**Photonics manufacturing technology, which uses laser as a "knife" to "carve" specific materials according to needs, is considered one of the leading and revolutionary technologies in the future advanced manufacturing field.**

In "Made in China 2025," photonics manufacturing technology is listed as a key direction for development. Due to its extremely short duration of action, it theoretically generates no heat during processing and has extremely high peak power. It can solve processing bottlenecks that traditional methods cannot achieve, such as ultra-fine, damage-free, and material-selective processing. It is an important supporting technology for multiple industrial fields and a key means to promote the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.

**From aerospace to daily life, filling domestic gaps**

Since its establishment in 1962, the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics has focused on the major strategic needs of the country and taken the lead in conducting research on photonics manufacturing technology, achieving a breakthrough from 0 to 1 in photonics manufacturing technology and equipment. Based on the previous achievements, in March 2015, the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics incubated a company committed to the industrialization of high-end laser manufacturing equipment - Xi'an Zhongke Weijing Photonics Manufacturing Technology Co., Ltd.

This team, whose core members came from the Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, set strategic and development goals around major national strategic projects and the main battlefield of the national economy from the beginning. After forming a management team for research and development, production, and sales, Zhongke Weijing introduced Huawei's strategic planning, IPD R&D management process, and lean production system to fully integrate the R&D and production processes.

Zi Jinfeng, deputy general manager of Zhongke Weijing, introduced: "After several years of research and development, production, sales, and close integration with the market, Zhongke Weijing has formed a production system for ultrafast laser high-end manufacturing equipment. These manufacturing equipment are widely used in China's aerospace and other fields, filling the gaps in domestic related technology fields. Now, we can provide one-stop solutions for the entire industry and provide key technologies for some major strategic projects, solving the 'bottleneck' technical problems."

It is understood that at present, the technology of Zhongke Weijing is mainly applied in two directions: military and civilian. In daily life, photonics manufacturing technology is indispensable for clothing, food, housing, and transportation. For example, electronic products such as mobile phones and computers, as well as key parts of automobile engines such as fuel nozzles and flow guide plates, all use photonics manufacturing technology.

**Photonics Manufacturing Is in a Period of Opportunity with a "Four-in-One" Advantage Locally**

Shaanxi is undertaking the Chinese Academy of Sciences' (CAS) strategic science and technology pilot B project of "large-scale photonic integrated chips." The project has already completed the development of the world's only photonic integration platform based on silicon-based modified materials ahead of schedule and has successfully achieved its landing and transformation in Shaanxi. The incubated enterprises have begun to supply goods to international giants such as Amazon and Facebook, with an annual output value exceeding 300 million yuan.

Behind Shaanxi's excellent achievements lies the local advantages and opportunities in developing the photonic manufacturing industry.

Zi Jinfeng analyzed: "The local development of photonic manufacturing technology has a 'four-in-one' advantage. First is talent. As we all know, Xi'an is a gathering place for talents. We have many universities such as Xi'an Jiaotong University, Northwestern Polytechnical University, and Xidian University, which provide a large number of talents for the development of our photonic manufacturing industry. Second is technology. This place is the birthplace of photonic manufacturing technology with the Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics at its core. These scientific research institutes provide a continuous flow of technology for our entire industry chain. Third is finance. Zhongke Innovation Star provides a full set of financial services for our many photonic manufacturing hard-tech companies. Finally, there is the market. Our geographical location is relatively advantageous for the development of the photonic manufacturing industry. To the north, we can radiate a large number of military applications, and to the south, we can reach civilian applications such as electronics and clothing."

In his view, the photonic manufacturing industry is currently in a period of development opportunity. After more than 20 years of development, Moore's Law in the electronics industry has become invalid. The technology that is currently expected to replace the upgrade of the electronics industry is photonic technology. "Now, about 70% of the products in our lives are related to photonic technology, and 70% of the living costs we pay are closely related to photonic technology. Therefore, photonic technology is an important direction for our future development."

**Becoming a Pioneer in the Domestic Industry, the Hard Technology Conference Is an Opportunity for Talent Introduction**

Today's Zhongke Weijing has become a pioneer in domestic high-end photonic manufacturing equipment, achieving nearly 100% revenue growth for five consecutive years. It has already launched plans for listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board and will continue to innovate and break through in the future to build a Shaanxi photonic manufacturing company.

Thanks to its excellent performance, Zhongke Weijing has won the honor of "Hard Technology Enterprise Star" for two consecutive years and has stepped onto the award stage of the Global Hard Technology Innovation Conference. In Zi Jinfeng's view, the Global Hard Technology Innovation Conference is a sharing platform provided for hard technology entrepreneurs. Through this conference, hard technology companies can exchange experiences on various problems encountered in the R&D process.

Based on his experience of attending the conference, he also put forward his ideas for the conference: "Every year in the past, we have participated in the Global Hard Technology Innovation Conference. We hope that the conference can take hard technology companies as the main body and invite technical personnel from globally renowned universities and research institutions to participate in this grand event. In this way, it will be conducive to providing hard technology companies with opportunities to introduce high-end technical talents."