

• Mayor of Fukushima City visited the development facility.

• Selected for the Sendai City Regional Business Scale-Up Subsidy for FY2025.

• "10 Billion Yen Declaration" featured on the 10 Billion Yen Company Growth Portal.

• OCCC method awarded the Excellence Award at the 38th Outstanding New Technology & Product Award for SMEs.

• India business verification project selected for a JICA support program.

• Article on demonstration of cancer diagnostic device manufacturing in India published in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.

• OCCC method featured in The Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun's "Behind the Development."

Research-intensive Tohoku University spin-off supplying advanced single-crystal materials, detectors and crystal-growth equipment to medical imaging, radiation detection and scientific research customers worldwide.

• GAGG (Ce) scintillator

  Gd3(Ga,Al)5O12(Ce) garnet scintillator with light yield 45,000–55,000 Ph./MeV, decay time ~90 ns, energy resolution 8–9% @662 keV; used in SPECT, gamma cameras, Compton cameras and survey meters.

• HR-GAGG (Ce) scintillator

  High-energy-resolution GAGG variant with energy resolution ≤5% @662 keV (APD).

• GFAG (Ce) scintillator

  Fast gadolinium fine aluminum gallate scintillator with decay time ≤40 ns; used in PET, SPECT and high-energy physics experiments.

• LiCAF (Ce) and LiCAF (Eu) neutron detection crystals

  6LiCAlF6 single crystals, flexible sheets and fiber-optic probes for neutron imaging, neutron diffraction and survey meters; positioned as alternatives to tritium.

• LTG/LTGA piezoelectric crystals

  Piezoelectric single crystals and devices.

• Flexible Ir alloy wire and Ir-Rh thermocouples

  Flexible iridium alloy wire and thermocouples for high-temperature applications.

• Ruscaloy Ru alloy wire

  Ruthenium alloy wire product.

• Crystal growth furnaces (C-01 Czochralski, H-01 Bridgman, O-01 μ-PD, T-01 Tetra arc)

  Equipment for growing single crystals from the melt.

• FRIE omnidirectional radiation detector

  Omnidirectional radiation detector product.

1. 1C&A Corporation official websitec-and-a.jp
2. 2C&A Corporation company profilec-and-a.jp
3. 3C&A Corporation products (English)c-and-a.jp
4. 4C&A Corporation products (Japanese)c-and-a.jp
5. 5Wikidata: C&A Corporation (Japan)wikidata.org