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Recently, in the Optoelectronics Science and Technology Park of Jiangbei New District, a story of “chasing light and electricity” is still being staged brilliantly.
The protagonist of the story is the first domestic “thin film lithium niobate + X” heterogeneous integrated photonic chip production line, built by Nanzhi Advanced Optoelectronic Integration Technology Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as “Nanzhi Optoelectronics”), and currently has mass production capabilities.
Following Tang Ji, the head of Nanzhi Optoelectronics Technology R&D Department, into the production line visit channel, in each laboratory, the process engineers wearing clean clothes were “fully armed” and were “focused on operating various instruments with a look of concentration.
Lithography, etching, coating… The photonic chip production line is not a assembly line in the traditional sense, but is composed of laboratories with different functions. “The current operation of the production line is very stable. Two batches of thin-film lithium niobate photonic chip products have been delivered, which not only achieves the leap from technology incubation to large-scale production, but also provides the industry with high-performance photonic chip solutions. ” Ji introduction.
In recent years, optical communications, as the cornerstone of AI computing, have become increasingly important. As early as 2018, Zhu Shining, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and founder of Nanzhi Optoelectronics Research Institute, led his team to enter the “no man’s land” and focused on the field of lithium niobate materials in the new track in the optoelectronics industry.
At that time, Tang Ji was studying for a doctorate in chemistry at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. To him, lithium niobate was more like a familiar “old friend”. At the end of 2019, he just graduated and decided to join Nanzhi Optoelectronics, give full play to his professional expertise, and invest in the research on the core process of wafer lithium niobate.
Experiment, modification; test, modification… From the initial simulation design work to single-step process development, to the ability to integrate process solutions, it has been tempered for many years. Now this “post-90s” doctor has become the leader in the team’s technical direction. , the team successfully launched an ultra-high bandwidth lithium niobate modulator chip, and its performance indicators are at the leading position in the international market. At the same time, he also witnessed the “highlight” moment from research to production of Nanzhi Optoelectronics.
In the past, Nanzhi Optoelectronics was mainly engaged in the transformation of scientific research results, proof of concepts, and sample development of start-ups. In order to further promote the mass production of thin-film lithium niobate photonic chip products, Nanzhi Optoelectronics actively transforms to “R&D + mass production OEM” and accelerates the research and development of innovative products and the implementation of industrial technologies. Driven by the “research and production integration” action in the new district, the photonic chip production line has achieved completion and delivery of the production line three months ahead of the original plan.
“In the field of lithium niobate chips, we have overcome the processing difficulties caused by material characteristics. From the maturity of 4-inch crystal processing technology to the development of 8-inch crystal processing, we have initially established technical advantages, including enterprises, universities, and research. Therefore, the demand is very strong. “Tang Ji said.
As a research and development worker, in the midst of changes in the chip industry, the young Tang Ji felt the weight of the word “responsibility”. “Domestic companies still have many gaps to fill in the field of photonic technology, and we are working hard to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies through independent innovation, hoping to occupy a more important position in the international market in the future.” He said that in the new year, the team will be in the team. We will firmly seize the new opportunities and strive to build Nanzhi Optoelectronics into one of the benchmark enterprises in the field of photonic technology in China.
Transform the “innovation” of the technology platform into the “hard power” of the industry
From the laboratory to the production line is the only way to cultivate and develop new quality productivity. During the interview, “going forward in parallel” production and research is a word that Tang Ji frequently mentioned, and is also a vivid practice of Nanzhi Optoelectronics. Transform the “key variables” of scientific and technological innovation into the “maximum increment” of new quality productivity, promote the formation of a virtuous cycle of scientific and technological achievements transformation system, and “research and production integration” contains infinite vitality in shaping new momentum and new advantages in development.
