Academician You Zheng: Breakthrough in high-end sensor technology to build a solid foundation for a strong country in science and technology

As the source of information acquisition, sensors are the bridge between the physical world and the digital world, and have become an indispensable cornerstone of the information society. They convert various physical quantities, chemical quantities or biological characteristics into detectable and digitized electrical signals, and are our primary tool for perceiving the world. Sensors play a vital role in scientific research, industrial production, national defense security, medical health and other fields.

You Zheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chairman of the Chinese Instrument Society

With the continuous advancement of technology, sensors have evolved from discrete devices into intelligent sensing microsystems that integrate information acquisition, processing, transmission, power supply and other functions, that is, high-end sensors, which are characterized by digitalization, miniaturization and intelligence. However, it is precisely because of their high-precision and cutting-edge properties that high-end sensors have become a core "bottleneck" technology facing my country.

There are three reasons why high-end sensors have become a "bottleneck" technology: First, it involves many new principles, new materials, and new devices, and is closely related to the innovation of basic science and basic technology. At the same time, it is directly applied to complete equipment, serves end users, and is closely related to all walks of life. Secondly, sensors bring together cutting-edge technologies in multiple disciplines, have the characteristics of interdisciplinary integration, and have large industrial investments, and are both technology- and capital-intensive. Finally, sensors are widely used, with complex technical categories, and a wide distribution of products and industries. Each solution has its own special requirements.

So, what can high-end sensors bring us? In the forefront of scientific and technological innovation, sensors are "pioneers". Looking at the history of scientific and technological development, breakthroughs in core sensor technology have promoted the formation of the world's scientific center, and many Nobel Prizes are inseparable from the support of cutting-edge sensors and instruments. In the main battlefield of the national economy, sensors are "multipliers". It has penetrated almost every aspect of social production and life. For example, a large number of sensors are integrated into smart phones, which greatly enhances the functions of mobile phones and enters a new era of intelligence. In addition, the sensor industry itself has a huge market scale, and the output value created by the upstream and downstream industrial chains it drives is even more amazing.

In national strategic projects, sensors are the "decisive factor". Their performance and quality directly determine the performance and quality of major equipment and strategic products. Taking high-speed rail as an example, sensors play an indispensable role in train monitoring and maintenance, track health monitoring, and train safety protection. In medical health, sensors are "diamond drills" that provide a basis for doctors' diagnosis and treatment. In national defense and security, sensors are "combat power". In a sense, modern warfare is a war of sensors. Various high-end sensors play a decisive role in precision guidance, situational awareness, and target strikes.

However, the current status of the development of high-end sensors in my country is not optimistic. Although the scale of my country's sensor market continues to grow, global leading companies occupy about 60% of the domestic market share. Especially in the high-end sensor market, about 80% of my country's sensors rely on imports. In addition, there are still gaps in my country's innovation ecology, design tools and R&D platforms, advanced materials and core devices, high-end chips and process equipment in the sensor industry.

To become a sensor power, my country needs to continue to exert efforts in the following aspects: First, pay attention to "industry-education integration", strengthen the deep connection and integration of talent training and industrial development, cultivate high-end talents, and promote technological innovation. Second, strengthen collaborative innovation, coordinate planning, and rationally arrange various innovation elements such as government, enterprises, universities, research institutes, users, and financial institutions to achieve efficient operation and sustainable and healthy development of the entire sensor industry. Third, increase demonstration applications, carry out innovation in an organized manner around major national engineering tasks, important strategic equipment, and social and economic needs, promote industrial agglomeration, and form an ecological chain for the sensor industry.

In short, as the cornerstone of the information society, the importance of sensors is self-evident. Faced with the "bottleneck" technology of high-end sensors, my country needs to increase investment, strengthen innovation, promote the rapid development of the sensor industry, and contribute to the goal of becoming a strong country in science and technology.

Author : You Zheng ( Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chairman of the Chinese Instrument Society )