Good news for Chasing Light!,

"Scientific and technological innovation depends on investment and talent. I am very happy to see that there are many elite talents here, all of whom are young and full of vitality." On June 28, 2022, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized when he visited Wuhan, Hubei and had cordial exchanges with employees of enterprises.

For the past year, young people in Wuhan who have been fighting on the front lines of scientific research and technological research and development have always remembered the important instructions of General Secretary, worked hard, and fought bravely to be the first. The power of youth is chasing light and shining on the path of scientific research!

"Breakthrough 'stuck neck' key core technology is urgent" "hard work, catch up, accelerate the realization of scientific and technological self-reliance" ...... A year ago, Wuhan Huagong Laser Engineering Co., Ltd. workshop building, General Secretary Xi Jinping's speech hit the floor, Huagong Laser Semiconductor Panel Division process director Feng Xinkang still fresh in my memory.

Feng Xinkang is conducting process debugging on wafer cutting equipment in the laboratory. Photo by journalist Gao Yong

"This is it! On June 28 last year, we listened to the General Secretary's teachings downstairs." Feng Xinkang pointed out the window, "the general secretary has great expectations for the young scientific research force of our generation, which makes us feel that we have a stronger sense of mission and must catch up!"

The young people on the 13th floor of Wuhan Ruike Fiber Laser Technology Co., Ltd. are also very busy. A colleague from the optical components department quickly moved his phone hands-free from the other end of the "Da Tong Pu" to the optical engineer Zhang Haiyang, skillfully pulling a chair next to him to sit down, and a remote meeting began.

The biomimetic architecture of Wuhan Optics Valley Future Science and Technology City is called "Horseshoe Lotus".

"The only way to achieve martial arts in the world is to be fast and not to be delayed at all! Most colleagues are born in the 1990s, and working in such an environment can efficiently 'chat' and solve problems at any time." Zhang Haiyang said bluntly.

Zhang Haiyang said, "Our project team's colleagues are racing against time to develop a nationally produced 3D printing laser that completely replaces imports and has been successfully applied and promoted to the 3D printing industry!"

This year, a number of major technological innovations such as the first 1.6Tb/s silicon optical interconnect chip in China, the first 2K high-frequency PWM flexible screen in China, and nationally produced EDA software were born in Optics Valley.

Six years ago, Feng Xinkang left a foreign laser processing equipment manufacturing company in Shanghai and joined Huagong Laser.

"The research and assembly of key equipment are all conducted overseas, and core technology is not something we can touch." Speaking of the reason for job hopping, Feng Xinkang used an analogy, "In foreign companies, I am more like a 'screw' that can be replaced at any time. Only when we return to our country can we become an irreplaceable 'core component'."

Huagong Laser R&D Building.

As Feng Xinkang said, Huagong Laser has also provided a larger stage for this young man.

"Looking back at these years, I have been deeply involved in the research and development of core technologies." Feng Xinkang, who is now 34 years old, has grown into a business backbone. "At Huagong Laser, I have witnessed firsthand the process of many of our laser processing equipment accelerating domestic substitution; domestic sales are hot, and overseas orders are also continuous."

Speaking of which, Feng Xinkang exclaimed, "While participating in national strategy, I also feel a sense of achievement. To contribute to national scientific research is to be honored!"

Now, Feng Xinkang has a new goal. "The laser equipment we are developing is aimed at the most high-end and challenging field in industry - semiconductors. We believe that as long as our goal is firm and we can achieve something two inches wide and two feet deep, we can definitely achieve it." In Feng Xinkang's view, the beautiful prospect of technological self-reliance and self-improvement is right in front of us.

Zhang Haiyang works in the laboratory. Photo by journalist Gao Yong

"100% localization is a new beginning for me, and I must look further ahead." Zhang Haiyang said, "Not only do we enable our country's enterprises to use useful and affordable laser products, but we also fully leverage the role of enterprise industry chain leaders and the source of laser industry, and shoulder the mission of being the 'national team' in the field of laser light sources."

The Optics Valley gathers "light" to form a valley, and the optoelectronic information industry is unique.

Nowadays, in Optics Valley, local leading enterprises such as China Information Technology, Huagong Technology, and Changfei have become "chain leaders", and a group of technology-based enterprises are accelerating their growth, with a total of 5200 high-tech enterprises.

Xiao Xi is debugging an experimental system for ultra large capacity single-mode multi-core fiber optic transmission.

Xiao Xixin, Deputy Director of the National Key Laboratory of Fiber Optic Communication Technology and Network of China Information Technology Group, happily shared the latest progress: "In May of this year, we achieved a single-mode 19 core fiber optic transmission system experiment with a total transmission capacity of 4.1 Pb/s and a net transmission capacity of 3.61 P/s. This work has broken the world record for single-mode multi-core fiber optic transmission capacity and is currently the highest level of experimental capacity in domestic fiber optic transmission systems."

In the past four years, Xiao Xi's laboratory has increased the experimental capacity of fiber optic transmission systems by four times. Currently, a single fiber can transmit 60000 high-definition movies per second, marking a significant step forward for China in the field of optical communication.

The "Star River" sculpture in Optics Valley Square.

Over the past 10 years, China Information Technology Group has also transformed from an outsider to a leader in the cutting-edge field of silicon optical chips, cultivating a group of leading silicon optical chip technologies. Xiao Xi has gradually grown from a scientific researcher to a "navigator" of technological innovation strategies and a "ferryman" of industry university research transformation.

"What I need to do now is not only to lead the team to achieve more technological breakthroughs, but also to use the National Information Optoelectronics Innovation Center as a platform to actively integrate the optoelectronic industry chain and innovation chain, drive more innovative achievements to industrial applications, and contribute to China's optoelectronic information industry being the first to achieve breakthroughs."

Xiao Xi said that in accordance with the guidance of the General Secretary, he will continue to shoulder the mission of "chasing the light and building the core", focus on the field of "sticking the neck", strive to build a great power, and occupy some commanding heights faster.

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