Recently, the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory (hereinafter referred to as the “laboratory”) has heard good news again – the work report of Dongguan municipal government in 2022 points out that advanced attosecond laser has been included in the “14th five year plan” of national major scientific and technological infrastructure. In this year’s key work arrangement, Dongguan will promote the construction of advanced attosecond laser facilities as soon as possible. This means that Songshan Lake Science City will add a large scientific device on the basis of China’s spallation neutron source.
Songshanhu material laboratory is one of the first four provincial laboratories in Guangdong Province. It is positioned as a southern base for new material research and development with international influence, an important part of national material science research, and a new window for the cross opening of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Since its inauguration in April 2018, the laboratory has explored and formed a full chain innovation model of “cutting-edge basic research → applied basic research → industrial technology research → industrial transformation”, becoming the leader and important support point of the source innovation matrix of Songshan Lake Science City.
“We have been closely following the needs of the national development strategy, allowing innovation to lead the market and support the development of regional industries.” Chen Dongmin, executive deputy director of Songshan Lake materials laboratory, said that next, the laboratory will further strengthen the collaborative innovation ability with enterprises, create a better innovation ecology and promote the sustainable development of itself and related industries.
embrace an open mind and lead the market development with technological innovation
In July 2021, the scientific research on the first batch of lunar soil samples of Chang’e 5 was officially launched. As an important cooperative unit, Songshan Lake materials laboratory undertook a key task in this research. Recently, the research team is carrying out a series of studies on the physical properties and comprehensive utilization of lunar soil around the first batch of 0.85g 850mg lunar soil samples.
Behind the “qualification” of lunar soil research is the high recognition of the laboratory’s scientific research ability in the field.
Since its establishment, the laboratory has continuously strengthened the top-level design of the laboratory. In order to build the whole chain innovation chain, the laboratory has arranged four core plates: cutting-edge scientific research, public technology platform and large scientific devices, innovation model factory and Guangdong Hong Kong Macao cross science center, realizing the two legs of “basic research” and “industrial transformation”.
Among them, for the introduction of innovative model factory team, Chen Dongmin said that the laboratory always adheres to the principle of “using good steel on the blade” and carefully selects teams with development potential. On the one hand, it aims at the prospects of major industries and the needs to support the development of regional industries; On the other hand, we always focus on the “neck” problem of national strategic needs and introduce cutting-edge technical teams. He said that innovation is uncertain, but “we must be forward-looking, open-minded, accept new things and use innovation to lead the market”.
Up to now, the laboratory has introduced 25 innovative model factory teams and registered 38 industrialized companies with a registered capital of more than 300 million yuan. Among them, the fourth generation porous media combustion system developed by the porous ceramics and composites team has been applied in the petroleum, nonferrous metals and iron and steel industries. In 2021, the construction of a production line with an annual output of 2000 sets of porous media combustion systems was completed, and the mass production of the combustion system was realized.
In 2019, the laboratory carried out strategic cooperation with Tangxia town and established Dongguan advanced ceramics and Composites Research Institute. Chen Dongmin said that at present, many teams from the laboratory have gathered here. The construction of the research institute not only provides a base for the pilot test, transformation and industrialization of scientific and technological achievements for the teams in relevant fields, but also forms a positive radiation and driving effect on the local industry.
At present, the laboratory mainly focuses on ten directions to carry out scientific research, such as metal materials, energy materials, ceramic materials, semiconductor materials and biomedical materials. Chen Dongmin said that in some fields, the laboratory has a good research foundation, which can provide development conditions for the construction of emerging industrial clusters in the future.
innovate flexible mechanisms to provide a stage for talent development
As an R & D institution exploring new systems and mechanisms, the laboratory can be regarded as a “test field” for the reform and innovation of scientific and technological system. In this regard, Chen Dongmin said that they have been treating the innovation and scientific research team with an inclusive attitude and constantly improving the system and mechanism guarantee. Therefore, they can rapidly expand the talent team in less than four years.
For example, in terms of talent introduction, the laboratory has always adhered to the talent concept of “mutual employment of talents, sharing of achievements, not for ownership, but for use”, and adopted a flexible policy. For high-end talents such as chief scientists and major inventors of major achievements, a combination of fixed and mobile post settings is adopted to enable these scientists to display their talents on the platform of the laboratory.
In order to better release the vitality of talent scientific and technological innovation, Dongguan supports the laboratory to implement a new management system and operation mechanism in line with the law of international innovation, and endows the laboratory with autonomy in research direction selection, scientific research project approval, technical route adjustment, talent introduction and training, professional title evaluation, scientific research achievement disposal and fund use.
Among them, in terms of talent treatment, the laboratory “does not talk about heroes by articles”, but independently formulates a competitive salary system consistent with the ability and contribution of scientific researchers; In terms of fund use, the laboratory, as the main body responsible for the use and management of special funds, independently prepares the annual fund budget. After the preliminary review by the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the opinions of the Finance Bureau and the deliberation by the Council, it can still make corresponding adjustments according to the changes of the actual situation, so as to give scientists the autonomy in the use of funds to the greatest extent.
For example, the practical superconducting thin film research team led by academician Zhao Zhongxian, director of the academic committee of the laboratory, initially budgeted more than 9 million yuan to import a piece of equipment. Later, affected by other factors, the team decided to conduct independent research and development. Finally, it successfully developed it with only more than 3 million yuan. The saved money is allowed to be transferred to other relevant links.
Thanks to the operation of flexible system and mechanism, the laboratory has formed a good virtuous circle in talent introduction, scientific research and transformation of scientific and technological achievements.
As of December 2021, the laboratory has introduced 8 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 41 overseas high-level talents, and gathered nearly 1000 double employed and full-time personnel. Relevant scientific research projects have been selected into the “top ten scientific progress in China in 2019” and “major technological progress in China in 2020”.
build a sharing platform and explore the collaborative innovation model
In the key stage of Songshan Lake materials laboratory towards the fifth year of phase I construction, Chen Dongmin said that in the long run, exploring to build a more perfect ecological system and explore a higher quality sustainable development model has become a proposition to be considered at present. Among them, “collaborative innovation” is one of the important directions.
For a long time, Songshan Lake materials laboratory has actively worked with local governments, leading enterprises and financial institutions to get through the “last mile” of the transformation of scientific and technological achievements. At present, the laboratory has established joint engineering centers in China aero engine group, Fujian Xiangxin Co., Ltd., Luxshare Precision Industry Co.Ltd(002475) and other companies, jointly built joint engineering R & D centers with Chinalco Research Institute of science and technology, Baoshan Iron & Steel Co.Ltd(600019) Central Research Institute and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation(600028) Engineering Construction Co., Ltd., and jointly built Dongfeng Innovation Center (Research Institute) with Dongfeng Automobile Co.Ltd(600006) Group Co., Ltd. to jointly overcome industrial and technical problems.
In addition, in the construction of public technology platform, the laboratory plans to invest 1 billion to build neutron science platform, material preparation and characterization platform, micromachining and device platform, material computing and database platform. At present, more than 100110 sets of shared instruments and equipment have been gathered, which can provide universal testing services and high-end technical cooperation and development for universities, scientific research institutions and enterprises.
At present, many equipment have been included in the open sharing platform of scientific research instruments and equipment in Dongguan. Chen Dongmin said that sharing equipment can reduce the R & D cost of innovative subjects such as enterprises and will help to promote the R & D and innovation ability of Songshan Lake and its surrounding areas.
At present, the construction of Songshan Lake Science City has been fully started. Songshan Lake material laboratory, as an important platform for the science city to build “four beams and eight columns”, will also shoulder greater responsibilities in the future.
At present, the advanced attosecond laser facility jointly built by Songshan Lake materials laboratory has completed site test and is planned to start construction in 2022. After the completion of the facility, it will be able to comprehensively reveal the movement laws of electronic forms such as inner shell electrons, valence electrons and free electrons in nature and other interaction mechanisms coupled with electrons from attosecond time scale and nano space scale, so as to realize the tracking, measurement and control of ultrafast electron movement, and then fundamentally explain the solid, liquid The most basic physical laws of gas, plasma and other material forms provide a strong thrust for the breakthrough of many major basic scientific problems, including high temperature superconductivity, quantum computing and cancer treatment, and support China to seize the first opportunity in the new round of world scientific and technological revolution.
