"Forty years ago, I just wanted China to have its own fibre-optic communications and keep up with the world's technological trends. Unexpectedly, 40 years later, China has become a world power in optical fiber." "If everyone has a career dream, then my dream has not only come true, but has been overfulfilled," Zhao Zisen, 86, the "father of China's optical fiber", said with a smile to a reporter recently.

Pull out China's first practical optical fiber

Scientific American magazine once commented that "fibre-optic communications is one of the four most significant inventions since World War II. Without fiber optic communications, there would not be the Internet and communications networks that we have today."

In 1970, The American corning company spent $30 million to manufacture three 30-meter-long fiber samples, the world's first practical fiber for optical communication. It was not until 1973 that Zhao Zisen got the news and immediately took it as his dream.

"We didn't see what optical fiber looked like, and we didn't have the equipment to make it," he said. "Said Zhao Zisen. Under extremely difficult conditions, zhao and his team finally produced China's first practical fiber in 1979, which lost only 4 decibels per kilometer.

Optical fiber, laser and communication machine are the three basic elements of optical fiber communication. Now that fiber is made, two other problems need to be solved. According to the industrial and technical level of China at that time, if relying solely on one's own efforts requires a long time of exploration, it will greatly delay the promotion and use of optical fiber communication in China.

During his visit to the United States, Zhao zisen negotiated with Dr. Xie Zhaojin, the inventor of the semiconductor laser, and reached a technical cooperation agreement. In September 1979, Xie Zhaojin, who was invited to Visit China, signed a formal cooperation agreement with Wuhan Academy of Postal Sciences for the establishment of Changjiang Laser Electronics Co., Ltd. in China, with Zhao Zisen as the technical representative and responsible person of the Chinese side.

"I am acutely aware that technology is introduced for better use and cannot be relied on. So I boldly employed the promising young Li Tongning as the leader of the research group to lead the independent research and development of laser. Recalling that decision, Zhao Zisen is still deeply gratified.

In September 1981, Yangtze River Laser Electronics Co., LTD., led by China, finally developed China's first long wave long semiconductor laser, which enjoys independent intellectual property rights.

Wuhan opens the digital communication era of Optical fiber in China

In September 1981, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the State Science and Technology Commission decided to establish a practical optical cable communication system in Wuhan, with the purpose of completing commercial tests to finalize the promotion through practical use. As it is limited to 1982 completed, so referred to as "82 project". According to the design scheme, it is a relay project between local telephone offices, spanning the Yangtze River and Hanshui, running through three towns in Wuhan and connecting four local telephone branches in Wuhan.

One of the most prominent difficulties of this project is that optical fibers may be damaged over long distances, known as breakpoints. "Some of these breakpoints are obvious and easy to find, while others are hidden and difficult to find. "To do this, you have to develop fiber optic breakpoint testing equipment, and you have to be on standby to detect line outages." Zhao Zisen still remembers the hardships at the beginning, "Because of the lack of early maintenance experience and maintenance equipment, every time the relevant personnel are out together, I have and more than 20 colleagues crowded in the courtyard assigned a rated 8 people in the van, everywhere.

On December 31, 1982, the "82nd Project", the first practical system of China's optical fiber communication, was finally fully opened on schedule and officially entered wuhan municipal telephone network, marking China's entry into the era of optical fiber digital communication.

Zhao's team has also completed dozens of short and long optical fiber communication projects. Among them, the "Beijing-Han-Guangzhou Project" with a total length of 3,046 kilometers completed in 1993 spanned six provinces and cities including Beijing, Hubei, Hunan and Guangdong, making it the longest aerial optical cable communication line in China and the world at that time.

In this way, in 10 years, Zhao zisen's team connected the fiber optic communication lines with high capacity and transmission speed to Tiannanhai, completing the construction of China's information highway.