As a latecomer in the industry, China’s domestic PLC sector began its initial development in the 1970s. However, due to limitations in capital, technology, and talent, the industry developed slowly and remained at a relatively low level until the 1990s. With increasing attention from the Chinese government, the pace of development accelerated in the mid-to-late 1990s. The formal establishment of the PLC Branch of the China Electromechanical Integration Technology Application Association marked a turning point, ushering in a new stage of growth for the industry.

As China continues to advance its strategy of becoming a manufacturing powerhouse, and with the continuous rollout of policies by both central and local governments to promote advanced manufacturing, the deepening application of technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, the industrial internet, and big data is driving the manufacturing sector toward rapid digital transformation and the construction of smart factories.

In the field of optical communications, optical chips can be broadly classified into two main categories: active and passive, and can be further subdivided based on functions and other dimensions.

There are two main methods for growing silicon-based SiOx integrated optical waveguide materials abroad: the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method, mainly used in Europe and the United States, and the flame hydrolysis deposition (FHD) method, mainly used in Japan and South Korea.