Tsinghua University's Interview with Yickxin's Co-founder Dr. Xin Zhao.

In 1997, Dr. Xin Zhao graduated from Central South University (formerly "Central South University of technology") majoring in metal material engineering. In 2000, he obtained a master's degree in materials science from Tsinghua University, and his graduation subject is the microwave expansion method of intercalated graphite. In 2006, he received his doctor's degree in Applied Science from William Mary University in the United States. His doctoral thesis is the preparation and field emission effect of upright carbon nano materials. From 2007 to 2013, he served as a full-time scientist in the "Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory" under the U.S. Department of energy. His scientific research topic was plasma material treatment technology and preparation of new particle accelerator thin film materials.  The following is an interview: 1, what is the development history of Yixin technologyDr. Xin Zhao: Yickxin technology started in the United States. In 2013, when I was a scientist in the National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of energy, the investor invited me to the United States to start a business. I soon resigned from the National Laboratory and worked full-time on basic scientific research, mass production and application development. From the first small sample (1 inch) in 2013 to its own facilities and continuously improved and innovative equipment, our round crystal production size has also been extended to 8 inches in diameter. In terms of production equipment, we have used the third generation, and the fourth generation production equipment is under intense research and development. Since 2013, we have experienced a critical stage from scratch. At present, the design capacity of the fourth generation equipment for growing vertical graphene film (intraocular lens) in our company is as high as 100000 pieces per year. In the next 1-3 years, the company will mainly focus on nano electrode materials and sensors in the large health industry, especially nano bioelectronics devices, including humidity sensors, stress-strain sensors, biochemical sensors, electroanalytical chemical sensors, and nano materials and processing technology. 2, As an R&D and entrepreneurial company in the development stage, does Yixin encounter any bottlenecks at present? Dr. Xin Zhao: I think it's team. Team is very important and is a necessary element for the development of a company. For technology companies to choose teams, what they need most is persistence. Many teams "die" at this step. So it's still a big challenge for me to form a team with enough perseverance. But I believe that over time, this problem will no longer be a problem. After all, graphene nanomaterials is still quite promising. 3 what are the advantages of vertical graphene and ordinary graphene powder Dr. Xin Zhao: upright graphene is an artificially grown crystal. It is neither planar graphene grown by CVD nor powdered graphene processed by graphite flake ore. Upright graphene is a two-dimensional carbon nano film material grown vertically from the substrate, which has a hierarchical structure of complex materials. Each graphene material has its own advantages. Upright graphene is more suitable for electrochemical electrode. As a thin film material, it already has a pore structure, so it is especially suitable for combination with various sensor materials. In addition, vertical graphene has the basic properties of thin film materials and complex materials, so its symmetry can be easily regulated through the growth process in the process of vertical growth, which can not be achieved by CVD plane growth of graphene. The upright graphene composite film material developed by us (Yickxin Technology) can solve the problem of electrochemical nano electrodes, especially the test and analysis at the nano and molecular levels, and improve the sensitivity and limit of detection. If the production cost can be reduced in the future, it is actually more suitable for micro battery capacitors or other environmental protection products. We can also grow a few layers of graphene, such as graphene carbon nanosheets less than one nanometer, which is an advantage and feature compared with other vertical carbon nanostructures (such as carbon nanowalls and vertically oriented multi wall carbon nanotubes). 4. Are there any companies with the same direction as Yixin technology products at home and abroad Zhao: what Yixin technology does is a few layers of graphene. So far, I haven't seen a second company at home and abroad for vertical graphene raw materials. We are the first start-up company with upright graphene carbon nano materials as the company's core technology and competitiveness. But I can't presume that I am completely invincible at home and abroad. I believe there are many smart people who are also developing. There are many professors and scientific research teams who are also considering starting a business with graphene technology, or someone has started a business. They may do something similar. This will make the market more prosperous and the industry scale effect is obvious. 5. You are both a researcher and an entrepreneur. You have gone through both roads. As a passer-by, what suggestions can you provide to the young generation swinging in these two roadsDr. Xin Zhao: when faced with job selection, most people are still willing to go to large enterprises or large (Research) institutes. The advantages are obvious, which will be of great benefit to them to climb the ladder of society in the future. I did the same thing at that time. Because it was not so easy to start a business in the United States at that time, when I was in a foreign country, I had to get a "legal work and long-term residence permit" (green card) before talking about follow-up. So that's why I chose to work at the National Laboratory of the United States for nearly 7 years. However, this is for students abroad. For graduate students in China, I think they can choose according to their own wishes. The domestic environment is very good. University scientific research institutions or some large enterprises such as Huawei and Tencent can give people a good promotion. If you choose to start a business, you should have enough psychological preparation. There must be risks in entrepreneurship, which is inestimable. Therefore, when the risk is large, there must be certain requirements for brain and operation. There are three elements of entrepreneurship, one is Angel (investment), the other is team, and the last is idea. For many students who have just graduated, they may have full ideas and some good patents, but this is only the first step. Whether they can succeed depends on the nature behind them. If you finally choose to start a business, I personally think you should make preparations early. Go to bat or large enterprises to accumulate R & D experience and their own patents. Here I would like to mention that people engaged in scientific research must respect intellectual property rights and do not plagiarize, otherwise it will have a very adverse impact on future development. At present, we are paying more and more attention to intellectual property, and we will only pay more attention to it in the future. Whether there is a patent or this brand has become very important. Now investors are not as careless as they were in those years. Whether the patent is true, whether it is authorized, or simply to set up an enterprise for you when you come back from overseas. In addition, I suggest that students can do more social work and practice more. The biggest advantage of participating in social practice is to know the society in advance. Because there are books in the school, the environment will be different after coming to the enterprise. Most of the time, I need to deal with people and deal with some personnel problems. There will be some differences in dress, etiquette and expression, so we should have more internships before graduation. Even participating in voluntary work and academic organizations can improve ourselves to a certain extent. 6 what are the current partners of Yixin technology? What are the prospects for the company Dr. Xin Zhao: we have maintained close and long-term cooperation with institutions and industries such as Tsinghua University, South China University of technology, Sun Yat sen University, Chengdu University of Electronic Science and technology and William and Mary universities in the United States, such as hairdressing in Japan. Looking forward to the future of the company, within one to three years, we want to transform the current research and development achievements of upright graphene into at least one "killer" application and "killer" product, and become an enterprise with parallel research and development, production and marketing. Give priority to the development of sensors, bioelectronic information and medical electronic information. In three to five years, we will focus on development in other fields. At present, our cost is not dominant. Energy, environment and water all need the volume of engineering, which we can't reach. First, make high value-added products of information and electronics to improve the sales of the company, which will also be helpful for future development.