This article reports that China plans to open a photonic chips fab in 2023. What stood out was the below quote by Sui Jun, the president of Sintone:
“Sui said that making photonic chips is not as demanding as electronic chips in terms of structural requirements, as photonic chips don't require extremely high-end lithography machines such as extreme ultraviolet lithography, and can be produced using raw materials and types of equipment that are already mature in China.”
Is it true that photonic chips do not require as advanced of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to manufacture? And if not, could manufacturing electronic chips at the leading edge become relatively less important? Or will photonic chips still need to be co-packaged with the most advanced electronic chips? Relatedly, if photonic chips are supposedly faster and easier to manufacture, what's limiting their broader adoption/integration?
“Sui said that making photonic chips is not as demanding as electronic chips in terms of structural requirements, as photonic chips don't require extremely high-end lithography machines such as extreme ultraviolet lithography, and can be produced using raw materials and types of equipment that are already mature in China.”
Is it true that photonic chips do not require as advanced of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to manufacture? And if not, could manufacturing electronic chips at the leading edge become relatively less important? Or will photonic chips still need to be co-packaged with the most advanced electronic chips? Relatedly, if photonic chips are supposedly faster and easier to manufacture, what's limiting their broader adoption/integration?