"We worked with research institutes including South China University of Technology on key technological challenges and developed a globally original technical route for single-crystalline AlN bulk acoustic wave technology. We successfully broke a decades-long foreign technology monopoly and fundamentally overcame the bottleneck in RF filter chips," said a representative of Guangzhou FLCT Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (FLCT) in a forceful speech from the podium.

The moment came at the inaugural Innovation Guangzhou Science and Technology Awards ceremony held on September 8th. The joint team from FLCT and South China University of Technology won first prize for its project, "Technology and Applications of Single-Crystalline AlN High-Frequency Broadband Bulk Acoustic Wave Filter Chips."

From breaking foreign monopolies in RF filter chips and replacing high-end capacitors with domestically produced alternatives to entering the cutting-edge silicon photonics chip sector, Guangdong is steadily strengthening the core foundation of its high-end electronic information industryand becoming one of the country's key growth engines for the high-quality development of the semiconductor and integrated circuit industry.

In 2011, FLCT established a research and development center for single-crystalline AlN materials and chips in HuangpuDistrict, Guangzhou, focusing on solving challenges in filter chip technology. The team adopted an original technical route, broke the long-standing monopoly held by foreign companies, and improved key performance indicators by more than 20% compared with similar international products. The technology can be applied in 5G communications, satellite internet and the Internet of Things.

After years of technological research, FLCT successfully put its first pilot production line for 5G SABAR® filter chips into operation in 2015, with a monthly capacity of 500,000 chips. In 2020, it completed a mass-production line for 5G SABAR® filter chips, raising monthly capacity to 30 million chips. Today, FLCT has achieved stable mass production of nearly 100 types of filter chips, many of which are used in products such as smartphones, drones, and communication base stations, as well as in the field of artificial intelligence.

广东筑牢半导体产业硬核底座

“我们联合华南理工大学等研究院所开展技术攻关，全球独创单晶氮化铝体声波技术路线，成功打破了国外长达数十年的技术垄断，从根本上攻克了射频芯片领域的‘卡脖子’难题。”领奖台上，来自广州市艾佛光通科技有限公司（以下简称“艾佛光通”）的代表发言掷地有声。

这一幕，发生在9月8日举行的首届创新广州科学技术奖颁奖仪式上。艾佛光通与华南理工大学的联合团队，凭借“单晶ALN高频宽带体声波滤波芯片技术及应用”项目获一等奖。

从射频芯片打破海外垄断，到高端电容实现国产替代，再到硅光芯片布局前沿赛道，广东正不断筑牢全省高端电子信息产业的核心底座，成为国内半导体及集成电路产业高质量发展的核心增长极之一。

自2011年起，艾佛光通就在广州黄埔成立了单晶氮化铝材料与芯片研发中心，致力于攻克滤波芯片难题。团队采用了独创性的技术路线，突破了国外企业的长期垄断，并且实现关键性能指标比国际同类产品提升20%以上，可应用于5G通信、卫星互联网、物联网等领域。

经过多年的技术攻关，2015年，艾佛光通成功运行首条5G SABAR®滤波芯片中试生产线，月产能50万颗。2020年，建成5G SABAR®滤波芯片大规模生产线，月产能达到3000万颗。如今，艾佛光通已实现近100款滤波芯片的稳定量产，大批应用在手机、无人机、通信基站、人工智能等产品和领域。

文｜羊城晚报记者 李钢
图｜受访者单位供图
译 | 郑书悦
审 | 曾敏