In May 2019, a trade war involving global political and political nerves kicked off. With the United States putting Huawei into the fermentation of the “entity list” incident, the self-controllable status of the domestic chip industry has received unprecedented attention nationwide. As the future of China’s high-tech core field is unpredictable, Wuhan Minxin Semiconductor Co., Ltd., as a young company, has successively released 25G DFB laser chips and 25G PD detector chips and array products, and the medium and low-speed optical chips are fully mass-produced. The high-speed chips are being sampled and mass-produced one after another, and the rapid development momentum is remarkable.

 Stick to intensive farming: only do one thing in a lifetime

“This era has given me too much. I have been working in this field for a lifetime. I am obliged to do something more realistic and more predictable in this field. Even if I only do this in my life, I will release the accumulated experience. Maximize your value and give back to this society.”

When he first saw Wang Renfan he had just finished a technical research meeting in the R&D department. He did not need to take a break and immediately returned to the office for an interview.  The 57-year-old Wang is thin and very capable, and his face is a bright and unpretentious look.  The initial conversations were concentrated in Mr. Wang’s past work experience. When asked about the fact that he was responsible for many major national science and technology projects as a project leader, and repeatedly won the National Technology Invention Award and the provincial and ministerial first prize,  He said, “That is nothing. For me, the current Minxin is all my life.”

With the gradual deepening of the topic, Wang’s life trajectory has gradually become clear. In the winter of 1977, 5.7 million Chinese candidates entered the college entrance examination room where they had been imprisoned for more than ten years. Born in the 1960s, Wang Renfan was the second batch of college entrance examination candidates after the college entrance examination.  For the youth of that era, the college entrance examination is like a light that illuminates and inspires them to sail on the road of pursuing their dreams. “Going to college has always been the dream of our people. Before the reform and opening up, it was just an unrealistic dream. If you can dream come true, you can only come up with the words lucky.” Recalling that era, Mr. Wang was filled with emotions, and that time for studying was already branded in his life.

After being admitted to Hunan University with excellent results, Mr. Wang chose the most popular semiconductor device profession due to his outstanding physical subjects. After graduation, it was the initial stage of the domestic optical communication industry. Mr. Wang devoted himself to the research and development of the earliest optoelectronic device chip company in China. This is more than 30 years.

During the entire interview, Mr. Wang was grateful and always felt deeply for his luck. The wave of reform and opening up made him lucky to be a historical witness and beneficiary of the resumption of the college entrance examination, and he was exposed to the professionally loved, professionally participated and witnessed. The entire evolution of China’s optoelectronic information industry. Mr. Wang said: “This era has given me too much. I have been working in this field for a lifetime. I am obliged to do something more realistic and more predictable in this field. Even if I only do this in my life, I have to accumulate it. The experience is released, maximizing your value and giving back to the society.”

 Minxin is rooted in the belief of “Chinese Core”

“The domestic companies with medium and high-end chip design and production capacity are also rare, unable to meet the chip supply of the entire optical device industry chain. China needs too many independent high-end optoelectronic chip companies!”

In the 40 years of reform and opening up, everything has grown and the clouds have gradually opened up. The optoelectronic information industry is a strategic high-tech industry that is competing for global development. It is also a high-tech industry that has the conditions to break through.  Mr. Wang believes that China’s optoelectronic information industry is “big” rather than “strong”, and the development of the industrial chain is uneven. The core optoelectronic chips and high-end devices at the source of the industrial chain are seriously lacking, and the dependence on foreign technology is high. High-end optical chips have become a constraint.  The key technology bottleneck in the development of China’s new generation information technology industry.

“The domestic companies with medium and high-end chip design and production capacity are also rare, unable to meet the chip supply of the entire optical device industry chain. China too needs independent high-end optoelectronic chip companies!” he said.

In 2017, Mr. Wang arrived at the age of retirement. As a witness and participant in the commercialization process of semiconductor optical chips in China, he felt that he could understand the unpaid feelings. At this point, it can be said that due to the occasion, he met the later partner Mr. Zhang Hua. Mr. Zhang Hua entered the optical device industry in 2006. For more than ten years, he has witnessed the imperfection of the domestic optoelectronic chip system, the lack of independent research and development technology, and the core chip technology lifeline.  With a long heart and a good fist, Mr. Zhang Hua knows that Mr. Wang has strong mastery of cutting-edge technology in the field of optoelectronic chip expertise, and represents the most valuable technical resources on the road to localization of chips, with the revitalization of domestic optoelectronic chips.  The common dream, the two hit it off, driven by the “China Core” feeling, Wuhan Minxin, a strategically positioned independent full-scale optoelectronic chip company, was officially born.

In the year of the founding of Wuhan Minxin, Wang was 55 years old.  He is determined to build an independent mid-to-high-end optoelectronic chip company and expand the domestic optical chip industry. The dream of starting a business has started.

 Do a good job of each optoelectronic chip, let the world fall in love with the Chinese core

“Our vision is to be the leader of China’s optoelectronic chips.”

Asked about the status quo of domestic chips, Wang always pointed to three major pain points. First, the low-end pain, domestic optoelectronic chips are mainly 2.5G products, domestic chips only achieve high self-sufficiency rate in the low-end field, high-end. The chip field is still too dependent on foreign countries. Some core technologies and key equipment are still not fully mastered. Foreign big companies occupy more than 90% of the market share of high-end chips. Second, the quality of the pain, China’s chip industry started late, the technical disadvantage is obvious. The production of chips is relatively rough, the quality can not be guaranteed; Third, the pain of domestic supply, in the chip ecology, China’s optoelectronic chip design, manufacturing, packaging and other industries upstream and downstream synergy is insufficient, domestic chip supply customers are insufficient, for device manufacturers. In terms of imported chips, it is still the first choice.

Although there is a clear gap between domestic and international from technology to scale, it also means that there is huge room for domestic substitution. Sino-US trade turmoil refers to the key areas of China’s future strategic direction, and also brings huge growth opportunities to the domestic optoelectronic chip industry chain. The process of chip localization has risen to an important national development plan. The country promotes core chips in the context of trade warfare.

“Our mission is to make every optoelectronic chip and let the world fall in love with the Chinese core.” Talking about Minxin’s mission and vision, President Wang’s eyes reveal perseverance and self-confidence. “Our vision is to be China Optoelectronics Chip leader.” Wuhan Minxin attaches great importance to the construction of corporate culture, and all members are united in one heart and one mind.

 Minxin, born for 5G

“5G technology will be one of the core driving forces for the transformation and progress of the times. Minxin has the top R&D and manufacturing teams in China. We will accelerate the breakthrough of cutting-edge technology research and development and weak links, accelerate the occupation of technology highlands, and compete in the 5G era. Advantages, as far as possible, let China get rid of the dependence of imported high-end optoelectronic chips.”

In 2019, after Minxin completed the product preparation work, it entered the market and ushered in the rapid development of the market. It is also recognized as a 5G first year. According to the prediction of relevant institutions, as of 2020, China’s base station scale will reach 100 billion market, and the overall 5G industry market prospect is very broad. 5G brings huge market opportunities to optoelectronic chips. Large-scale deployment of macro base stations and small base stations in 5G networks will drive massive demand for optical modules. In the future, 5G communication chips will become the largest application market in the global semiconductor chip industry. Mr. Wang said, “Minxin is born for 5G.”

Regarding the company’s product layout and planning, Mr. Wang has a clear direction: “Minxin actively seizes the 5G market, and plans to start from high-end products, and gradually comprehensive coverage of the low-end series of optoelectronic chip products.” With the recent first 25G DFB laser chip for 5G base station front light transmission module enters the sample sales stage, and 25G PD detector chip and array products are shipped in batches on the market. Wuhan Minxin has achieved the leading position of domestic chips in this field, which will be the upgrade of the wireless communication network provides a complete solution for the 25G optical chip, which fully conforms to the operator’s application requirements for optical module products. On some special wavelength products, the core even fills the blank of the local supply chain of the 5G optical device.

“5G technology will be one of the core driving forces for the transformation and progress of the times. Minxin has the top R&D and manufacturing teams in China. We will accelerate the breakthrough of cutting-edge technology research and development and weak links, accelerate the occupation of technology highlands, and compete in the 5G era. The advantage is to let China get rid of the dependence on imported high-end optoelectronic chips as much as possible.” Wang said frankly that Minxin is fully preparing for the major opportunities of 5G construction.

For Minxin and Wang Renfan, the arrival of the 5G era is not a new beginning. It is an opportunity to redefine its own advantages, and it is also a key point along the “Chinese core” feelings.