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After three years of efforts, Wang and his team finally improved the technology to make crystal-clear SOI wafers. According to Wang, SOI wafers are like a sandwich with two layers of silicon on the outside and a layer of silica in the middle. "What we do is to put silica into silicon layers. It's a very difficult and complicated atom assembly job, because the silicon film is so thin that the process must happen at the nanometer scale," Wang explained.
In 2006, the High-end Silicon-based SOI Material Research and Industrialization" project led by Wang won the first prize of National Scientific and Technological Progress, with the project research team granted the Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize of CAS in 2007, and the Scientific and Technological Progress Award of the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation 2008.
Today, SOI has been broadly used in the electronics industry following rapid development over the past 30 years. Many improvements in IT products could not have occurred without SOI materials.
Apart from his outstanding achievements in science, Wang is a successful entrepreneur who built an emerging hi-tech company into a leading player in the world's SOI market.
"The success of lab experiments isn't immediately akin to new technology development," Wang said. "I have to combine my research with a national strategy and social needs."
Wang and his team started a new job of transforming research achievements into industrial production. In fact, Wang and his lab accumulated many technological innovations and patents, but Wang knew little about the unpredictable market as a scientist. What Wang was sure of was that SOI had a promising future and huge potential. The team used this confidence to embark on a new mission.
With the support of CAS and SIMIT, Shanghai Simgui Technology Co. Ltd. (SST) was founded in 2001. The company is based on Wang's intellectual property rights relating to SOI over the past decades. Wang assumed the post of both chief scientist and president in the hi-tech corporation.
Going from scientist to entrepreneur gave Wang an entirely new set of challenges. "Unlike scientific research, each step in running a business was extremely difficult to me—financing, building, operation, technology, and marketing," Wang recalled.
However, Wang and his colleagues rose to the occasion. "The most important thing is that we have a united and cooperative team. Whether in research or business, we all need team spirit," Wang said.
In April of 2002, the company built up its production line to become the first SOI assembly line in China. Two months later, the first batch of SOI wafers for commercial use were made in China.
At the time, some international IT giants occupied the leading position in the SOI market. Wang relentlessly sought after customers across the globe. A U.S. company was eventually moved by Wang's diligence and signed on to become the first client.
In 2006, Sony introduced the PlayStation 3 with the fastest chip based on SOI technology to the market, igniting competition in the gaming industry worldwide. The news further enhanced Wang's confidence that SOI would bring about a new industrial revolution in the digital field.
The success of SST put China on the map as an SOI research and development center following the United States, Japan and France. A host of multinational corporations, including Intel, Philips and Samsung, have become long-term partners with SST. The company tailored its approach according to the needs of its clients. "Each customer has his own needs, so we must know them well to better satisfy the changing market," Wang said.
With over a decade of experience as the company's president, Wang has a new view of the hi-tech business. "Enterprise is not only the driving force behind technological achievements, but also the engine of innovation."
Who is Wang Xi?
1966: Born in Shanghai
1987: Graduated from Tsinghua University
1993: Earned Ph.D. degree in materials physics in the Shanghai Institute of Metallurgy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
1994-present: Working as a scientist in the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the CAS
2007-present: Chairman of Shanghai Simgui Technology Co. Ltd.
2010: Appointed as director of the SIMIT
Email us at: tangyuankai@bjreview.com | 
