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Shenzhen chases photons
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Dong Haitao
FAMOUS scholar Wu Guoguang, chairman of the China Photonics Association, recently told a conference in Shenzhen that graduates majoring in photonics were all turned down by employers just 10 years ago.
However, with the quick development of modern technologies, that sad state of affairs is a thing of the past. Indeed, many experts predict the new century will be a photonic century.
Meanwhile, Wu pointed out that people all over the world only came to realize the importance of photonic research several years ago, so China now finds itself on more or less the same footing as advanced Western nations in developing photonic technologies.
“It is very possibly the starting point where China can make great breakthroughs and take a leading position worldwide in the new century,” Wu said.
According to latest statistics, the output value of optical, fibre and other photonic products worldwide amounted to US$180 billion in the year of 2000, scoring an annual increase of more than 15 per cent.
Also last year, the total value of China's photonic products also reached US$5 billion. Shenzhen-based Photon Electronics Co Ltd, the country's largest optical and fibre components producer, recently said that all its products are selling like hot cakes.
Broadband revolution
According to Zeng Qingji, head of the R&D Centre for Broadband Optical Networking Technology in Shanghai Jiaotong University, with the explosion of Internet, Intranet and e-commerce applications, major network service providers worldwide are facing the formidable bandwidth challenge in designing or evolving their core network architecture.
“The broadband photonic networking technology has flourished all over the world because of its large capacity, cost-effectiveness, flexible reconfiguration and strong survivability,” Zeng said. “It is certainly the key technology for future network upgrading.”
Many respected scholars from home and abroad agree with Zeng.
“A revolution in broadband communications has occurred over the past five years. The spectral efficiency of optical and fibre systems increased by more than a hundred-fold, enabled by product technologies that were based on decades of R&D in more than a dozen material systems,” said Yang Shuwen, professor with Shenzhen University.
According to Yang, the outlook for continuing the advances mainly depends upon further improvements in the materials that manage photons.
Top photonic professor and academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering Niu Hanben further pointed out that challenges in photonic materials research and development fall into two categories: optimizing the properties of materials used to manage streams of photons and packaging those materials in stable assemblies that can be connected in modules and systems.
According to Niu, the primary photonic functions include signal generation, detection, transport, routing and amplification, but each has different materials technology requirements.
Optical cyclone
With such gigantic prospects looming for the optics industry, all the country's major cities want a piece of the action, building "photon valleys" (groupings of photonic product producers and researchers) with perhaps overly-optimistic dreams of creating an updated version of the fabled Silicon Valley.
Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, recently declared that by the year 2005, output value of the Wuhan Photonic Valley will be 14 times that of Wuhan Steel & Iron Company, which is now one of the four largest steel and iron producers in the country.
The northeastern city also Changchun also promises that 18 billion yuan will be spent over the next five years to build its own first-class photon valley.
With one of the most active export-oriented economies nationwide, Guangdong Province closely co-operated with Lucent Technologies Co Ltd, to invest US$2 billion in building an optic and fibre manufacturing and R&D centre in the coming 10 years.
Other cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Fuzhou also voiced their strong desire to follow suit.
With the frenzy of photon valley construction, venture capital has jumped aboard. Among the country's planned photon valleys, the one in Wuhan is especially eyed by investors. The China Construction Bank has agreed to pour eight billion yuan into the city's photon valley construction. Shenzhen-based Bao'an Group is also expected to add 500 million yuan to the promising project.
Photon park
With so many strong rivals driving full steam ahead, will Shenzhen, the apparently late bird, get any worms?
Officials with the Shenzhen Municipal Government realized the significance of photonic research several years ago. In 1998, the city lured its first academician in the field, Niu Hanben, to set up shop here. To aid his research more fruitful, a laboratory worth 30 million yuan was recently established for Niu in Shenzhen University.
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Photonic Industrial Park, located in the Futian Free Trade Zone, broke ground last month.
The industrial park, with a total area of 150,000 square metres, has facilitated road, water, power supply, telecom facilities, postal service, sewage system and other infrastrcutural services.
Moreover, the recent opening of FibX (Shenzhen) Co Ltd, an optical and fibre producer in the park, further enhanced the city's image and brought its dream of becoming a regional photonic R&D centre much closer to reality.
FibX is linked to the Canada-based JDS Uniphase (JDSU) Group, the world's largest manufacturer of fibre and optical components.
With the support of advanced technologies and production processes, FibX mainly manufactures fibre and optical components and modules such as isolators, couplers, attenuators, optical switches and other products.
“The Shenzhen company has about 13,000 square metres of new factory site and 1,400 work stations, and has the capacity to produce 1.8 million components and modules every year. It is also ISO-9001 certified and has well-established production, testing and quality control systems to produce quality products,” said Charles Abbe, president of JDSU Group at the opening ceremony of its Shenzhen branch.
Besides FibX, other optical and fibre producers, such as US-based New Focus Pacific, Hong Kong-based Optech Communication Components and others have also registered in the industrial park.
Vice-Mayor Song Hai said that the introduction of these high-tech firms will give the city an important role in Guangdong's Photon Valley and gives still more impetus to the city's adherence to high and new technologies development in the future.
Further advantages
Besides the photonic park, Shenzhen also boasts other competitive edges in the race to make a name for itself in the sector.
According to concerned statistics, the city's production volume of fibre-related companies, including Shenzhen-based Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation and Photon Electronics, amounted to 18 billion yuan last year, thus laying a foundation for the development of photonic technology, which is considered to be the next-stage IT developing trend worldwide.
Rao Jian, director of the Guangzhou Information Modernization Leading Group, pointed out recently that Shenzhen is the right place to develop and commercialize photonic technology.
According to Rao, in addition to flexible market mechanisms, the city has other vital factors which should help lure the photon industry such as a well-trained workforce and advanced technology.
“Shenzhen has the ability to train its own technical people,” Rao said. “The optical and fibre research centre in Shenzhen University headed by Niu Hanben, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was put into operation.”
Lucent Technologies, one of the world's leading producers in the sector, also opened its optical network research institute in Shenzhen High-Tech Industrial Park recently.
The popularization of computers, the Internet and intranets in the city have greatly increased demand for optical communication products and components.
According to Lin Yuanhe, vice-mayor of Guangzhou Municipal Government, Guangdong's Photon Valley aims to achieve 500 billion yuan in production volume and create 600,000 to one million new jobs over the next 10 years.
“Shenzhen will surely play a decisive role if the province is to achieve that target,” he said.
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