In less than three years, Li Yang and his team initially achieved their first goal: He led the team to creatively develop reconfigurable disruptive technologies for RF devices, the first in the world to implement reconfigurable multi-frequency Multi-mode RF front-end technology and mass production of chip companies. Its product performance better than similar products from major manufacturers at home and abroad, while reducing costs by more than half.
Next, 45-year-old Li Yang is determined to lead the team to the industry leader's goal, although now the global mobile phone RF front-end and chip industry by Qualcomm, Skyworks and other giants firmly occupied, but Li Yang that the domestically made ' Already sounded, his team can make 'cornering overtaking' thanks to technology patents. "In the future, I think 70% of the customers in the RF frontier market will be in China, and it will surely produce the No. 1 supplier in the world.
Text, map / Guangzhou Daily All media reporter Chen poetry blue
RF devices are the core of wireless connectivity, and devices that need wireless connectivity must have RF devices that will double the number of future wireless connections in the world driven by IoT applications. The core challenge facing today's radios is to address service needs and network capacity More Cellular Bands for Explosive Growth In an obscure office at Innovation City, Science City, GDD, 45-year-old Li Yang and his team developed disruptive RF device reconfigurability technologies that solved this problem.
Separation of foreign companies venture abroad
Near the Spring Festival, Li Yang is still busy, spacious office filled with many professional books, and now he has little time to read, as the CEO of Li Yang need to deal with various types of corporate affairs in spite of affairs, but in conversation, Lee Yang has always been warm, light and soft, revealing a refined elegance.Li Yang influenced by the 'engineer culture' is not like to boast, he carefully corrected every one of others improper praise to him, the pursuit of scientific data-like precision Although he is often referred to as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, he thinks he is not able to accept the term "Xueba" well now.
Li Yang came to Tsinghua University from his home in the northeast in 1991 when he was assigned to the microwave technology specialty.At that time, microwave technology was very popular, Li Yang was sitting on the 'bench' all the way to read Dr., and now the microwave radio frequency devices become In retrospect, Li Yang did not owe his insistence to his own vision, his voice with a smile, 'At that time the profession is assigned no choice, look back, then, I am luckier. '
After graduating from PhD, Li Yang went to Harvard University in 2003 for a doctoral degree, during which Li Yang further strengthened his belief that since his graduation, Li Yang began to send more semiconductors in the United States, Li Yang is undoubtedly a good growth platform for these giant semiconductor companies, such as Skyworks, which have a large number of technology patents. In the face of high-income and high-growth job opportunities, Li Yang Be ready to return home.
Back to the country, for Li Yang, is never a difficult choice. 'In fact, I went to the United States are not a very willing choice.' Li Yang laughed, he has been eager to come back in the United States, this time, Guangzhou Development Zone went to Boston, United States to carry out the work of recruiting talents, given a series of preferential policies, Li immediately heart.
'I feel this is a historical opportunity provided by the country and it is quite fortunate that I have lived through this age in our life.We always have to do something and do something for the motherland and this feeling of achievement may be stronger. 'Do something' impulse, Li Yang and MBA friends in the United States Guo Yaohui two back to Guangzhou in 2011, in the zone to establish a Guangzhou Hui Zhi Microelectronics Co., Ltd..
Recruiting a horse twists and turns
Li Yang and his partner are always the early stage of entrepreneurship.Li Yang, who has always been engaged in academic research and technology development, is now facing various kinds of chores during the company's start-up period.The primary problem is to form a team, and after returning to China, Found that Guangdong's talent pool in the field of integrated circuits is not deep, they took a full three months to recruit the first engineer.
At that time Li Yang's company has not been renovated, they had no choice but to interview applicants.No any well-known start-up companies, and even the recruitment of venues are inconsistent with the description, candidates inevitably think this is a 'bag company', Li Yang had great expense Mouth and the candidate explained.In retrospect, can recruit people, Li Yang feel very 'God'.
After months of recruiting, Li Yang set up a small team of ten people and took shape, telling his colleagues what he wanted to do with reconfigurable technology, and perhaps in the 2G and 3G era, the smartphone needs support Band is not yet much, but with the development of 4G, 5G, the industry urgently needs a small area, low-cost RF front-end products.
In the past, RF front-end solution usually adopted a scheme of single-band power amplifier in each frequency band. As the frequency band increases, the number of power amplifiers will rapidly increase, the cost will increase, and the area will increase.
Reconfigurable technology is to define the hardware in the way of software, and use the same group of devices to be able to repeatedly use multiple frequency bands and multiple modes so that the power amplifier products based on the technology have the advantages of small size, large frequency band, low cost Features.
Software-defined RF devices have always been the dream of all, reconfigurable RF devices have been done by large companies abroad since 2003, but they can not do it. "Li Yang can lead them to do it? New co-workers We are not sure either. 'Some people just started looking at my curriculum vitae and felt that I could at least come to learn something and totally trust me personally.'
PPT Merchants firm forward
Although new colleagues are skeptical, but Li Yang has a solid target, the team initially developed RF devices, the power is only 22dbm, while the industry standard is 28dbm, for some companies, this time to give up the original goal may be better Li Yang did not do so, in his own right R & D direction Li Yang exceptionally firm, 'If the final discovery is initially judged wrong, then accept the result, but must not because of a little frustration doubt this The road does not work, so give up.
'Want to understand' is Li Yang on their own requirements, more often, he would prefer to be slower, but also want to understand .Live-willed, clear direction Li Yang soon moved his first investor, 'Now everyone is 'Black' PPT, but I really rely on a few pages of PPT impressed investors. 'Li Yang also can not help but said, he was very grateful to the first investor trust him.
After thinking clearly Li Yang team day and night with research and development, the busiest time Li Yang is almost living in the company, work at five in the morning and go back to rest for about nine ten or so came to work again and again he always take the war Compared with himself, the soldiers of the age felt that this pressure was nothing. He laments and remembers his tone.
In the early days of business, Li Yang thought about what would happen if it failed, but the conclusion was "no worse then." In 2014, Li Yang and his team finally developed AgiPAM technology based on reconfigurable design with independent intellectual property , He and the team are relieved, 'we jokingly said after this matter, no matter how our company later, you can go back and children boast that we really did a lot of people did not do something.' Li laughed, He is not afraid of failure, but not afraid of the future. 'We have many new challenges behind, and we will continue to improve on our framework.'
In 2015, Li Yang and the team started to market the best products of Hui Zhi Microelectronics. After two and a half years, Hui Zhi Microelectronics received orders from domestic handset manufacturers and international operators such as Lenovo, ZTE and Haier, Orders around the world, and now Hui Zhi Microelectronics has millions of pieces of RF front-end chip shipments.
However, Li Yang still clearly knows the difference between his company and international manufacturers. 'In 2016, the market size of the RF front end is about RMB100 billion, and with the development of the smart city of Internet of Things, the market is still expanding. However, the market is dominated by the U.S. and Japanese manufacturers.
Chinese people have a strong sense of belonging to the culture
Guangzhou Daily: In the foreign monopoly of the RF front-end market situation, the opportunities for domestic manufacturers where?
Li Yang: The future of the world is the world of interconnected intelligent world, how things are interconnected? It must not be wired, but wireless, all wireless connections require the use of radio frequency chips. But now China's imports of integrated circuit components is More than oil, while the development of integrated circuits is also related to the national information security, so everyone really hopes to do this well.
Now if domestic manufacturers want to increase their share in the RF front-end market, they still have to work on battlefields such as 4G, 5G and the Internet of Things, etc. However, the technical barriers in these areas are relatively high with two barriers, one can do it, One is to make a patent infringement on others, some foreign companies in these areas have a large number of patents.
Only in the early days of new technology will we be able to circumvent intellectual property risks of traditional solutions and create patent barriers for latecomers, although we are not yet large, but we do the first thing right now , Is to break the technology monopoly, but also beat the leader in foreign counterparts.The second thing is that you are in the process of evolution, at least not slower than them.
At present, at least technically we are leading, and what is the reason why the integrated circuits in the United States and Japan were strong in the past because there was a large number of mobile manufacturers all over the world in the past. , Giants will highlight from where the future, I think 70% of the RF front-end customers will be in China, it will certainly produce the world's No. 1 supplier.
Reconfigurable technology
Guangzhou Daily: Reconfigurable technology is why disruptive technology?
Li Yang: We are actually doing a very different technology, reconfigurable technology can also be called software-defined hardware, software-defined RF chip has been everyone's dream, but because of technical routes, methods and other issues Mostly unsuccessful, the benefits of software-defined hardware lie in its ability to handle some future changes.
I believe the future of technology iteration faster and faster, it is likely that after some time, this technology is out of date.These phones may not be a problem, because the exchange of two years, but smart city meter to be used , Gas meters, manhole covers, street lights, surveillance, etc. These devices require high reliability and long run times. If underground pipelines require some changes, digging them out and re-laying them is obviously a bad idea. Our software-defined The chip covers the future needs, for example, you need a new frequency band, but also the need for a new modulation of this kind, my chip has been supported, only to be changed again by the software.
And we are low-cost, everyone's RF chip actually supports a very large number of standards and bands, the traditional approach is to use different devices to support different bands and standards, we can reconfigure the technology in a different frequency band to a Different codes, he can use the high frequency code in the high frequency band and the low frequency code in the low frequency band. In this way, the multiple devices are melted into one, and the cost is naturally low.
The most important thing is 'truth seeking'
Guangzhou Daily: domestic academic experience and foreign work experience so that you formed what habits?
Li Yang: At Tsinghua University and Harvard, some of the habits have been retained until now, for example, encountered a problem, used to think about it yourself, and then go to the essay. To do their own independent thinking, and then see Look at other people's work.
What I have accumulated over the years is, above all, the word 'truth seeking.' All 'big cattle' are to be denied, they themselves want to understand, and then experiment to verify.
Guangzhou Daily: How do you think of returning entrepreneurship tide?
Li Yang: Today, I believe that returning to China is already a very natural way. If you do not come back, you need many reasons. The Chinese people have a strong sense of cultural belonging and a sense of national pride. We all want to do something for our own country. In the country's development process has its own mark.