Source: Laser Manufacture News  8^th Aug 2024

Optizone Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., founded in 2007, is a national high-tech enterprise integrating R&D, production, and sales of optical components and modules. Its products are widely used in multiple industrial fields including laser processing, optical fiber communication, optical fiber sensing, biomedicine, and quantum communication. Sold to more than 40 countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan, the company can quickly and efficiently provide customers with component system solutions in relevant fields by virtue of its products' excellent performance and high reliability. Through continuous independent innovation, the company has grown into a high-tech enterprise with advanced technology and reliable quality.

Over the past 17 years, Optizone Technology has been deeply engaged in the field of optical components and modules, making continuous breakthroughs and innovations, and owning more than 100 patents. As a pioneer in mass-producing high-power optical components in China, Optizone Technology has been deeply rooted and growing on the fertile land of Guanlan, Longhua, Shenzhen, expanding to the whole country and serving the world. It has been listed as a national specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative "little giant" enterprise, and is forging ahead steadily towards its vision of "becoming an outstanding technology enterprise that constantly transcends in the optical field" by seizing the opportunity of Longhua building a pilot zone for the digital economy.

Recently, Laser Manufacture News had the privilege of discussing and exchanging ideas with Mr. Long Yuejin, General Manager of Optizone Technology, on the company's products, market layout, and the future development of the laser industry, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of Optizone Technology.

Laser Manufacture News: Hello, Mr. Long! Thank you very much for accepting the interview with Laser Manufacturer News. First of all, could you please introduce the development overview of Optizone Technology?

Mr. Long: Hello to all colleagues at Laser Manufacturer News! Thank you for the interview.

Since its establishment in 2007, Optizone Technology has always taken meeting customer needs as its goal, adhered to independent innovation, and taken value creation as its mission. We provide customers with high-quality products and services, and offer a steady stream of growth momentum for the sustainable development of partners.

"Actions speak louder than words." We have an extensive and closely cooperative customer base at home and abroad, with applications spanning industrial lasers (optoelectronic components and modules for ultrafast fiber lasers, pulsed fiber lasers, continuous wave fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers, solid-state lasers), laser medicine (optoelectronic components and modules for medical equipment, fiber optic endoscopic consumables), optical fiber sensing, lidar, (optical) quantum information, optical fiber communication, aerospace, and other fields.

Optizone Technology specializes in polarization-maintaining fiber components and modules, high-power laser components and modules, and multi-functional (multi-characteristic) optical integration. Covering power ranges from single-photon to 10,000-watt class and wavelength ranges from 405 to 2000nm, we have accumulated rich R&D, production, and service experience in collimators, focusers, beam splitters, combiners, wavelength division multiplexers, isolators, circulators, fiber slip rings, cost-effective fs~ns fiber laser seed sources, energy transmission cables (QBH, QCS, QD, Q+, etc.), as well as their arbitrary integrated components, modules, and derivative products.

After 17 years of development, we have gradually grown into a national high-tech enterprise, a Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center, a Shenzhen Postdoctoral Innovation Practice base, and a national specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative "little giant" enterprise. In 2024, we set off with full confidence and enthusiasm, embracing the important opportunities ahead with a brand-new look.

Laser Manufacture News: We understand that Optizone Technology has been deeply engaged in the field of optical components and modules for many years. What are your current key R&D products? Could you introduce your newly launched products, the industries they are applied in, and their distinctive advantages?

Mr. Long: In the lidar sector, we focus on providing customers with cost-effective polarization-maintaining fiber components and integrated modules; these products are mature, reliable, high-quality yet affordable, customized for customers to create new value. In the industrial laser sector, we continue to improve our high-power product matrix (ultrafast components, energy transmission cables, and 0~1000W optical isolators) for applications such as handheld welding, thick plate cutting, new energy applications, 3D printing and additive manufacturing, and laser cleaning. These products feature low temperature rise, minimal thermal distortion, and high stability and reliability. We also offer an industry-leading series of polarization-maintaining fiber components and modules, whose key parameter—extinction ratio—is 5~10dB higher than that of mainstream similar products in the industry, providing a solid foundation for the development of high-end applications.

Laser Manufacture News: The laser market faced significant growth pressure in 2023. How would you describe your company's overall development this year?

Mr. Long: 2023 witnessed intensified restructuring and obvious pattern differentiation in the laser industry. Optizone Technology strengthened cooperation with leading industry enterprises, and its performance maintained a steady upward trend. Our entire team has gained valuable experience from this process, and we are full of confidence in the development and progress of 2024.

Laser Manufacture News: What were the highlights of the laser industry in 2023, and which fields have great growth potential?

Mr. Long: As a tool and carrier, lasers have been brimming with highlights in the process of domestic substitution and traditional substitution, and this trend will continue in the future. For 2023, in addition to the deeper application research in marking, cutting, and welding fields, the highlights lie in the well-known handheld welding, new energy applications, and intelligent driving. The development of new energy is a global trend, and the demand for cost reduction, efficiency improvement, and related intelligent control has actively promoted the application and development of processing tools, sensing, and detection methods.

Laser Manufacture News: Currently, the laser industry is developing rapidly, but competition within the industry is intensifying. How do you view the development opportunities and challenges in the industry?

Mr. Long: Some expansions in industry competition are disordered and negative. I believe one of the important reasons is the cooperation barriers and misunderstandings between upstream and downstream partners; for closely related partners, striving to eliminate these barriers to avoid the risks and consumption of unnecessary integration is positive and beneficial. The laser industry will continue to grow with technological advancement, and the differentiation and division of labor will become increasingly obvious. Integration with other industries has long become an important trend, which can provide sufficient development opportunities for every company with unique strengths in the industry. Therefore, building strong core competitiveness will enable enterprises to have greater development space, while division of labor and cooperation, pioneering and innovation, and avoiding inefficient competition are powerful guarantees for high-quality development.

Laser Manufacture News: Combining current technologies and future application trends, could you talk about the prospects of China's laser development?

Mr. Long: This is a broad topic. Limited by my personal perspective, oversights are inevitable—this is merely a humble attempt to throw out a brick to attract jade; I would be extremely grateful for corrections from experts. Several well-known important applications are particularly worthy of attention, including artificial intelligence (which requires big data collection, computing, communication, display, and confidentiality), intelligent manufacturing and services, green energy, and the integration and evolution of tools and testing.

Looking ahead, capital should more easily achieve satisfactory returns in advanced niche areas within the above directions, rather than from simple capacity expansion in the red ocean. From my understanding, in China's laser industry, at least in the commercial sector, the return on capital for additional or late-stage investments in various niche areas is not high; this is not to say that the laser industry is growing slowly or has poor investment attributes, but that some irrational duplicate investments have been wasted. China's laser industry has a sufficient number of talents of various types, as well as a long-term vision and strong aspirations. Pioneering rather than following blindly, moving towards high-endization rather than inefficient repetition, and looking at the world rather than being confined to a corner—these should be the real engines of China's laser development.