陕西光电子先导院： 打造芯片从实验室 走向市场的关键枢纽

Core Insights - The establishment of the first 8-inch silicon photonics pilot line in Northwest China marks a significant breakthrough in the "Chasing Light Plan" of Shaanxi, aiming to accelerate the development of the photonics industry in the region [1][7] - The pilot line, with an investment of 750 million yuan, is expected to reduce the chip production cycle for photonics and silicon photonics customers by approximately 30% [1] - The Shaanxi Photonics Institute is addressing the bottleneck in the pilot testing phase, which has been a long-standing challenge in the global photonics industry [3] Industry Development - The global silicon photonics pilot testing resources are predominantly concentrated in Europe and the United States, leading to high costs and long lead times for domestic companies relying on foreign platforms [3] - The Shaanxi Photonics Institute aims to fill this gap by providing small-batch order services for innovation entities, which traditional large-scale foundries are often unwilling to undertake [3][4] - The institute has already established intention agreements with over ten leading companies and attracted several external enterprises to Shaanxi [3] Business Model Innovation - The Shaanxi Photonics Institute has developed a unique "platform + fund" model to address the commercial challenges of low equipment utilization in pilot testing [4] - This model integrates platform services with industrial investment, creating a virtuous cycle that supports project development and generates equity investment returns to offset platform losses [4] - As of October 2025, the institute's parent company and its associated fund have invested in and incubated 577 hard-tech enterprises, with a total market valuation of 695.6 billion yuan [4] Technological Advancements - The institute is proactively laying out heterogeneous integration technology to combine different materials on a silicon substrate, maintaining the advantages of silicon while incorporating other material characteristics [6] - The goal is to establish a comprehensive platform architecture that covers the entire chain from material growth to chip processing and system testing [6] - The institute's efforts align with industry trends, as heterogeneous integration technology is seen as a key solution to the limitations of silicon-based materials [6] Ecosystem Building - Since the launch of the "Chasing Light Plan" in 2021, the number of photonics enterprises in Shaanxi has increased from approximately 150 to 379, with the industry scale growing from 15 billion yuan to 36.5 billion yuan [7] - The Shaanxi government plans to cultivate a photonics technology laboratory to tackle over 30 key core technologies within two years, aiming to boost the industry output value to over 50 billion yuan [7] - The Shaanxi Photonics Institute is focusing on the critical pilot testing phase rather than seeking short-term product monetization, thereby building a robust platform capability from compound semiconductors to silicon photonics and heterogeneous integration [7]