Intention agreements worth 4.58 billion yuan, the unveiling of a national-level laboratory, and the pioneering launch of a tape-out voucher program... The 8th MEMS Intelligent Sensor Industry Ecosystem Development Conference was held in Bengbu on the morning of May 31st.

As a major industry event held for eight consecutive years, this conference not only showcased innovative "report cards" but also, with "ecosystem" as the key theme, injected new momentum into Bengbu's efforts to build a sensor industry cluster.

Emphasizing the "Ecosystem" to Forge an Industrial Circle

Compared to previous years, the name of this year's conference specifically included the word "ecosystem"—upgrading from the "Intelligent Sensor Industry Conference" to the "Intelligent Sensor Industry Ecosystem Development Conference." This change in wording reflects Bengbu's evolving philosophy for developing the intelligent sensor industry: shifting from "attracting single projects" to "building an ecosystem."

The most significant moment of the conference was the official unveiling of the "Heterogeneous and Hetero-integrated Microsystem National Key Laboratory." Jointly approved for restructuring by three ministries and commissions, this laboratory marks Bengbu's formal inclusion into the national system for tackling core micro-nano technology challenges.

The event also released three sets of original process technologies, including the "MEMS-OCS (Optical Cross-Connect Chip) Micro-nano Integration Process System," along with seven new products. These breakthroughs address core technology bottlenecks in the micro-nano field, paving a "national team"-level fast track from the laboratory to the production line.

Addressing the common industry challenge where small and medium-sized design firms "dare not or cannot afford tape-out," Bengbu innovatively launched the first round of its MEMS engineering tape-out voucher policy. Companies can receive subsidies of up to 50% of their tape-out costs, with a maximum annual subsidy of 5 million yuan per enterprise. This "targeted irrigation" policy directly addresses the most vulnerable part of the industrial chain, aiding the research, development, and commercialization of key technologies like chips, devices, and modules.

Looking back over the eight conferences, Bengbu's intelligent sensor industry has followed a clear upward trajectory. From initial platform building and enterprise attraction in the early stages, to the current establishment of national laboratories, aggregation of billion-yuan funds, and diversification into specific application scenarios. Through these conferences, Bengbu sends a strong signal to the outside world: with the perseverance of "sharpening a sword for ten years," it will continue to deepen its efforts in key areas of intelligent sensors, committed to building a comprehensive, deeply integrated, and symbiotically linked industrial ecosystem.

Focusing on the "Entire Chain" to Connect Industry "Upstream and Downstream"

"Choosing to establish roots in Bengbu is due to its mature sensor industry chain cluster. Bengbu possesses a complete MEMS R&D, pilot-scale testing, and mass production support system, enabling rapid support for product industrialization," said Qiang Zhenfeng, founder of Beijing Zhendian Zhigan Technology, after signing a project agreement during the conference.

As one of the many significant projects landed at this conference, the new-generation integrated acoustic-vibration sensor industrialization project brought by Qiang Zhenfeng's team is a vivid example of cutting-edge technology application and scientific achievement transformation at the event. It also reflects Bengbu's decades of accumulated experience and breakthroughs in the MEMS field.

"We plan to achieve a production capacity of over 10,000 units by 2027, expanding to over 30,000 units by 2028, leveraging Bengbu's industrial ecosystem to accelerate the process of domestic substitution for high-end acoustic-vibration sensing equipment," Qiang Zhenfeng expressed full confidence in future development.

Bengbu is one of China's three major sensor R&D and manufacturing bases, with over 30 years of focus on MEMS sensors. The China Sensor Valley, which it is striving to build, is one of the "Three Valleys" in Anhui's artificial intelligence industry.

Inside the cleanroom of Anhui Huaxin Weina Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd., located in the China Sensor Valley, the nation's first fully automated 8-inch MEMS wafer production line is operating at high speed. Since the first wafer rolled off the line in March last year, over 30 product types have been introduced, with a monthly output of 10,000 wafers, and efforts are underway to reach the target of 30,000 wafers per month. This will significantly address domestic production capacity shortages and secure the domestic supply of MEMS chips for automotive electronics and high-end equipment.

In recent years, relying on major research institutes and leading enterprises such as Anhui North Microelectronics Research Institute, Bengbu has accelerated its layout in the intelligent sensing industry, becoming the only city in the province and one of the few nationwide to simultaneously possess integrated circuit and MEMS wafer production lines.

At this conference, the MEMS micromirror chip presented by Anhui North Microelectronics Research Institute Group solved the challenge of domesticating large-scale interconnection for data centers with tens of thousands of computing units. The core technology of the chip lies in heterogeneous and hetero-integrated 3D micro-nano processing technology, breaking the performance limitations of traditional 2D chips. The chip's design, process, pilot-scale testing, and mass production technologies are now fully mature, enabling rapid large-scale application.

To date, Bengbu has gathered over 200 enterprises related to the intelligent sensor industry, forming an integrated research-production structure that covers materials and equipment, R&D and design, wafer manufacturing, packaging and testing, and end-user applications. In 2025, the output value of the city's intelligent sensor industry exceeded 10 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29%, with China Sensor Valley ranking sixth among the nation's top ten high-quality sensor parks.

Optimizing the "Environment" with Dedicated "Chief Service Officers"

The continuous breakthroughs in cutting-edge technology, the clustering of science and innovation projects, and the accelerated gathering of innovative enterprises are underpinned by Bengbu's decades-long dedication to the sensor industry and its continuous iteration and optimization of a first-class business environment.

Bengbu has successively introduced a series of policies, including the "Several Policies of Bengbu City to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Intelligent Sensor Industry" and the "Ten Measures to Support Talent Development in the Intelligent Sensor Industry." It has established an industrial development fund exceeding 7 billion yuan, implemented the nation's first regulation to promote the development of the intelligent sensor industry, and successfully created over 40 provincial-level and above scientific and technological innovation platforms.

Simultaneously, in collaboration with provincial departments, it launched the "Several Policies to Support the Development of China Sensor Valley (Version 2.0)," comprehensively enhancing support in areas like R&D innovation, capacity improvement, fund support, talent introduction, and scenario opening.

"We focus on the full lifecycle development needs of enterprises, building a dedicated platform for handling enterprise requests. Issues such as production, R&D, project implementation, and policy applications can be submitted with one click via an online APP, with guaranteed resolution within a one-week closed-loop timeframe," stated a representative. Bengbu consistently adheres to the principle of "enterprise first, service foremost." Considering the characteristics of the MEMS industry—large R&D investments, long cycles, and low error tolerance—it provides full-process agency services and one-on-one targeted support, from project signing and land approval to factory construction, equipment installation, R&D subsidies, and market对接.

The first-class industrial ecosystem, attentive business services, and precise policy empowerment have earned high recognition from industry experts and entrepreneurs. An expert from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, commented that the Bengbu municipal party committee and government attach great importance to the development of the MEMS intelligent sensor industry, with long-term, deep cultivation in the industrial chain layout, gathering of industry-academia-research platforms, and a well-established supporting system, resulting in a solid industrial foundation and充沛 momentum.

A representative from Anhui North Microelectronics Research Institute Group stated that the excellent business environment gives enterprises full confidence in future development, and they will continue to play a leading role in helping Bengbu build a domestically leading intelligent sensor industry cluster.

"In developing the intelligent sensor industry in Bengbu, I am the chief service officer, ensuring everyone can focus on entrepreneurship, operate with peace of mind, and develop comfortably in Bengbu!" At the conference, the municipal party secretary of Bengbu extended a sincere invitation to entrepreneurs to join hands and venture into the vast trillion-dollar blue ocean of intelligent sensing.