School of Optoelectronic Science and Intelligent Instrumentation

The School of Optoelectronic Science and Intelligent Instrumentation was established in 2025 through the merger of the former Department of Precision Instrument Engineering and the former Department of Applied Physics, whose origins can be traced back to the Metrology Instrument major of Beijing Institute of Mechanical Engineering (1958) and the Physics major of Shaanxi Institute of Mechanical Engineering (1977), respectively.

The School is currently authorized to confer the doctoral degree programs at the first-level discipline of Instrument Science and Technology, two professional doctoral degree programs in Electronic Information and Mechanical Engineering, and three master‘s degree programs at the first-level discipline of Instrument Science and Technology, Optical Engineering, and Physics, also maintains the post-doctoral research station in Instrument Science and Technology, and was among the first institutions authorized to confer master's degrees in “Testing, Measurement Technology and Instruments”.

The School has 120 faculties, including 18 full professors and 40 associate professors. Among them are 12 provincial/ministerial-level distinguished talents and 1 national-level distinguished talent. The School hosts one nationally recognized model teacher team in the spirit of Huang Danian, one Shaanxi Sanqin Scholars innovation team, one Shaanxi Province Key Science and Technology Innovation Team, and one nationally exemplary Party branch in higher education.

The School comprises three academic departments, one Physics Teaching and Research Centre, and one Experimental Centre. It hosts three national first‑class demonstration points for the bachelor’s degree: Measurement and Control Technology and Instruments, Optoelectronic Information Science and Engineering, and Applied Physics. The School has a total enrolment of over 1,400 students, including more than 400 doctoral and master's students.

The School has established 13 national and provincial/ministerial teaching and research platforms, including the Key Laboratory of the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz Science, the Shaanxi Research Centre for Civil-Military Dual-Use Ultrafast Optoelectronic Technology, the Shaanxi International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz, and the Shaanxi International Science and Technology Cooperation Base for Advanced LiDAR Technology and Applications.

The School has five research centers: Optical Remote Sensing and Instrumentation; Sensing and Detection Technology; Laser and Optoelectronic Measurement Technology; Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz Science; and Optoelectronic Materials and Devices.

With optoelectronic instrumentation and artificial intelligence as its defining characteristics, and a university–industry–government collaborative education mechanism as its operating model, the School strives to build a research-oriented institution of distinctive profile, first-class disciplines, and significant national influence.

1. Optical Remote Sensing and Instrumentation

The research direction of Optical Remote Sensing and Instrumentation is supported by platforms including the Shaanxi International Science and Technology Cooperation Base, the LiDAR Remote Sensing Research Center of Xi'an University of Technology, and the Academician Liu Wenqing Workstation of Xi'an University of Technology. The team has conducted sustained systematic research on new principles and methodologies for active and passive optical remote sensing detection and their demonstrative applications, developed multiple airglow imaging interferometers and LiDAR atmospheric detection systems with fully independent intellectual property rights, and continues to provide operational observation and application services.

The team has achieved a series of internationally recognized innovative results in the fine-scale detection of atmospheric temperature, humidity, wind fields, aerosols, and cloud physics. Over two decades of development, it has established a stable research orientation and distinctive academic profile, and has grown into one of the largest and most advanced research bases for optical remote sensing technology and applications in China.

The team comprises 18 researchers, including 6 full professors and 5 associate professors. It includes 1 Young Changjiang Scholar awarded by the Ministry of Education, and 7 provincial/ministerial-level talents designated as Leading Talents in Science and Technology Innovation for Young and Middle-Aged Researchers in Shaanxi Province, Young Top-Notch Talents under the “Shaanxi Province Special Support Programme for High-Level Talents”, and Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Rising Stars, among others. The team has received distinctions including the first cohort of nationally recognized model teacher team in the spirit of Huang Danian by the Ministry of Education, the Shaanxi Provincial model teacher team in the spirit of Huang Danian, the first cohort of Shaanxi Province Sanqin Scholar Innovation Teams, and the Shaanxi Province LiDAR Technology and Application Science and Technology Innovation Team.

The team has received over 50 grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), including 2 National Major Research Instrumentation Development Projects, 2 NSFC Key Projects, 1 Civil Aviation Joint Key Fund, and 1 Special Programme for Basic Research on Scientific Instruments. It has received 8 provincial/ministerial-level science and technology awards, 8 provincial/ministerial-level teaching achievement awards, and 1 Grand Prize of Higher Education Teaching Achievement Award by the Chinese Society of Instrumentation. The team has published over 300 high-level academic papers and holds more than 50 authorized invention patents.

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2. Sensing and Detection Technology

The research direction of “Sensing and Detection Technology” is supported by platforms including the Academician Liu Wenqing Workstation, the Shaanxi International Science and Technology Cooperation Base, and the Institute of Reliability Research. Oriented towards national major demands and industrial applications in environmental monitoring, industrial measurement, intelligent manufacturing, and non-destructive testing, the team focuses on four research areas: laser remote sensing, intelligent sensing, optoelectronic detection, and perception algorithms, conducting full-chain research and innovation spanning fundamental theory, key technologies, and system integration.

The team has achieved a series of internationally recognized innovative results in spectroscopic detection, intelligent sensing, visual inspection, and structural health monitoring. After more than a decade of development, it has established a stable research orientation and distinctive academic profile, and has grown into a research base with notable national influence in intelligent sensing and detection technology and applications.

The team comprises 19 researchers, including 3 full professors and 5 associate professors, with 3 recipients of the University's Outstanding Young Faculty Award. The team holds the distinction of the first cohort of nationally recognized model teacher team in the spirit of Huang Danian by the Ministry of Education. In recent years, the team has undertaken 15 national-level projects and over 50 provincial/ministerial-level projects, obtained more than 40 invention patents, and published over 200 high-level academic papers. Core technological outcomes include laser spectroscopic detection, flexible sensing, three-dimensional visual inspection, ultrasonic non-destructive testing, precision optoelectronic detection, multimodal tomographic imaging, and atmospheric observation software. The team has received 2 provincial/ministerial-level science and technology awards and 5 provincial/ministerial-level teaching achievement awards.

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3. Laser and Optoelectronic Measurement Technology

With over forty years of technological heritage and innovation, the research team of “Laser and Optoelectronic Measurement Technology” has focused on laser and optoelectronic measurement and instrumentation, which encompasses multiple frontier areas including all-solid-state laser technology, laser sensing and measurement, laser gyroscope and navigation, and digital holographic measurement.

The team has overcome several critical bottleneck technologies; the laser interferometers and other products it has developed have reached internationally advanced performance levels and been successfully applied in major fields including aerospace, precision manufacturing, and the altitude measurement of Mount Qomolangma, providing solid technical support and talent development for China's metrology and high-end equipment manufacturing industries.

The team comprises 18 researchers, including 3 full professors and 11 associate professors. It has completed 21 NSFC projects, led 1 national key R&D project, participated in 2 additional national key R&D projects, and undertaken 2 other national-level projects and 110 provincial/ministerial-level and other research projects.

The team has published over 160 SCI/EI-indexed papers in major domestic and international journals and conferences, authored 5 academic monographs, and filed more than 60 national invention patent applications. It has received a total of 11 awards, comprising 1 National Science and Technology Award, 7 provincial/ministerial-level Science and Technology Awards, and 3 Science and Technology Awards from the Provincial Education Commission.

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4. Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz Science

Based on the theoretical foundations of ultrafast optoelectronic physics and the application demands of frontier research areas including ultrafast electrical pulse generation, pulsed power technology, terahertz wave generation and detection mechanisms, and terahertz metamaterial device design theory and fabrication characterization, the research team of “Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz Science” has focused on the development of high-power, high-multiplication ultrafast photoconductive switches; terahertz radiation generation using GaAs photoconductive antennas and their arrays; the mechanism of terahertz wave detection using highly excited Rydberg atoms; the design and fabrication of terahertz micro-scale and nano-scale metamaterials and their on-chip integration applications; and the exploration of applications in national defence, large-scale national science infrastructure, and frontier science.

The team comprises 19 researchers, including 2 full professors and 10 associate professors, with 4 provincial-level distinguished talents. The team has received 2 Second Prize of Shaanxi Provincial Science and Technology Awards, 1 Second Prize of Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Award, 1 Grand Prize of the Shaanxi Physics Society, and 1 Second Prize of Shaanxi Provincial Higher Education Science and Technology Award.

The team has undertaken 36 national-level research projects, including NSFC Special Projects for Major Research Instrumentation Development, NSFC Key Projects, and Key National Defence Science and Technology Projects. It has published over 200 SCI-indexed papers and holds more than 40 authorized invention patents.

The team has established research platforms including the Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Optoelectronics and Terahertz Science, the Shaanxi Research Center for Civil-Military Dual-Use Ultrafast Optoelectronic Technology, the Shaanxi International Science and Technology Cooperation Base, and the Xi'an Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Optoelectronic Devices. The team has been recognized as a Shaanxi Provincial Postgraduate Joint Training Demonstration Workstation, a Shaanxi Province Key Science and Technology Innovation Team, and a Shaanxi Province Higher Education Youth Innovation Team.

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5. Optoelectronic Materials and Devices

The research direction of “Optoelectronic Materials and Devices” is steadfastly oriented towards the mission of “supporting national strategies and serving industrial upgrading”. The team has focused on the research in the following scientific fields: ultrafast optoelectronic technology and applications, including the development of wide-bandgap new materials such as GaN and SiC, the optimization of device structural reliability, the analysis of nonlinear transport mechanisms, and the integration of customized devices and systems such as ultrafast pulse sources; pulsed power and plasma technology and applications, covering researches on high-end energy and power equipment, high-power pulse sources, plasma–material interactions, and precision optical diagnostics and instrument development; materials science and engineering, including researches on the crystal structure, material properties, and performance of two-dimensional materials such as graphene, molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂), and titanium dioxide (TiO₂), electrochemical energy storage materials and devices, and the development of multi-component composite materials and their applications in electronics, mechanics, and thermodynamics; and artificial intelligence interdisciplinary research, focusing on laser performance prediction and optimization design, power system load forecasting and intelligent fault monitoring, and materials genomics.

The team comprises 22 researchers, including 4 full professors and 7 associate professors. It includes 1 recipient of the Shaanxi Province Special Support Program for Leading Talents in Science and Technology Innovation, 1 Leading Talent in Science and Technology Innovation for Young and Middle-Aged Researchers in Shaanxi Province, 1 Shaanxi Provincial Young Rising Star for Science and Technology, and 2 recipients of the Young Talent Support Program of Shaanxi Provincial Association for Science and Technology.

In recent years, the team has led 16 NSFC projects, 4 sub-topics of Central Military Commission Science and Technology Projects, 1 sub-topic of the Key R&D Program, and 32 provincial/ministerial-level projects. It has published over 200 SCI-indexed papers and obtained 33 authorized invention patents.

The team has established research platforms including the Shaanxi Provincial Higher Education Key Laboratory of “Photonic Power Devices and Discharge Regulation” and the Shaanxi Provincial Higher Education Youth Innovation Team on “Ultrafast Optoelectronic Devices and Materials”.