SND embraces role as beacon of innovation

Suzhou Everbright Photonics is a key enterprise in SND. CHINA DAILY

Conference highlights the importance of Suzhou as leading photon hub

The 2023 China (Suzhou) World Photonics Development Conference takes place in the Suzhou New District, Jiangsu province, from Monday to Wednesday.

"We will gather global academicians, experts, scholars and industry elites to build a diverse, open and innovative global sharing platform," said an official from the SND.

Photonics is a strategic high-tech industry with extensive applications. In August 2022, Suzhou made a proposal to develop the Taihu Lake Photon Center into a world-class photonics innovation center. Since then, a series of practical actions have been taken to boost the photonics industrial cluster in the SND.

Leading companies are taking the initiative to bring together innovation resources such as upstream and downstream enterprises in the industrial chain, universities and research institutes to meet the needs of industrial development.

A project on the commercialization of nitrogen-coated laser chips is currently underway in the SND. It has been launched by Suzhou Everbright Photonics, a high-tech enterprise specializing in high-power diode laser chips, optoelectronic devices and application systems, and the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which has a large number of cutting-edge scientific research achievements.

Another key project is the high-power semiconductor laser innovation consortium led by Suzhou Everbright Photonics in July 2022, which was selected as one of the first batch of Suzhou's innovation consortiums.

Since its launch, Suzhou Everbright Photonics has cooperated with 12 joint venture members including Gusu Lab, Southeast University, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Zhejiang University and Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to collaboratively innovate and tackle multiple technological bottlenecks.

The consortium sent a 35W high-power semiconductor laser chip to the production line for mass production and shipment. Now, Suzhou Everbright Photonics is working closely with the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences to establish a joint laboratory for gallium nitride lasers and accelerate the industrialization of scientific research achievements.

On May 12, the Suzhou Photonics Industry Federation was established in the SND, unveiling a new chapter for the integrated development of the city's photonic sector. Led by leading enterprises and institutes such as Hengtong Group, InnoLight Technology (Suzhou), Visionox, and Suzhou Everbright Photonics, the federation aims to form an industrial alliance with enterprises, universities, research institutes and innovative entities to boost industrial technological innovation, industry-academic research cooperation and enterprise incubation.

TZTEK, a leading photonic manufacturing enterprise in the SND, has always had an understanding of the sector. "The photonics industry is a technology-intensive industry, and we must constantly iterate and upgrade technology according to the demands of the times and customers to stand above the competition," said Cao Kuikang, the company's chief technology officer. "We have always maintained a high level of research and development, with R&D investment accounting for more than 15 percent of our income. Thanks to the innovation iteration of technology, the development of the company is fast."

Cao said that a shortage of high-end innovative talents is a challenge that enterprises face in the process of technological innovation. For small and medium-sized enterprises, such a challenge becomes more prominent.

The Suzhou optoelectronics technology research institute has witnessed the rapid growth of SMEs in the photonics industry.

Li Xia, executive director of the institute, said: "We now have 11 enterprises with hardcore technologies, all of which are incubated by the institute itself, and each enterprise has solved a bottleneck problem in the photonics industry."

As a research body introduced by the SND, the institute focuses on the photonics industry and has formed the entire chain of photonics emission, manipulation, optical reception and industrial development. It is committed to launching scientific and technological innovation and achievement transformation.

Startup teams can conduct R&D and push scientific research achievements to the market. "Enterprises can receive support from various process nodes, greatly shortening the R&D time," said Li.

Over the years, the SND has advanced innovation through cooperation between the institute and enterprises and gathered more than 100 central institutes and research bodies, such as the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Suzhou Campus of Nanjing University and Suzhou Industrial Technology Research Institute of Zhejiang University, providing intellectual support for technological innovation in the photonics industry.

Currently, the SND is also accelerating the construction of basic technological platforms such as advanced compound semiconductors, silicon photonics integration and micro-electromechanical systems. By leveraging advantageous resources and providing public services such as chip manufacturing, packaging and testing, the SND is helping enterprises to enhance their core strengths in production capacity, cost and yield, stimulate the rapid growth of startups and provide a source of power for the innovative development of the photonics industry.