8: Chapter 8: Breaking Through the Dilemma: The "Loongson" of Photonic Chips

The episode of the researcher's visit was like a pebble thrown into a pond; after rippling a few times, the water seemed to return to calm.

At least, that is how it appeared from Lin Shen's daily perspective.

He continued to go to Room 103 of the old laboratory building every day, completing those basic and trivial tasks under the guidance of Engineer Li.

Under his careful calibration, the old SEM became increasingly stable.

Although its image quality and resolution could not compare to modern equipment, it was reliable enough for observing surface topographies at the micron and even some sub-micron scales.

He even used some discarded silicon wafers and simple coating processes to prepare a few rough conceptual samples of Photonic Crystal—of course, they were far from achieving true ultra-low loss; the main purpose was to test the SEM's imaging capabilities and familiarize himself with the process steps.

The deduction of the technology tree in his mind continued.

After hovering at 53% for several days, the progress of Pre-requisite Two (Material Synthesis Path) finally began to climb extremely slowly again, 54%... 55%...

Every tiny bit of progress was accompanied by chewing through massive amounts of literature, a profound understanding of the defects in existing material systems, and bold hypotheses and careful verification of unknown possibilities.

He felt like he was climbing a cliff shrouded in mist; unable to see the summit, he could only rely on the vague guidance of the technology tree and the pickaxe of his own knowledge, chipping away to create footholds, bit by bit.

As for the "sub-nanometer processing technology" (Pre-requisite Three), he also began preliminary data collection and theoretical organization.

This involved more precise beam control, more complex environmental control, and more demanding material selection; the difficulty was a step higher than material synthesis.

Just when he thought this state of "lurking" and accumulation would continue for a considerable time, a turning point arrived in an unexpected way.

That afternoon, the institute held a special report meeting for all scientific research personnel on "Responding to the Current International Scientific and Technological Competition Situation and Paths for Independent Innovation."

The speaker was a specially invited strategic scientist who enjoyed high prestige in both domestic and international academic and industrial circles, Academician Qin.

The report meeting was held in the newly built academic lecture hall, which was packed.

Lin Shen also went and sat in a corner in the back row.

Academician Qin's speech was visionary and profound, analyzing the "chokepoint" dilemmas currently faced by the Dragon Country in many key fields, especially in high-end chips, industrial software, and precision instruments.

He cited a large amount of shocking data and cases, pointing out that the strategy of purely catching up and imitating was no longer sustainable; it was necessary to increase investment in frontier basic research and disruptive original technologies, and to have the courage to open up new tracks.

"Following behind others, you will only ever eat dust!" Academician Qin's voice resonated through the venue via the microphone, sonorous and powerful.

"Some of our comrades always think that whatever foreign countries blockade, we must concentrate our efforts to break through. This is correct, and it is an urgent priority. But there must be people who think beyond the blockade—is there another path? Beyond the standards, is it possible to establish our own standards? For example, in computing architecture, the physical limits of silicon-based chips have appeared, and Moore's Law is nearing its end. What is the next generation computing paradigm? Is it quantum? Is it photonic? Or is it some other possibility that we have not yet fully recognized?"

Hearing the word "photonic," Lin Shen's heart skipped a beat.

Academician Qin continued: "I have heard that recently, in some informal academic exchanges and small-scale internal seminars, there have been some very interesting discussions and sporadic ideas regarding non-silicon-based photonic computing paths. Although they are not systematic, the ideas are novel and even touch upon some directions that our mainstream research has not yet fully valued. This is very good! It shows that in our research team, there is no lack of sharp and courageous thinkers. I hope there will be more such thinking, and that it will be bolder! Do not be afraid of being wrong; scientific exploration is inherently about advancing through trial and error!"

At the end of the report meeting, Academician Qin announced a piece of news: in order to encourage this kind of future-oriented, high-risk, high-reward exploratory research, the Academy of Sciences would join several ministries to launch a seed fund program called "Future Cornerstone."

This program would be aimed at all young researchers in the academy (under the age of 40), soliciting "crazy ideas" that have disruptive potential but have not yet received mainstream recognition or funding.

After evaluation, small but flexible startup funds and a certain amount of platform support would be provided to help them verify the feasibility of their initial concepts.

"We do not require you to immediately produce results that can be industrialized, and we do not even require you to succeed on your first attempt." Academician Qin's gaze swept across the many young faces in the audience.

"We only require that your ideas be sufficiently novel, sufficiently bold, and have a solid theoretical or experimental basis as a starting point. Give a genius a chance, and give whimsical ideas a soil to grow in!"

Warm applause erupted in the venue, and the eyes of many young researchers lit up.

Lin Shen's heart was also pounding.

The "Future Cornerstone" program? Photonic computing? This was simply an opportunity tailor-made for him!

Although his current status was Assistant Researcher, his age fit perfectly.

If he could apply for this seed fund with the topic "a key material or process breakthrough point in Photonic Chip Basic Architecture," even if the funding was not much, it would be enough for him to conduct some more substantive exploratory experiments in the old laboratory building, rather than just maintaining equipment and performing paper deductions!

More importantly, this was a "legitimate" and public channel that would allow him to present a portion of the deduction results in his mind in a reasonable way, receive peer review, and potentially obtain resource support.

This was much safer than the high-risk method of anonymous emails.

After the report meeting ended, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Lin Shen walked out with the flow of people, thinking about the direction of his application project.

At the entrance of the lecture hall, he unexpectedly saw Professor Zhang Mingyuan, who was walking and talking with Academician Qin.

Professor Zhang also saw him and beckoned him over.

"Academician Qin, this is Lin Shen, whom I mentioned to you earlier, who has just returned to work at our institute. He used to be a promising talent in the fusion field and is now training over in the old laboratory building," Professor Zhang introduced.

Academician Qin looked to be in his sixties, energetic and spirited, with a gentle but insightful gaze.

He smiled as he looked at Lin Shen: "Lin Shen? I have some impression of you. I heard you repaired an old SEM yourself in the old laboratory building? Not bad; it's very rare for a young person to have this kind of drive and hands-on ability. How is your health recovering?"

"Thank you for your concern, Academician Qin. I am recovering quite well," Lin Shen answered respectfully.

"Did you listen to the report just now? Any thoughts?" Academician Qin asked casually, like an elder testing a junior.

Thoughts raced through Lin Shen's mind; this was an opportunity! He had to seize it, but he also had to strike the right balance.

"I listened to it, and I was deeply inspired," Lin Shen organized his words.

"Especially when you mentioned the need to have the courage to open up new tracks and think about the next generation computing paradigm. Recently, while familiarizing myself with equipment and reviewing materials, I have also become interested in some fundamental issues of photonic computing, especially the two core bottlenecks in photonic chip implementation: material loss and integration processes. I feel that if we can achieve breakthroughs in some very basic material systems or process methods that might be overlooked by the mainstream, perhaps it could add some weight to the feasibility of the entire architecture."

He did not mention specific "topological Photonic Crystals" or "ultra-low loss," but pointed generally to the basic bottlenecks.

Academician Qin nodded, a flash of interest in his eyes: "Oh? What are your specific thoughts? Is it possible to write it into an application for 'Future Cornerstone'?"

"I have some preliminary and very immature ideas," Lin Shen said cautiously.

"They mainly revolve around how to use some existing unconventional material processing methods, combined with specific structural designs, to attempt to reduce the optical transmission loss at specific wavelengths. It might be necessary to design some simple models to verify the concept. I am planning to organize my thoughts to see if I can apply for the 'Future Cornerstone' program, even if just to verify the feasibility of a small idea."

"Very good!" Academician Qin praised.

"You have to start with specific small problems; even if they are small, as long as they are on a critical path, they have value. Don't think of the problem as too big or too comprehensive. Write it down and apply boldly! The reviewers look at the novelty and potential value of the idea; they don't necessarily require you to have a perfect plan. What experimental conditions do you need? Can the old laboratory building satisfy them?"

Lin Shen was delighted: "Most of the basic material processing and characterization equipment are available in the old laboratory building. Although they are a bit old, they should be sufficient for preliminary concept verification. If it involves some more precise processing or testing, I might need support from other platforms in the institute."

"Hmm." Academician Qin looked at Professor Zhang Mingyuan.

"Mingyuan, your institute should give support to such exploratory attempts by young people. As long as it does not affect normal teaching and basic services, the equipment in the old laboratory building can be prioritized for his use. If he needs to use the public platforms of the institute, as long as the application is reasonable, you should also give the green light. We must work on big projects, but we cannot ignore these 'small sparks' that might bring unexpected surprises."

Professor Zhang Mingyuan nodded quickly: "Rest assured, Academician Qin, we will definitely support it. Xiao Lin, write your application well, and if you have any difficulties, tell me directly."

"Thank you, Academician Qin! Thank you, Professor Zhang!" Lin Shen suppressed the excitement in his heart.

This short conversation undoubtedly opened a door for him.

He not only received clear encouragement to apply for the "Future Cornerstone" program, but more importantly, he obtained the verbal recognition of a scholar of Academician Qin's level and the specific promise of support from Professor Zhang.

For a researcher who had just returned and was in a peripheral position, this was an extremely valuable endorsement.

Returning to the old laboratory building, Engineer Li saw the joy on his face and rarely took the initiative to ask: "Did you run into something good?"

Lin Shen briefly told him about the "Future Cornerstone" program and Academician Qin's encouragement.

Engineer Li gave a grunt of acknowledgment and didn't say much more, but in the afternoon, he silently cleared out a small storage cubicle equipped with a fume hood and said to Lin Shen, "There's less dust here, and the ventilation is better. Whenever you need to tinker with materials or use odorous reagents in the future, do it here; don't make a mess of the main laboratory. Here's the key."

Lin Shen took the rusty key, a wave of warmth rising in his heart. "Thank you, Engineer Li!"

With a clear goal and preliminary support, Lin Shen's focus immediately shifted. He continued to complete his necessary work during the day, but all his spare time and evenings were devoted to writing the "Future Cornerstone" project proposal and conducting deeper technical deductions.

The entry point he chose was extremely clever; it was a sub-problem within the technology tree deductions that was relatively independent, had a short verification cycle, and did not have overly high requirements for equipment: "Research on Optical Loss Control of Silicon-Based Heterojunction Interfaces Based on Selective Ion Implantation and Rapid Thermal Annealing Processes."

This title sounded very academic, but the core idea was: rather than obsessively pursuing the immediate synthesis of a brand new "Photonic Crystal" material, he would first attempt to introduce a special "modified layer" or "interface state" at the interface between silicon and silicon dioxide (or other media) on an existing, process-mature silicon substrate, by precisely controlling the implantation of specific ions (such as rare-earth ions) and subsequent heat treatment, which would hopefully reduce the scattering and absorption of specific wavelengths of light. This could be seen as a preliminary exploration for solving fundamental interface problems for future integrated photonic devices on silicon.

This direction was not only related to the photonic chip material path he had deduced (involving ion implantation and interface engineering) but also cleverly avoided the currently most popular and most difficult "brand new material synthesis," settling instead on the relatively mature silicon process foundation, which had high experimental feasibility. The main equipment required—an ion implanter (available on the institute's public platform), a rapid thermal annealing furnace (there was an old one in the old laboratory building that could be retrofitted), and SEMs and various spectrometers (for characterization)—could also basically be resolved.

In the proposal, he meticulously constructed a theoretical framework, cited a large number of public documents to support its scientific significance, and detailed the experimental steps, expected results, and risk assessments. He deliberately hid those more advanced and specific guidelines from the technology tree deductions, displaying only an "academic sharpness" based on solid literature research and reasonable logical deduction.

Meanwhile, his mental deductions were also accelerating. After clarifying the specific path for experimental verification, many previously vague parameters and conditions became clear, which in turn facilitated the "filling in" of related branches on the technology tree. The deduction progress for Pre-requisite Two, after stagnating for many days, actually jumped to 58% in one go!

A week later, he submitted the meticulously polished proposal. Then came the waiting period.

However, he did not just wait idly. Utilizing the small cubicle Engineer Li had cleared out and the old SEM, he began conducting some more basic pre-experiments. For example, he tried treating silicon wafers using different cleaning methods and conditions, using the SEM to observe changes in their surface cleanliness and microscopic roughness; or, he tried using the laboratory's old magnetron sputtering coating machine to deposit dielectric thin films of different thicknesses and compositions onto the silicon wafers, studying their uniformity and adhesion. These tasks were all laying the groundwork for the ion implantation and interface modification experiments he envisioned, accumulating process experience.

Like a diligent worker ant, he built his experimental system bit by bit in this forgotten corner, verifying every tiny step. Engineer Li would occasionally come over to take a look, sometimes pointing out oversights in his operations, and sometimes digging out old spare parts or special tools that might be useful from some dusty cabinet for him.

Days flew by in his busyness. The results of the "Future Cornerstone" project application had not yet been announced, but the atmosphere in the institute seemed to have undergone some subtle changes. Lin Shen could occasionally hear rumors from the snippets of conversation among other researchers, such as "It seems the higher-ups are paying special attention to the photon direction" or "There is talk that they might organize a large-scale research project." He was unsure if these rumors were related to Academician Qin's report or the deeper "Chasing Light" project.

That evening, Lin Shen finished recording the data for a set of silicon wafer surface roughness measurements and was just preparing to leave. Professor Zhang Mingyuan's secretary suddenly called, telling him to go to Professor Zhang's office immediately.

Lin Shen's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that there was a result for the application?

He straightened his clothes and walked quickly toward the administration building.

In Professor Zhang's office, besides Professor Zhang himself, sat Researcher Zhou, who had visited that day. However, this time, Comrade Wang was not by her side; instead, he was replaced by a man who looked younger and had the air of a technical staff member.

"Little Lin is here, sit down." Professor Zhang gestured for him to sit, his expression more serious than last time.

Researcher Zhou got straight to the point: "Comrade Lin Shen, we have seen your "Future Cornerstone" project proposal."

Lin Shen's heart tightened. So fast? The review process shouldn't be this fast. And why was Researcher Zhou the one to tell him this?

"The idea is very novel, and the entry point is also very clever." Researcher Zhou's tone was calm, with no hint of praise or criticism, "Especially combining interface engineering with the specific problem of photon loss, which demonstrates your good ability to distill scientific problems and your engineering mindset."

"Thank you." Lin Shen responded cautiously.

"However," Researcher Zhou changed the subject, "after our preliminary assessment, we believe that the potential value and difficulty of this research direction you proposed may exceed the support scope of seed funds like "Future Cornerstone." The material physics, process control, and characterization techniques involved require more systematic and powerful resource support."

Lin Shen's heart sank. Was this... a polite rejection?

But what Researcher Zhou said next made him freeze.

"Therefore, after comprehensive judgment by relevant departments and the recommendation of Academician Qin, we have decided to incorporate this research direction of yours into a special research project with a higher level and more adequate resource support for cultivation." Researcher Zhou looked at Lin Shen and said word by word, "This project is tentatively named "Chasing Light"."

Chasing Light!

Lin Shen's pupils contracted slightly. As expected! That email, those two researchers, the encouragement from Academician Qin... everything had connected! They had indeed found something, or at least, they had included him on a list for priority attention and observation. And his proposal happened to provide a "compliant" and perfect entry point, allowing them to legitimately tilt resources toward him while observing his true abilities up close.

"We have noticed that you possess the potential for independent thinking and solving complex technical problems, as well as strong hands-on practical skills," Researcher Zhou continued. "In the initial stage of the "Chasing Light" project, several parallel technology path exploration groups will be established. We invite you to join one of these groups, focusing on the "Silicon-Based Interface Optical Loss Control" direction you proposed in your application, and we will provide corresponding funding, equipment, and personnel support. Of course, you will need to accept stricter progress management and confidentiality requirements."

The young man beside her added, "Comrade Lin Shen, I am a member of the "Chasing Light" project's preliminary coordination group, and my surname is Sun. If you agree to join, we will grant you access to higher-level internal databases, coordinate the machine time for the precision instruments you need, and may allocate graduate students or technicians in relevant fields to assist you based on research progress. Your main workplace can temporarily remain in the old laboratory building, but important experiments and data must be conducted in a designated secure environment."

This was no longer a request for opinion, but a formal notification and arrangement. The conditions were unimaginably generous, but the underlying meaning was also crystal clear: you have been selected and have entered a more core, more closely watched circle, but it also means less freedom and more scrutiny.

Lin Shen barely hesitated. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for! A platform where he could truly put the technology tree blueprint in his mind into practice!

"I am willing to join!" He stood up, his tone firm.

A faint smile appeared on Researcher Zhou's face: "Very good. Comrade Sun will handle the relevant procedures and confidentiality agreements with you. Remember, from now on, your research work concerns not only your personal academic development but also national strategic needs. I hope you will give it your all and be extremely cautious."

Leaving Professor Zhang's office, Lin Shen felt as if his steps were floating. He returned to the old laboratory building; it was already late, and only Engineer Li was still in the laboratory, wiping the casing of an instrument.

"Engineer Li." Lin Shen called out.

Engineer Li turned to look at him: "Finished talking? It looks like it wasn't a bad thing."

"Yes." Lin Shen took a deep breath. "I might have to start doing some more... important experiments. I might be busier in the future and will need your guidance even more."

Engineer Li put down the rag in his hand, looked at him for a few seconds, and said slowly, "What's meant to come will come. My old bones can't help with much else, but I can keep an eye on these devices and assist you with the groundwork. If you need anything, just say the word."

The plain words filled Lin Shen's heart with strength.

He walked over to the old SEM and patted it gently. This piece of equipment he had "resurrected" with his own hands would perhaps witness him taking the first real step toward lighting up the "Dragon Chip" within this national-level project named "Chasing Light."

The road for the photonic chip was still long, but the first substantive and recognized research topic was already firmly in his hands. The impasse had not been broken, but the dawn had appeared.