Teams led by Wang Binhao and Zhang Wenfu at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics have made a series of advances in silicon-based photonic interconnect chips.
Why we recommend it: The original article provides specific data and details that help assess the actual progress in this direction.
On May 19, Google unveiled new frames for Android XR smart glasses from Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, set to launch this fall.
Why we recommend it: The original article provides specific data and details that help assess the actual progress in this direction.
Space-grade radiation-hardened erbium-doped fiber developed by teams led by Hou Chaoqi and Guo Haitao at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics has completed stable on-orbit verification for spaceborne laser communication.
Why we recommend it: The original article provides specific data and details that help assess the actual progress in this direction.
The State Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Optics Science and Technology has established a prior-free digital reconstruction theory in the field of FPM.
Why we recommend it: The original article provides specific data and details that help assess the actual progress in this direction.
Guo Haitao's team at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Mechanics has mastered key full-chain technologies for mid- and long-wave infrared anti-resonant hollow-core fiber.
Why we recommend it: The original text provides specific data and details that help assess actual progress in this direction.
The Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics and Northwest A&F University have combined AI with optical micromanipulation to achieve precise microparticle transport.
A team led by Academician Wang Lijun at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, together with Zheng Chuantao's team at Jilin University, published a paper in Optics and Laser Technology proposing an 8-channel complex-coupled DFB semiconductor laser array based on high-order surface gratings and periodic current injection, requiring neither epitaxial regrowth nor nanoscale lithography.
The National Semiconductor Materials Standards Project Review Meeting and Standards Formulation and Revision Working Conference was held April 27 to 30 in Fuyang, Hangzhou, co-organized by the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics and its incubated company Fujia Gallium. The meeting reviewed proposed semiconductor materials standards projects for 2026 and conducted approval, pre-review and discussion of multiple standards.
Zhejiang Daily's front page and Zhejiang TV's Zhejiang News reported that the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics was selected as one of the first group of excellence-level technology enterprise incubators named by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, with 14 incubators nationwide earning the excellence-level designation. The reports said the Russell Center is working with Fuyang Optical Fiber Enterprises to bring hollow-core fiber technology to production lines. The Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics has incubated more than 70 companies, with a combined valuation exceeding 50 billion yuan.
The incubator of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics was selected as one of the first 14 excellence-level technology enterprise incubators named by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the only one in Zhejiang Province, and received its plaque on April 17. Focusing on vertical hard technology in optoelectronics, the institute has incubated more than 70 companies with a combined valuation exceeding 50 billion yuan and attracted more than 5 billion yuan in private capital.
A team led by researcher Meng Bo at the Changchun Institute of Optics and Mechanics published a paper in Light: Science & Applications proposing a multistate-to-continuum (MTC) active-region design based on diagonal transitions, and used MOCVD to grow a mid-infrared quantum cascade laser with a single active region and an ultrabroad gain spectrum.
Why we recommend it: The diagonal-transition design from multiple states to continuum states lets several transition channels contribute gain simultaneously. The original text gives lasing spectral widths of 1.2 µm at room temperature and 1.93 µm at 80 K, directly relevant to applications such as mid-infrared frequency combs.
Huang Xurong, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Economy and Information Technology, led a delegation to the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics on April 15 and was briefed on its incubation system and commercialization of research results in vertical hard technology for optoelectronics. Huang affirmed the institute's incubation results and encouraged it to further deepen its full-chain incubation system.
Sun Jingmiao, director of the Zhejiang Business Research Center, led a delegation to the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics on April 10 and held a symposium for technology entrepreneurs with institute leaders and representatives of incubated companies. Company representatives raised common challenges including financing channels, expansion of application scenarios and policy alignment. The Zhejiang Business Research Center said it would help build a platform to connect companies with application scenarios.
A team led by Researcher Zhang Ge at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics and Wang Gong's team at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a paper in Light: Advanced Manufacturing proposing a binder jetting additive manufacturing method for graphite/silicon carbide composite powder that improves particle flowability and promotes the conversion of free silicon into secondary silicon carbide.
A team led by Researcher Chang Yulei at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics published a paper in Advanced Materials proposing Yb3+ energy-relay-based hierarchical lanthanide nanostructures that tune ion luminescence lifetimes across 1060-2050 nm. In a Tm3+ system, for example, the lifetime can be continuously tuned from 654 us to 11918 us while the emission intensity at 1850 nm remains essentially unchanged. The team built its own time-gated imaging system based on an MCT short-wave infrared detector, simultaneously distinguishing six targets in mice with inter-channel crosstalk below 10%.
A team led by Researcher Li Wei at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics published a paper in Science Advances proposing long-wave transparent low-emissivity all-dielectric materials (LLM) that achieve mid-infrared reflection through Mie scattering by infrared-transparent dielectric microparticles such as NaCl, avoiding the attenuation of wireless signals caused by metals.
A team led by Associate Researcher Luo Jing at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics published a paper in Optics and Lasers in Engineering using the low-frequency polarization aberration produced by plane mirrors in non-parallel optical paths to compensate for the polarization aberration of the optical system itself. In design verification of a typical off-axis three-mirror system, adding a plane mirror and adjusting its pose reduced the system's polarization aberration to 1/15 of its original value, with the full-field average phase retardance dropping from 0.0759 rad to 0.0050 rad, while wavefront aberration and optical efficiency were essentially unaffected.
Fujia Gallium, a company incubated by the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, announced on March 26 that it had successfully produced a 12-inch (305 mm diameter) gallium oxide (Ga2O3) single crystal for the first time internationally, following its production of an 8-inch gallium oxide crystal in December 2025. The original report said 12-inch wafers can double the number of chips per wafer, dilute costs and facilitate integration into existing 12-inch silicon-based production lines. The company's next step will be to carry out full-chain collaborative development with downstream users covering substrates, epitaxy, devices and modules.
Wang Quan's team at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Mechanics has made new progress in zero-shot anomaly detection and localization.
The Biomedical Spectroscopy Laboratory at the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Mechanics has made progress in medical time-series signal processing and brain-computer interfaces.
The Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, together with the Russell Center for Advanced Lightwave Science, Hengying Technology, Chuxin Optoelectronics, Hengmai Optics, Tuozhi Optoelectronics, and Yuexin Microelectronics, will attend LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2026, held from March 18 to 20. The participating companies cover fields including infrared optical materials, semiconductor lasers, ultra-precision machining equipment, microstructured specialty optical fibers, volume grating devices, and high-end analog chips. This year's exhibition brings together more than 1,400 exhibitors from around the world, with an exhibition area exceeding 100,000 square meters.
Fujia Gallium, an incubated company of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, is working with Shanghai Gongcheng Semiconductor on collaborative R&D across the entire gallium oxide materials-device-application value chain, which has now entered the device validation stage. Vertical Schottky diodes fabricated from Fujia Gallium's MOCVD gallium oxide epitaxial wafers have passed chip-level testing and packaging tests, and Gongcheng Semiconductor is advancing liquid-cooling module validation. The effort targets demand in new energy storage, data center liquid-cooling systems, and 400V motor drive platforms.
The National Natural Science Foundation of China international cooperation innovation team project, led by the Russell Center for Advanced Lightwave Science at the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, was launched at the institute on February 8. The project is headed by Professor Philip Russell, with Professor Wang Pengfei's team at Northeast Normal University as the collaborating institution, and runs from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028. Focusing on hollow-core fiber, the project addresses challenges such as balancing low loss with high mode purity, controlling broadband ultraviolet pulses, and insufficient mid-infrared pulse performance, through research on optical fiber microstructure design and ultraviolet-to-mid-infrared ultrafast laser technology.
A team from Fujia Gallium and the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, published a paper in CrystEngComm reporting the preparation of (100)-oriented gallium oxide single crystals with a diameter of 4 inches and a thickness exceeding 30 mm using the vertical Bridgman (VB) method. Tests showed wafer HRXRD full width at half maximum of 49.6-64.8 arcsec, and the paper states that the crystals have high crystalline quality and good structural uniformity. The team had previously produced 8-inch gallium oxide single crystals using the VB method.
The Annual Production of 10,000 Large-Size High-Quality Gallium Oxide Single Crystal Substrates project by Fujia Gallium, an incubated company of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, completed completion-stage environmental protection acceptance in January 2026, giving its 6/8-inch production line the environmental permits for scaled production. The article reviews Fujia Gallium's previous progress in MOCVD homoepitaxy, VB-method 6-inch and 8-inch single crystal preparation, and financing of nearly 100 million yuan.
The Zhejiang Provincial Department of Science and Technology has released its 2025 list of provincial-level proof-of-concept centers, including the Advanced Optoelectronic Functional Materials Proof-of-Concept Center built by the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics. The article cites Fujia Gallium's gallium oxide project and the Russell Center's progress in continuous hollow-core fiber drawing exceeding 15 kilometers as typical cases.
Hangzhou Daily reported on February 6 that Fuyang is building the Fuchun Chip City integrated circuit industry landmark, mentioning companies incubated by the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, including Fujia Gallium and Jingfei Semiconductor. The report said Fujia Gallium produced China's first 6-inch gallium oxide single crystal ingot using the VB method in September 2025, the Russell Center's hollow-core fiber continuous drawing exceeded 15 kilometers, and Jingfei Semiconductor mastered laser lift-off technology for 12-inch silicon carbide wafers.
China Unicom Research Institute, the Russell Center for Advanced Lightwave Science at the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, and Zhejiang Fuchunjiang Optoelectronics signed a strategic cooperation agreement on January 31, focusing on the industrialization of hollow-core fiber and covering joint demonstration projects, industry ecosystem development, and demonstration-line application systems. The original report noted that the Russell Center had previously achieved continuous hollow-core fiber drawing exceeding 15 kilometers, and the Xinkong Guanglian Fuchunjiang Optoelectronics Hollow-Core Fiber Production Base in Fuyang has completed initial validation of the drawing process.
Philip St. John Russell, a professor at the Russell Center for Advanced Lightwave Science at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics and the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, has received the 2025 International Science and Technology Cooperation Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Russell proposed the concept of microstructured photonic crystal fiber in 1991, and in 1996 and 1999 led teams that produced the world's first solid-core and hollow-core microstructured fibers, respectively.
Photonic quantum computing company Turing Quantum announced on January 27 that it had completed a Series B financing round worth several hundred million yuan, with investors including Sichuan Industrial Revitalization Group, Toukong Donghai, Fosun Capital and SenseTime. The Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics previously participated in its angel round. The funds will be invested in the development of practical quantum computers, breakthroughs in core technologies and the building of R&D talent. The original report said Turing Quantum has achieved mass-producible, scalable and programmable integrated photonic quantum chip manufacturing based on a thin-film lithium niobate material platform.
The People's Government of Zhejiang Province issued a commendation naming Qi Hongji, director of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, a Zhejiang Young and Middle-aged Expert with Outstanding Contributions. Qi Hongji's research focuses on ultra-wide-bandgap semiconductor crystal materials and he also serves as secretary-general of the Optical Materials Committee of the Chinese Optical Society.
The Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing Industry Innovation Alliance held an expanded meeting of its standing directors at the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics on January 21, attended by more than 40 entrepreneurs, experts and scholars. The meeting reviewed the alliance's charter and discussed its 2026 work plan, the formation of working committees and website development. Participants reported problems including fragmented industry standards, weak links between industry, academia and research, and brain drain. The original report said the alliance now has more than 200 members.
On January 15, the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics held an internal special training session, with Chief Scientist Zhao Dongfeng delivering a lecture titled What Is Optoelectronic Technology and What Are Its Trends. The report covered investment conditions and trends, evolutionary logic and technology needs, and projected the direction of optoelectronic technology based on key industry development trends over the next five years.
Google showcased Android XR at the Las Vegas Sphere during CES.
The Russell Center at the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, together with the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, published a paper in High Power Laser Science and Engineering, demonstrating high-quality transmission and precision machining of high-power picosecond lasers using a single-ring anti-resonant hollow-core fiber.
The Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics formed an exhibition consortium with the Russell Advanced Optical Wave Science Center, Hengying Technology, Yinhu Laser and Tuozhi Optoelectronics to participate in the 2025 China Optoelectronic Materials Conference, held in Shanghai on December 23-24. The exhibits covered low-loss hollow-core fibers, infrared optical materials, laser micro- and nano-processing for chip packaging materials, and volume gratings. The conference focused on advanced glass materials, optical communications and laser materials, among other areas.
Guangzai Technology, an incubated company of the Hangzhou Institute of Optics and Mechanics, collaborated with the University of Cambridge, Southeast University and others to publish a paper in Sustainable Cities and Society, proposing SCE-Model, a spatiotemporal carbon emission model optimized by machine learning and validated by LiDAR. The model output is highly consistent with coherent differential absorption LiDAR observations (R² = 0.79; ±5 ppm), enabling hourly, block-level carbon emission mapping.
Fujia Gallium Chairman Qi Hongji gave an exclusive interview to the Asia Gallium Oxide Alliance during APCSCRM 2025, describing the company's journey from the laboratory to gallium oxide industrialization. He said the VB method 6-inch single-crystal growth technology greatly reduces precious metal consumption and lowers single-crystal substrate production costs, and introduced a one-click crystal growth system combining artificial intelligence and precision control.
Google unveiled new features for the Galaxy XR headset and previewed future devices at The Android Show.
Fujia Gallium Chairman Qi Hongji unveiled a 6-inch gallium oxide vertical SBD wafer in a presentation at APCSCRM 2025. The wafer is based on the company's in-house high-mobility homoepitaxial gallium oxide epiwafer and was fabricated through joint tape-out with downstream device partners. The wafer includes four chip sizes: 3.0x3.0mm2, 1.0x1.0mm2, 0.5x0.5mm2, and phi 0.1mm.