Strong Alliance | Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute and Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, jointly inaugurate the "Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory"

11 On the morning of the 29th, the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute and the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, officially inaugurated the "Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory" at Suzhou Changguang Huaxin. Wu Xuxiang, Deputy Director and Deputy District Mayor of the Suzhou High-tech Zone Management Committee; Yang Liang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Science and Technology City; Li Wei, Director of the High-tech Zone Science and Technology Innovation Bureau; Deng Qiang, Party Secretary of the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Ji Xiaoyan, Director of the Technology Transfer Center; Researcher Liu Jianping; Min Dayong, Chairman of the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute; Wang Jun, President; Li Shunfeng, Executive Vice President, and others attended the event.

▲ Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory Unveiling Ceremony

▲ Min Dayong, Chairman of the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute

Min Dayong, Chairman of the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute, delivered a speech stating the establishment of the "Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory" is of great significance. Changguang Huaxin is currently in a rapid development stage after its listing. The construction of the "Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory" is an important horizontal business expansion by the institute focusing on the core field of semiconductor lasers, extending the company's core semiconductor lasers from the short-wave infrared and near-infrared fields to the visible light field. Our partner, the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has over ten years of solid research foundation in gallium nitride lasers. We believe that riding the momentum of the "Taihu Photonics Center" industrial innovation cluster construction, our cooperation represents a strong alliance between "East Nano" and "West Photonics," which will surely bear fruit in the future, filling another domestic technology gap, realizing the localization of laser chips in another application field from the source, and promoting the vigorous development of the photonics industry.

▲ Deng Qiang, Party Secretary of the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Deng Qiang, Party Secretary of the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a speech stating to develop semiconductors and optoelectronics, both R&D capabilities and regional aggregation are needed. Since its establishment, the Nano Institute has focused on major national needs, but while technology is strong, the system is weak. Changguang Huaxin has a good research platform and a keen sense of market demand. This is a typical example of scientific research project industrialization. From the perspective of regional aggregation, Suzhou has a good research and industrial foundation. It is hoped that through the establishment of the joint laboratory, focusing on major national needs, the front-end technical research capabilities, back-end technology, processes, and quality levels will be strengthened. Directed technical research will be guided by market demand, and through breakthroughs in front-end technology, product levels will be improved, forming a virtuous cycle to promote market traction and achievement transformation, creating the strongest innovation consortium!

▲ Wu Xuxiang, Deputy Director of the Suzhou High-tech Zone Management Committee and Deputy District Mayor

Wu Xuxiang, Deputy Director of the Suzhou High-tech Zone Management Committee and Deputy District Mayor of Huqiu District, delivered a speech stating Currently, Suzhou High-tech Zone is fully committed to building a world-class photonics innovation center and creating a trillion-yuan photonics industry innovation cluster. Due to the impact of great power competition, technological changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the optoelectronics industry places greater emphasis on the security and stability of the industrial chain. The Nano Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute refine scientific problems from industrial needs, build an industrial and scientific research joint innovation body, join forces to complement each other's advantages, and jointly establish the "Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory," which will strongly promote the strong alliance and complementary advantages of "East Nano" and "West Photonics" in high-end innovation resources, creating a model example for the construction of the "Taihu Photonics Center."

Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory

Gallium nitride is a representative material system among third-generation semiconductors. Gallium nitride blue-green lasers have huge application advantages and irreplaceable roles in many fields such as laser displays and colored metal processing. Blue-green lasers based on gallium nitride are the most technically challenging and industrially advanced key products among third-generation semiconductor optoelectronic devices, and currently remain a blank in China.

The Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory relies on the strong competitive advantages of both the institute and the Nano Institute in optoelectronic devices, semiconductor materials, and micro-nano processing. Leveraging Changguang Huaxin's understanding and knowledge of the industry, guided by the cutting-edge physical basis and technical research of gallium nitride lasers, integrating the disciplinary strengths of the Nano Institute, tackling difficulties together, jointly refining and cooperating on directional research in related fields, it will take the lead in filling the domestic gap in blue-green gallium nitride lasers and other third-generation semiconductor optoelectronic devices, and strive to build the completeness and leadership of China's laser industry chain.

▲ Wang Jun, President of the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute

Wang Jun, President of the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute Introduced the overall construction plan of the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Institute and the plan to support the construction of the Taihu Photonics Center. The institute adheres to the development strategy of "one platform, one pivot, horizontal expansion, and vertical extension," focusing on business expansion and investment incubation around optoelectronics and compound semiconductors. Currently, the company owns three major material systems: gallium arsenide, indium phosphide, and gallium nitride, with 2-inch GaN laser R&D capabilities and production lines for 3-inch indium phosphide and 6-inch gallium arsenide lasers. In the future, Changguang Huaxin will continue to benchmark against international top standards, building an advanced device R&D and industrialization platform for materials, processes, and packaging technology development of optoelectronic and electronic devices based on various compound semiconductors. After the platform construction is completed, the production capacity of laser chips and devices will achieve a qualitative leap, and the R&D and process platform will have the capability to support the R&D and production of a full range of compound semiconductor devices. Based on the currently internationally leading 6-inch compound production line, efforts will be made to comprehensively elevate R&D hardware conditions and R&D production levels to international top standards, possessing the capability to replace imported devices and modules in multiple fields domestically, fully building a new generation of China's laser localization industry ecosystem with government, capital, industry, region, research institutes, enterprises, upstream and downstream innovation collaboration, and supply chain interconnection, promoting technological innovation and development of China's laser industry.

▲ Researcher Liu Jianping, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Researcher Liu Jianping, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences Introduced the future work plan of the Gallium Nitride Laser Joint Laboratory. The Nano Institute team has been deeply engaged for more than ten years and was the first in China to develop gallium nitride blue and green lasers. The joint laboratory combines the Nano Institute's R&D team and technical capabilities with Changguang Huaxin's globally leading IDM full-process technology platform and production line for laser chips. This strong alliance will surely break the dependence on imported gallium nitride laser chips, striving to make the Taihu Photonics Center the first domestic launch site for gallium nitride laser chip localization.

In the future, the Suzhou Semiconductor Laser Innovation Research Institute will continue to increase resource investment in the field of gallium nitride laser technology to gain momentum and vitality for sustainable development. It will also take the joint laboratory as an opportunity to further upgrade partnerships, continuously expand and extend product technology cooperation areas, and consolidate the cornerstone and source of China's laser industry chain.