At the end of August, Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ("XMC") released the "Xinguang Plan" for the next decade, targeting 3D storage-computing and optoelectronic integration; at the end of September, the second phase of the advanced packaging pilot platform of Hsingchen Technology, an incubated enterprise of Jiangcheng Laboratory, was officially put into operation, building the first domestic 3D advanced packaging mass production line; in October, HGTECH showcased cutting-edge solutions such as 6.4T NPO near-package optics at the OCP Global Summit. From 3D integration to advanced packaging, and then to high-speed optical interconnection, a large number of Tau Scaling Law enterprises are clustering and emerging in Wuhan. Wuhan is advancing the Tau Scaling Law from a technical route to an industrial cluster.
As one of the four major national IC (Integrated Circuit) industrial bases, Wuhan has cultivated the industry for over two decades. In 2025, the scale of its IC industry exceeded CNY 100 billion for the first time, forming an industrial system covering design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, and key supporting links, and accumulating distinctive strengths in 3D integration, advanced packaging, key materials and equipment, and high-speed optical interconnection.
Today, Wuhan is accelerating the development of the IC industry as its "primary industry" with a clear and explicit strategic orientation. When a city's industrial landscape intersects with a new technical route, the "clustering" of enterprises is perhaps no coincidence.
Four Mainlines Supporting the Industrial Foundation of Tau Scaling Law in Wuhan
Advanced Packaging: The "Critical Path" for Leaping Chip Performance
The breakthrough of the Tau Scaling Law lies not only in process shrinkage but also in chip architecture innovation. As Zhang Zhongmou, founder of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), judged early on: "When semiconductors reach the physical limit in two-dimensional density, advanced packaging technology will play an extremely critical role." At SEMICON China 2026, an expert stated directly: "The explosive growth of AI (Artificial Intelligence) has pushed advanced packaging from behind the scenes to the center of the stage."
What is certain is that advanced packaging is transitioning from a "supporting role" to a "core driver," becoming the core path to sustain computing power, bandwidth, and energy efficiency, and also the key engineering foundation for the Tau Scaling Law to achieve "time shrinkage" and promote system-level performance leaps. In this field, Wuhan has formed a complete chain of "R&D - transformation - incubation - industrialization."
Jiangcheng Laboratory: Established in February 2021, it has mastered advanced packaging complete process technologies with completely independent intellectual property rights. Its technical strength in wafer-level vertical packaging, chiplet heterogeneous and asymmetric packaging, and large-size substrate packaging is in the global first tier. Meanwhile, the laboratory has achieved major breakthroughs in key technologies such as AI high-speed optical interconnection and high-density on-chip capacitors, providing key support for domestic computing chips.
Hsingchen Technology: Established in August 2021, Hsingchen Technology has continued to increase its investment in the field of advanced packaging over the past year: in March this year, it officially began risk mass production and shipment of 3D near-memory computing chips; in May, it completed an A-round financing of nearly CNY 5 billion, refreshing the highest single financing record in the domestic IC advanced packaging field this year; in August, the advanced packaging industrialization base project, with a first-phase investment of CNY 10 billion and a planned capacity of 30,000 wafers/month, successfully broke through the zero node, and the main project construction is fully accelerating. In the future, it will be built into the largest single advanced packaging mass production base in mainland China. Hsingchen Technology is accelerating its stride towards becoming the "first Tau Scaling Law stock."
3D Integration: The "Process Foundation" Supporting Logic Folding
Logic folding is one of the important technical paths of the Tau Scaling Law. Unlike simple chip stacking, logic folding also requires fine cross-layer logic layout and high-density vertical interconnection to shorten signal transmission paths and improve chip performance. From "stacking" to "folding," the precision, yield, and reliability of 3D integration processes such as hybrid bonding and through-silicon vias (TSV) are crucial. Wuhan's long-term accumulation in 3D storage and wafer bonding has provided a process foundation for the exploration of related technologies.
YMTC: According to its official website, its independently developed CrystalStack® Xtacking® technology manufactures peripheral circuits and memory arrays on two wafers respectively, and then uses metal interconnection channels to achieve wafer bonding, integrating the two into a whole. In 2025, CrystalStack® Xtacking® 4.0 won the FMS "Most Innovative Storage Technology Award" and was applied to the fifth-generation 3D NAND products.
XMC: Relying on the 3DLink™ technology platform, it has achieved the mass production of dual-wafer and multi-wafer stacking and 2.5D silicon interposers. In August, General Manager Sun Peng released the "Xinguang Plan" for the next decade, taking "optical-sensing interconnection and 3D storage-computing" as the strategic guidance to build a globally competitive special process wafer manufacturing and 3D integration industrial platform. Zhang Rujing, founder of SMIC, evaluated at the same conference that the 3D Link and NOR Flash businesses of Wuhan XMC "take the lead in the whole of China and also play a pivotal role in the world".
Key Materials and Process Equipment: The "Underlying Support" for Breaking Physical Constraints
For the Tau Scaling Law to move from a technical concept to scaled mass production, it not only requires architecture innovation but also needs to overcome engineering challenges such as high-density interconnection, thermal management, wafer warpage, and manufacturing precision, posing higher requirements for key materials and process equipment. With advantages such as low dielectric loss and high dimensional stability, glass substrates have become an important technical direction for high-density advanced packaging. In this field, Wuhan has formed a systematic layout from key materials to core equipment, and from mass production equipment to cutting-edge processes.
Hubei Dinglong: Layouts key materials such as temporary bonding adhesives, CMP polishing pads, and polishing slurries. The temporary bonding adhesive has achieved stable scaled shipment, the TSV polishing slurry has passed customer validation, and the polishing pad has entered the 2.5D/3D advanced packaging production line.
Thinktrans Semiconductor Technology: Relying on its independently developed ion implantation and deposition (IVD) technology, it achieves ultra-fine line processing as low as 1 micron, catering to the needs of high-density advanced packaging substrates such as Chiplet.
Xinzhongda: Focuses on high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics, with a thermal conductivity reaching 250W/(m·K), providing thermal management material support for 3D stacking.
Xinfeng Precision Technology: Focuses on wafer thinning and ultra-precision annular cutting equipment. Its independently developed 12-inch wafer annular cutting equipment has been supplied in batches, with a cumulative delivery of over 20 units, and continues to expand the capacity of high-end wafer processing equipment.
Wuhan Chiplet Technology: Focuses on silicon-silicon and silicon-photonics high-precision bonding equipment. Its independently developed DB750 series thermocompression bonding equipment has obtained small-batch orders from multiple optical communication enterprises, and its D2W hybrid bonding equipment for CPO has been recognized by customers.
Superwave Intelligence Technology: Focuses on ultrasonic non-destructive testing for advanced packaging. Its independently developed "chip B-ultrasound machine" can accurately identify micron-level voids, cracks, and other defects in wafer stacking. It achieved the mass production and delivery of fully automatic equipment in April, and its new factory was officially put into production in June.
HGLASER: Launched an overall solution for advanced packaging. Its TGV (Through Glass Via) equipment has achieved a minimum hole diameter of 5 microns, a maximum aspect ratio of 1:100, and a through-hole rate of 99.9%.
DR Laser: Formed a process solution covering laser modification, chemical etching, and AOI inspection.
TGVTECH: Focuses on TGV massive hole formation and high-precision wiring, with processing capabilities advancing towards a minimum hole diameter of 3 microns.
Silicon Photonics and Optical Interconnection: The "Future Path" for Compressing System-Level τ
As the data transmission demand between chips surges, traditional electrical interconnection is facing multiple bottlenecks in bandwidth, power consumption, and transmission distance. The Tau Scaling Law proposes the Hi-ONE near-package optical engine, exploring the replacement of electricity with light and the shortening of high-speed electrical connection paths. Silicon photonics technology provides an important implementation path for high-speed, low-power optical interconnection by integrating optical devices on silicon-based chips. Moving from electrical interconnection to optoelectronic integration is becoming an important direction for compressing system-level τ and improving overall computing efficiency. In Wuhan, an industrial chain covering optical chips, optical engines, packaging and testing, and optical switching has taken shape.
Accelink: Showcased the 6.4T NPO optical engine in September and launched the 12.8T XPO liquid-cooled optical module, continuously expanding its high-speed optical interconnection product layout.
HGTECH: Layouts 6.4T NPO, 3.2T CPO optical engines, and 12.8T XPO optical modules, promoting the continuous iteration of high-density, low-power optical interconnection products.
Xiandao Xinguang: In September, the core wafer fab of the high-end compound semiconductor material and chip industrialization base, with a total investment of CNY 12 billion, was put into operation in Optics Valley. It has built a dual-material optoelectronic chip platform of indium phosphide and gallium arsenide, promoting the introduction of 200G optical chip foundry and 400G technology validation.
Eternal Technologies: Focuses on silicon photonics chip packaging and testing equipment, forming testing and packaging solutions covering wafer-level, chip-level, and device-level. It completed a new round of financing of hundreds of millions of CNY in August, and reached a cooperation with Keysight Technologies in October to jointly expand high-end testing businesses for silicon photonics PIC and CPO.
Jiuwei Photonics: Relying on phase-change material technology, it completed the tape-out of 8×8 and 16×16 OCS optical switching chips. In September, it showcased a prototype of the phase-change OCS all-optical switch, exploring a low-power optical switching technical path.
Why Can Wuhan Embrace the Tau Scaling Law?
Two Decades of Cultivation Ushering in the Burst of Hard Technology
The development of hard technology is never achieved overnight.
In 2006, XMC was established, kicking off the journey of scaled development of Wuhan's IC industry. Over the past two decades, from wafer manufacturing to 3D integration and advanced packaging, a group of industrial talents has grown and taken root here. Talking about the talent foundation accumulated in Wuhan over the past two decades, a string of resounding names come to mind: Huo Zongliang, Yang Shining, Yang Daohong, Sun Peng...
Among them are both leading scientists and a large number of outstanding engineers rooted in the production line and deeply engaged in R&D.
As an old leader who once worked in Wuhan sighed: "The outside world sees it as a sudden stroke of good luck, but the underlying color is actually decades of accumulation, which just happened to catch the window of this wave of technological change." As AI drives semiconductor technology to accelerate its evolution towards architecture innovation and system integration, Wuhan's two decades of industrial accumulation is intersecting with a new round of technological change. This seemingly accidental industrial opportunity is actually the result of long-term persistence and accumulation.
Industrial Chain Clustering Breeding the Innovation Ecosystem of Tau Scaling Law
Wuhan's unique advantage lies in building an industrial "iron triangle" of "storage on the left hand, photonics on the right hand, and advanced packaging in the middle."
The left hand is "storage." With YMTC as the chain master, through the "Wutong Tree Plan," the memory industry innovation block, and the storage-computing innovation park, it guides upstream and downstream enterprises to cluster nearby, building a solid foundation for data storage.
The right hand is "photonics." It gathers leading enterprises such as Yangtze Optical Fiber, Accelink, HGTECH, and FiberHome, forming a deep optical communication industrial foundation and opening up the "main artery" of optoelectronic integration and system interconnection.
The middle is "advanced packaging." With high-level innovation platforms represented by Jiangcheng Laboratory, it integrates storage and optical interconnection in 3D space with high density by building pilot lines and super incubators.
Conclusion
From industrial chain clustering to innovation ecosystem synergy, Wuhan already has the basic conditions to build a national Tau Scaling Law industrial ecosystem cluster. From 3D integration to advanced packaging, from key process equipment to high-speed optical interconnection, Wuhan's continuous cultivation over the past decade is intersecting with a new round of chip technology change.