[LINK] New Chinese Silicon Photonics

[Antony Barry]

Here's a summary of the article written by Perplexity AI:
A state-funded semiconductor lab in Wuhan, China, called JFS Laboratory,
has announced a breakthrough in silicon photonics technology. The lab
successfully integrated a laser light source with a silicon-based chip,
marking a first for China in this field.Key points:

   1. Silicon photonics uses optical signals instead of electric signals
   for transmission, potentially overcoming current limitations in chip design.
   2. This achievement could help China progress towards semiconductor
   self-sufficiency amid US sanctions.
   3. Major global semiconductor companies, including TSMC, Nvidia, Intel,
   and Huawei, are also working on silicon photonics technology.
   4. The global market for silicon photonics chips is expected to grow
   significantly, reaching US$7.86 billion by 2030.
   5. Silicon photonics may be particularly advantageous for China, as it
   can be produced using relatively mature materials and equipment without
   relying on advanced EUV lithography machines, which are subject to export
   controls.
   6. This development could potentially shift the focus of US-China tech
   competition towards emerging technologies like silicon photonics.

The breakthrough is seen as a significant step for China in addressing
technical barriers in chip design and reducing reliance on foreign
technologies.

On Sun, Oct 6, 2024 at 5:14 PM Stephen Loosley <stephenloosley at zoho.com>
wrote:

>
> China claims breakthrough in silicon photonics that could clear technical
> hurdle
>
> A Wuhan-based lab has announced a milestone that could help China overcome
> restraints imposed by traditional chip-design technology
>
> By Xinmei Shen 6 Oct 2024
> https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article/3281156/chip-war-china-claims-breakthrough-silicon-photonics-could-clear-technical-hurdle
>
> [Photo caption: A state-fund ed lab in China has announced a breakthrough
> in chip-design technology. Photo: Shutterstock]
>
>
> A state-funded semiconductor lab in China said it has achieved a milestone
> in the development of silicon photonics, which could help the country
> overcome current technical barriers in chip design and achieve
> self-sufficiency amid US sanctions.
>
> JFS Laboratory, based in Wuhan, capital of central Hubei province and a
> national base for photonics research was able to light up a laser light
> source integrated with a silicon-based chip.
>
> This is the first time that this has been successfully done in China,
> according to a blog post published by the lab last week.
>
> The achievement means that China has filled one of the few blanks in its
> optoelectronics technology, state media Peoples Daily reported on Friday.
>
> Silicon photonics rely on optical signals instead of electric signals for
> transmission. It aims to address the restraints imposed by current
> technology, as the transmission of electric signals between chips is
> approaching its physical limit, the lab said.
>
> Established in 2021 with 8.2 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) in government
> funding, JFS is one of Chinas key institutions tasked with pursuing
> technological breakthroughs.
>
> Major players in the global semiconductor industry have devoted resources
> into advancing silicon photonics, which is believed to hold the future to
> making better chips for data and graphics processing, as well as artificial
> intelligence (AI).
>
> Still, businesses have faced challenges in translating scientific
> breakthroughs into commercial products.
>
> Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a world top contract-chip
> maker, is one of the companies working on the technology. Its
> vice-president, Douglas Yu Chen-hua, last year said that a good silicon
> photonics integration system could address critical issues in energy
> efficiency and computing power in the AI era.
>
> That development would bring about a paradigm shift in the industry, he
> said.
>
> US chip design giants Nvidia and Intel, as well as Chinas Huawei
> Technologies, are also eyeing advances in silicon photonics. The global
> market for silicon photonics chips is expected to reach US$7.86 billion by
> 2030, up from US$1.26 billion in 2022, according to estimates by SEMI, an
> international semiconductor industry association.
>
> [Photo caption: Companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
> Company see silicon photonics as the future of chip design. Photo: Reuters]
>
> Silicon photonics may present an even bigger opportunity in China, where
> US export controls on advanced chip-making technologies have hindered the
> development of traditional semiconductors.
>
> Silicon photonics chips can be produced domestically using relatively
> mature raw materials and equipment without relying on high-end extreme
> ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, unlike electrical chips, Sui Jun,
> president of Beijing-based semiconductor start-up Sintone, was quoted as
> saying by local media in 2022.
>
> EUV machines, required for making advanced chips, are considered the
> Achilles heel of the Chinese semiconductor industry, as domestic firms
> struggle to mass-produce such tools. Netherlands-based ASML, which holds a
> virtual monopoly on EUV machines, stopped exporting the equipment to China
> in 2019.
>
> Silicon photonics could become an emerging front in US-China tech
> competition, according to a report published by US think tank Centre for
> Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in January.
>
> "While the US-led export controls are likely setting back Chinese
> capabilities in the manufacture of traditional chips … [they] could also
> inadvertently incentivise China to devote more resources to emerging
> technologies that will play an important role in next-generation
> semiconductors,” Matthew Reynolds, a former economics programme fellow at
> the CSIS, wrote in the report.
>
>
>
> Xinmei Shen joined the Post in 2017 and is a technology reporter. She
> covers content, entertainment, social media and internet culture.
> Previously, she was with the Post’s tech news site, Abacus. Before that,
> she was a reporting intern at The Information whilst studying at the Univ
> --
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
> Link at anu.edu.au
> https://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
>


-- 
Mob:04 3365 2400 Email: antonybbarry at gmail.com, antonybbarry at me.com