Moscow launches Russia’s first production of photonic chips for 5G and unmanned transport

Test production of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) has begun in Moscow. The unique enterprise for Russia, created on the basis of the Moscow Photonics Centre, was visited by Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov and Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin. This was reported on the official website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

The production capacity of the complex will amount to up to 2,000 wafers per year and 500,000 finished chips. This will make it possible to fully meet the needs of Russian industry, from the release of pilot batches to large-scale serial production.

“Under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, subsidies amounting to US$32.6 million are envisaged as part of the mechanism supporting the creation of critically important technologies. Establishing domestic production of PICs will replace the critical import of foreign components in the field of high-speed data transmission and processing, the formation of modern telecommunications and computing infrastructure, as well as the development of sensor technologies. In fact, we are talking about the development of a new industrial niche, which is viewed globally as one of the pillars of the future digital economy,” said Alikhanov.

Sergey Sobyanin noted that these products make it possible to increase data transmission speeds by up to 100 times. “Moscow Photonics will become the foundation for the introduction of the 5G data transmission standard in Russia, the development of unmanned transport, the construction of new data processing centres and, overall, for technological leadership in the creation of critically important infrastructure,” he added.

The production facility is located in Zelenograd, in the Technopolis Moscow special economic zone. It is noted that the project will create new highly qualified jobs and lay the foundation for Russia’s leadership in industrial photonics and optical computing.

Photo: LYagovy / iStock