[News] China’s Shaanxi 8-Inch Silicon Photonics Platform Officially Comes Online

On November 4, Yang Junhong, general manager of Shaanxi Institute for Optoelectronic Pioneer Technology Co., Ltd. (“Optoelectronic Pioneer Institute”), announced that the “8-Inch Advanced Silicon Photonics Integration Technology Innovation Platform” (“8-inch Silicon Photonics Platform”) has officially come online. The platform will provide R&D and pilot-scale manufacturing services for optoelectronic and silicon photonic chips to a wide range of innovation entities in the photonics industry.

With a total investment of CNY 750 million, the project began construction in late 2023. It has introduced the 130nm silicon photonics process design kit (PDK) from Belgium’s IMEC and is equipped with more than 60 key tools and systems, including lithography and etching equipment. Building upon a 130nm active integration silicon photonics process platform, the facility is now developing advanced processes above 90nm, establishing a domestically controlled, advanced manufacturing ecosystem.

Silicon photonic chips—optoelectronic devices fabricated through silicon-based micro–nano manufacturing—enable optical modulation and photoelectric conversion. Their main advantages lie in leveraging mature silicon processes to achieve high integration and low cost while delivering high-speed, low-loss, and interference-resistant optical signal performance. These chips are increasingly applied in fields such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and healthcare.

Unlike standard mass-production foundries, pilot lines focus on small-batch trial production and full-process validation to address issues such as process instability and cost uncertainty. They serve as a bridge between lab research and scalable production, improving industrialization success rates. Similar silicon photonics pilot lines are already operating in cities including Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing.

Shaanxi Province has now established three major industrial clusters: photonic materials and chips, advanced laser and photonic manufacturing, and photonic sensing—home to 379 hard-tech enterprises in the photonics sector, with a total industrial output exceeding CNY 35 billion.

Yang revealed that the Optoelectronic Pioneer Institute is building an integrated platform combining “compound semiconductor + silicon photonic + heterogeneous integration” to provide key technological support for emerging fields including optical communication, biosensing, and artificial intelligence.

(Photo credit: FREEPIK)