Breaking Western Monopoly: Tongji University’s "Nano-Ruler" tech wins China’s top prize

China recently awarded a foundational research project from Shanghai Tongji University the First Prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, titled "Key Technologies of Nanometrology Based on Quantized Optical Lattice Constants and Their Integrated Circuit Applications." This prestigious honor recognizes a crucial leap forward in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. Circuits on modern chips are miniaturized to the nanometer scale—roughly one ten-thousandth of the thickness of a human hair. To manufacture qualified products at this extreme scale, advanced nanometrology serves as the ultimate standard ruler within wafer fabs, ensuring absolute geometric accuracy during production. For a long time, this high-end calibration market was dominated by Western technology, presenting a critical bottleneck for domestic chip fabrication. To break this Western monopoly, Professor Cheng Xinbin's team spent over 20 years pioneering extreme-scale "nano-rulers" that embed universal physical constants directly into physical standard substances. This breakthrough established national first-class standard substances with world-leading accuracy. Serving as a sovereign source of traceability, this technology drastically shortens the measurement chain and enables real-time calibration of wafer-level inspection equipment, providing a critical foundation for next-generation semiconductor fabrication. __________________ ShanghaiEye focuses on producing top-quality contents. Nobody knows SHANGHAI better than us. Please subscribe to us ☻☻☻ __________________ For more stories, please click ■ What's up today in Shanghai, the most updated news of the city    • Playlist   ■ Amazing Shanghai, exploring the unknown corners of the city, learning the people, food and stories behind them    • Amazing Shanghai and China 淘宝魔都玩转中国   ■ What Chinese people's lives are like during the post COVID-19 period    • COVID-19 新冠疫情   ■ Views of foreign scholars on China and its affairs    • Voices, Let's Listen! 听她他说   ■ Foreign faces in Shanghai, people living in this city sharing their true feelings    • Playlist   ■ Mini-docs showing why China is the country it is today    • Stories & Documentary 奇闻逸事记录中国   __________________ ☎Leave us messages if you have any suggestions or questions! Thank you!