On the morning of November 7, 2025, the 2024 Beijing Science and Technology Awards Ceremony was held at the Beijing Conference Center. The Center’s research project, “Large-Capacity, High-Resolution, Ultra-Wideband Silicon Photonic Integrated Chips and Systems,” received the First Prize of the Beijing Natural Science Award.
This research focuses on one of the current hotspots in the photonics field—silicon-based photonic integrated chips. These chips offer advantages such as low cost, high integration density, and compatibility with CMOS processes. However, further development has been hindered by bottlenecks in several core technologies, including large-capacity communications, high-sensitivity detection, and broadband precision signal processing. In response, the Center’s team carried out extensive research addressing these key scientific challenges and achieved a series of groundbreaking advancements. The main innovations include:
Large-Capacity Communications:
Using AlGaAs heterogeneous bonding on silicon, the team reduced the pump threshold of silicon-based integrated optical frequency combs to the milliwatt level, enabling efficient, low-threshold, and parallel light emission on silicon. This achievement realized 2 Tbps large-capacity on-chip data transmission.
High-Sensitivity Detection:
A new noise-suppression mechanism based on parallel chaotic light sources was proposed, significantly reducing crosstalk in LiDAR systems and enabling interference-resistant detection with millimeter-level accuracy. This advancement supports progress in autonomous driving, remote sensing, and related fields.
Broadband Signal Processing:
The team proposed a microwave–optical fusion architecture and developed a fully integrated optoelectronic microwave photonic processing system. This breakthrough overcomes challenges in multi-band coordination and fine spectral control, providing key technological support for 6G communications and radar systems.
The related research findings have been published in Nature, Nature Photonics, and other leading journals. The project has secured multiple patents and facilitated the industrialization of silicon photonic integration technologies. These achievements have been recognized through numerous honors, including the China Top Ten Science and Technology Innovation Awards, the Top Ten Advances in Information and Communications Technology, the Top Ten Advances in Chinese Optics, the Top Ten Social Impact Events in Optics, and the Top Ten Advances in China’s Semiconductor Industry. Together, they provide a solid foundation for China’s independent innovation and industrial development in the field of photonic integrated chips.
