Special optical fiber is a core material for manufacturing fiber lasers and also constitutes a relatively high-cost component of lasers. With the rapid development of the domestic fiber laser market, domestic manufacturers are continuously making breakthroughs in optical fiber manufacturing process technologies.
Foreign countries have continuously strengthened technological blockades and embargoes against China, with special optical fiber products being among them. As a domestic supplier of special optical fibers, Wuhan Changjin Laser Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Changjin Laser") has successfully developed products such as 3kW large-mode-area ytterbium-doped optical fibers, multi-kilowatt-level gain-managed ytterbium-doped optical fibers, high-power polarization-maintaining ytterbium-doped optical fibers, erbium-ytterbium co-doped optical fibers, polarization-maintaining erbium-doped optical fibers, and polarization-maintaining erbium-ytterbium co-doped optical fibers through long-term technological accumulation and innovative research and development. In particular, the company has successfully developed the 25/300 series large-core erbium-ytterbium polarization-maintaining optical fibers, which are subject to strategic export restrictions by foreign countries, achieving specifications and performance on par with renowned foreign optical fibers.
In this interview, we spoke with Liu Changbo, General Manager of Changjin Laser, to discuss the company's technological breakthroughs in the field of special optical fibers, its development in recent years, and its future plans.
Breaking Foreign Embargoes and Achieving Independent R&D
Special optical fibers not only play a huge role in the optical communication field but also serve as critical components in other related sectors, particularly rare-earth-doped special optical fibers. With advancements in manufacturing processes, rare-earth-doped optical fibers have witnessed significant development in recent years. Using such fibers as gain media to generate high-efficiency, high-beam-quality, and high-power fiber lasers has found extensive applications in industries, national defense, healthcare, and aerospace.
The preparation process for special optical fibers is relatively more complex, involving unique core matrices, structural designs, manufacturing techniques, optical properties, and environmental characteristics. For example, erbium-doped fibers and erbium-ytterbium co-doped fibers are core gain materials for 1550 nm lidar light sources. Due to their extremely high manufacturing difficulty, the core technologies and processes for producing these fibers have long been monopolized by foreign optical fiber enterprises. For years, domestic lidar companies have had to purchase erbium-ytterbium fibers from abroad at high prices for R&D and production, severely restricting the development of China's lidar industry. Especially under the current international landscape, foreign countries have intensified technological blockades against China, with core gain materials for wind-measuring lidar light sources (25/300 polarization-maintaining erbium-ytterbium co-doped fibers) already subject to import restrictions. Purchasing these materials has become increasingly difficult, and there may be a risk of complete unavailability in the future. This has left China's lidar industry dependent on foreign suppliers, putting the entire industrial chain in a highly passive position.
In response, domestic enterprises have stepped up. Through long-term technological accumulation and independent R&D, Changjin Laser has broken through technical monopolies and successfully developed a range of products, including 3kW large-mode-area ytterbium-doped fibers, multi-kilowatt-level gain-managed ytterbium-doped fibers, high-power polarization-maintaining ytterbium-doped fibers, erbium-ytterbium co-doped fibers, polarization-maintaining erbium-doped fibers, and polarization-maintaining erbium-ytterbium co-doped fibers. Among them, the annual shipment volume of ytterbium-doped fibers reaches thousands of kilometers, while that of erbium-ytterbium co-doped fibers (10/125) reaches hundreds of kilometers. The performance and consistency of these fibers have reached the level of imported products, leading to high customer satisfaction. Notably, the company has also successfully developed the 25/300 series large-core erbium-ytterbium polarization-maintaining fibers, which are subject to strategic export restrictions by foreign countries. Liu Changbo, General Manager of Changjin Laser, stated, "Our product specifications are now comparable to those of imported products."
When asked about how to break foreign technological monopolies and the main challenges from R&D to industrialization, Mr. Liu explained that Changjin Laser attaches great importance to product R&D and the cultivation of its R&D team, which is led by Dr. Li, the company's Chairman. With over 20 years of research experience in special optical fibers, Dr. Li is an influential academic leader in the industry. According to Dr. Li's experience, during the scientific research phase, researchers focus more on achieving specific technical indicators, which may be accomplished through a single experiment. However, transforming scientific achievements into marketable products and industrializing them requires attention to product reliability, stability, and reproducibility. This necessitates countless experiments to verify and maintain indicators at a stable level. The breakthrough in foreign technological monopolies is based on Changjin Laser's years of R&D technology accumulation. Building on this foundation, the company spent more than two years tackling key problems in fiber composition, structure, and other aspects to achieve these industrialization results.
Rapid Development in Recent Three Years with Sufficient Orders and Expansion Plans
Although Changjin Laser was established earlier, its true growth has occurred in the past three years. When discussing the challenges faced during its development, General Manager Liu stated: "We truly began our industrialization journey in 2018. What impressed me most was the early startup period, when the optical fiber industry had high technical barriers and required substantial investment in equipment, mostly imported. Building a production line demanded enormous capital."
In just a few years, Changjin Laser has grown at an astonishing pace, nearly doubling its scale annually. Mr. Liu frankly attributes this to its strong technical team. "There are many competitors in the market, but we always strive to keep our technology ahead. Our advantage in competition lies in R&D talent."
In terms of customers, Changjin Laser primarily serves downstream fiber laser manufacturers. As the fiber laser industry thrives, upstream suppliers must continuously adapt their designs to meet user needs. How to accelerate responsiveness to customer demands has become critical to the company's market position.
The robust development of downstream applications has benefited upstream suppliers. Regarding orders and performance, Mr. Liu revealed: "The company's overall situation last year and this year is similar—we’ve been busy with deliveries throughout this year." Despite doubling production capacity, the company still faces tight supply due to surging orders. Therefore, further capacity expansion remains in Changjin Laser’s plans.
Speaking of this year’s goals, Mr. Liu stated: "The annual target is to achieve double-digit growth." In the fiber laser industry, as applications become more widespread, fiber lasers, once regarded as precision instruments, are now seen as processing tools. While their unit prices have become more affordable, the overall market capacity has expanded significantly. Companies like Raycus Laser, Maxphotonics, and Shanghai Guanghui have been increasing their output value year by year, even as laser prices decline. Excluding price drops, this represents extremely rapid growth. As suppliers, we closely follow market demands.
For special optical fibers, there is a wide variety of products with different prices—some cost 2,000 RMB per meter, while others cost 10 RMB per meter. Today, the industry places greater emphasis on details. Mr. Liu noted that the company’s technical team specializes in high-power fields and plans to launch several remarkable products in the second half of this year.
Aspiring to Become a "Specialized, Refined, Characteristic and Innovative" Enterprise in the Industry
Regarding the domestic laser optical fiber industry, it is revealed that more than half of the laser optical fibers used in domestic lasers have been localized, with many enterprises entering the field—including those previously focused on communication optical fibers.
General Manager Liu has noted that a large number of optoelectronics enterprises have recently been listed as national "Specialized, Refined, Characteristic and Innovative" enterprises, and he believes Changjin Laser embodies these traits. As a small private enterprise, Changjin Laser is well-suited and proficient in the laser optical fiber sector. He explains that laser optical fibers are not standardized products; they require continuous updates and adaptations to meet the evolving applications of lasers, and Changjin Laser currently holds a significant position in the domestic market landscape.
As fiber lasers continue to develop and laser optical fibers remain non-standardized, the ability to quickly adapt to and fulfill customer needs requires long-term technological accumulation. Currently, many industries struggle to avoid homogeneous competition—for example, the homogeneous competition in communication optical fibers previously led to overcapacity, forcing many factories to close in recent years. If industry associations can organize and promote sustainable, differentiated development across the industry to avoid vicious competition, the entire sector can develop more orderly and sustainably.
Discussing future plans, Mr. Liu stated that technologically, the company is at least three years ahead of the industry average. Through strategic technological layering, it has engaged in and achieved R&D results in high-end special optical fiber fields. Additionally, plans to increase production capacity are underway; by expanding equipment and personnel, the company aims to scale up operations and release new capacity next year.
As domestic fiber lasers continue to advance, special optical fiber enterprises in the upstream sector are also persistently overcoming technical challenges. It is precisely because of these enterprises that have accumulated strengths and made continuous breakthroughs that China can achieve self-reliance in related industries amid foreign embargoes. Changjin Laser is developing at a rapid pace, and we look forward to the company bringing more technologically groundbreaking products to the market.