First silicon photonics pilot line in NW China tackles 'chip' challenges

At the 2025 Hard Technology Innovation Conference Photonics Industry Summit on Tuesday, the Shaanxi Institute of Advanced Oeic Technologies Co Ltd (OEIC) announced the official launch of its "8-inch Advanced Silicon Photonic Integration Technology Innovation Platform".

Yang Junhong, the general manager of the Institute, emphasized that this 8-inch silicon photonic platform, a pioneering initiative in northwest China, addresses a critical gap in the region's silicon photonics chip development. This launch represents a significant milestone in Shaanxi's ambition to establish a 100-billion yuan ($14 billion) photonics industry cluster, poised to be a key driver of regional industrial growth.

Since 2021, Shaanxi’s photonics industry has experienced rapid expansion, with the number of companies surpassing 370 and the industry scale growing from 15 billion yuan to 36.5 billion yuan. An integrated industrial chain covering "materials, chips, devices, and systems" has been initially established.

In 2023, the development strategy was further refined with the framework of "one core, two wings, one park, and three zones". The Xi'an High-tech Industries Development Zone serves as the core area, hosting key facilities like the photon chip park and photon manufacturing park, with OEIC acting as the central innovation hub.

"The launch of the 8-inch silicon photonic platform addresses Shaanxi's gap in silicon photonics chip pilot line," Yang stated. The OEIC has invested around 1.5 billion yuan to establish a dual pilot platform for both 6-inch compound chips and 8-inch silicon photonic chips.

Over the past four years, data indicates that the OEIC has supported more than 100 startups in overcoming challenges related to R&D and chip production. The introduction of the silicon photonics pilot line marks a pivotal milestone in advancing high-quality cluster development. By strengthening pilot production capabilities, Shaanxi aims to attract more companies across the value chain, thereby accelerating the formation of a fully integrated "materials-chips-applications" ecosystem.

Silicon photonics technology, which is crucial advancing fields such as AI computing, autonomous driving, and quantum communication, is at a critical juncture for both technological breakthroughs and application implementation. However, its industrial development has historically been constrained by the concentration of pilot resources.

Globally, most silicon photonics pilot resources are  concentrated in Europe and the US Domestic companies relying on foreign platforms for tape-out face high costs, lengthy cycles, and limited capacity. Establishing their own production lines requires significant investment, posing challenges for small and medium-sized enterprises and research teams.

The OEIC 8-inch silicon photonic platform offers a strategic solution to this challenge. With a total investment of 750 million yuan, construction began in late 2023, and by the end of September 2025, all site and hardware facilities have been completed.

At the conference, the Institute also unveiled a Process Design Kit (PDK) for passive SOI (Silicon-On-Insulator) integrated ultra-low-loss silicon nitride products.

"This is the first PDK released by the institute's silicon photonic platform, with active product production expected to commence in 2026. It will include key components such as high-performance modulators and detectors, facilitating accelerated product development in areas like AI, optical communication, optical computing, autonomous driving, low-altitude flight, and healthcare. This will also significantly reduce tape-out cycles and lower R&D costs for photonic and silicon photonics companies," Yang explained.