The Hi-tech Pioneer

By Tang Yuankai

The Hi-tech Pioneer

By Tang Yuankai

A scientist pushes China forward to the frontier of silicon technology

TEAM SPIRIT: Wang Xi (second left) conduc ts an experiment on SOI techno logy w ith his co lleagues in a lab at the Shanghai Institute of M ic rosystem and Inform ation Techno logy on August 26

A t the age of 43, Wang Xi became the youngest academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)in 2009. Wang is known in academ ic circles as a talented and modest scientist who has made outstanding achievements in the field of semiconductor research and development.In 2008, he developed China’s first 8-inch bonding silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, a significant breakthrough in SOI wafer technology. This year, Wang was selected as a delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

SOI is a cutting-edge technology in the field of m icro-electronics and photoelectron spectroscopy for developing next genera-tion silica-based material and new integrated circuits used in the electronics industry. For instance, computers are getting much smaller w ith higher processing power and lower energy consumption while smart cell phones have become w idely used. And ion injection—the key to making SOI—is what Wang has researched for years.

Ground b reak ing tech

W ang was born in Shanghai in 1966. He graduated from Tsinghua University in 1987 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in materials physics in CAS’ Shanghai Institute of Metallurgy in 1993, which was renamed the Shanghai Institute of M icrosystem and Information Technology (SIM IT) in 2001.

A fter graduation, W ang w orked as a researcher in SIM IT and later dedicated himself to researching the interaction between energetic particle beams and solids,w ith research interests covering advanced electronic materials and functional thinlayer materials.

In 1996, his excellent performance earned W ang en try in to Germ any’s Forschungszentrum Rossendorf for visiting research as a Humboldt Fellow. He had the option of staying in Germany permanently to study ion injection. “The days in Germany were very com fortable. I was satisfied w ith the pleasant residence and advanced scientific research facilities. But I had to make a choice between returning to my home country and staying overseas,” Wang said toBeijing Review. “I was irresolute for a while.”

At the same time, the director of SIM IT,w ho w as also W ang’s superior, w ent to Germany. The two of them took a w alk along the banks of the Rhine River. “The director told me that CAS was carrying out a major science program that offered many favorable polices for returning scientists.He hoped that I could seize the opportunity to pursue a breakthrough in my career and make a contribution to the country,” Wang recalled.

Wang declined the invitation from the German science institute and returned to China w ith his wife and their new-born child in 1998. “When looking back today, returning to China was the most important and right decision in my life,” Wang said. “Only w ith the support of his country can a scientist conduct scientific inquiries independently and realize his ambition.”

That year, the computer giant IBM announced efforts to apply SOI materials into the development of digital products, leading to mass production of large-scale computer servers and chips. A large number of international corporations soon rushed into the field of this cutting-edge technology. In the early 1980s, China’s SOI technology was limited to the field of aerospace and defense. “For over 10 years, SOI appeared in China only in academic papers and theories. We did not have adequate equipment and technology to make consumer SOI products. We were far behind the international scientific frontier,” Wang recalled.

Faced w ith the urgent task, Wang immediately accepted the appointment as head of the Ion Beam Development & Research Lab of CAS as soon as he returned to Shanghai at the age of 32. His job was to lead an elite team to work on a number of national-level projects, including the key project of ULSI Auxiliary Materials in the national 863 Plan.He hoped to make a breakthrough in SOI research and development. “I thought about nothing but the research all day,” Wang said.

W ang’s ambitious team started from scratch, working overtime in the lab on a routine basis. Wang did everything in person,from purchasing machines and equipment to making SOI wafers. The experiments were not immediately successful due to the team’s inexperience. The wafers made in those early days had many flaws, requiring immense effort to perfect the process.

After three years of efforts, Wang and his team finally improved the technology to make crystal-clear SOI wafers. According to Wang,SOI wafers are like a sandw ich w ith two layers of silicon on the outside and a layer of silica in the middle. “What we do is to put silica into silicon layers. It’s a very difficult and complicated atom assembly job, because the silicon fi lm is so thin that the process must happen at the nanometer scale,” Wang explained.

In 2006, the High-end Silicon-based SOI M aterial Research and Industrialization”project led by Wang won the first prize of National Scientific and Technological Progress, w ith the project research team granted the Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize of CAS in 2007, and the Scientific and Technological Progress Award of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation 2008.

Today, SOI has been broadly used in the electronics industry follow ing rapid development over the past 30 years. Many improvements in IT products could not have occurred w ithout SOI materials.

W ho is W ang Xi?

1966: Bo rn in Shanghai

1987: Graduated from Tsinghua Un ive rsity

1993: Earned Ph.D. deg ree in m aterials physics in the Shanghai Institute o f Metallurgy o f the

Chinese Academ y o f Sc iences (CAS)

1994-p resent: W o rking as a scientist in the Shanghai Institu te o f M ic rosystem and In fo rm ation Techno logy o f the CAS

20 0 7-p resen t: Chairm an o f Shanghai Sim gui Techno logy Co. Ltd.

20 10: Ap po in ted as d irec to r o f the SIM IT

Marke t cen tered

Apart from his outstanding achievements in science, Wang is a successful entrepreneur who built an emerging hi-tech company into a leading player in the world’s SOI market.

“The success of lab experiments isn’t immediately akin to new technology development,” Wang said. “I have to combine my research w ith a national strategy and social needs.”

Wang and his team started a new job of transforming research achievements into industrial production. In fact, W ang and his lab accumulated many technological innovations and patents, but Wang knew little about the unpredictable market as a scientist. What Wang was sure of was that SOI had a promising future and huge potential.The team used this confidence to embark on a new m ission.

W ith the support of CAS and SIM IT,Shanghai Simgui Technology Co. Ltd. (SST)was founded in 2001. The company is based on Wang’s intellectual property rights relating to SOI over the past decades. Wang assumed the post of both chief scientist and president in the hi-tech corporation.

Going from scientist to entrepreneur gave Wang an entirely new set of challenges.“Unlike scientifi c research, each step in running a business was extremely difficult to me—financing, building, operation, technology, and marketing,” Wang recalled.

However, Wang and his colleagues rose to the occasion. “The most important thing is that we have a united and cooperative team.Whether in research or business, we all need team spirit,” Wang said.

In April of 2002, the company built up its production line to become the fi rst SOI assembly line in China. Two months later, the fi rst batch of SOI wafers for commercial use were made in China.

At the time, some international IT giants occupied the leading position in the SOI market. Wang relentlessly sought after customers across the globe. A U.S. company was eventually moved by Wang’s diligence and signed on to become the fi rst client.

In 2006, Sony introduced the PlayStation 3 with the fastest chip based on SOI technology to the market, igniting competition in the gam ing industry worldw ide. The news further enhanced Wang’s confidence that SOI would bring about a new industrial revolution in the digital field.

The success of SST put China on the map as an SOI research and development center follow ing the United States, Japan and France.A host of multinational corporations, including Intel, Philips and Samsung, have become long-term partners w ith SST. The company tailored its approach according to the needs of its clients. “Each customer has his own needs,so we must know them well to better satisfy the changing market,” Wang said.

W ith over a decade of experience as the company’s president, Wang has a new view of the hi-tech business. “Enterprise is not only the driving force behind technological achievements, but also the engine of innovation.”