Standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows on the sixth floor of Nanjing Hongfeng Science Park, Lei Ming, Founder and Chairman of Nanjing MicroBridge Testing Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “MicroBridge Testing”), gazes into the distance. A hundred meters away, the outline of a modern intelligent factory spanning 2,500 square meters is taking shape. Sunlight dances on the building’s facade, reflecting the company’s dynamic and upward trajectory.

From its initial 900-square-meter research and development center to its current doubled-sized comprehensive office space, and now to the intelligent factory set for completion early next year, each expansion of MicroBridge Testing’s physical footprint marks a leap in the company’s evolution.

Over nine years, this company dedicated to the research and development of nano/micron-level micro-connection testing technology has successfully broken through long-standing international technological barriers. It has become the only pure domestic alternative supplier in the MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) probe field for the display industry, constructing a robust quality “bridge” for the rise of “China’s Screens.”

In the year 2000, Lei Ming gained admission to the Computer Science Department of Southeast University with outstanding academic results. However, two years later, he made a surprising decision: dropping out to start a business.

This was not a rash impulse but stemmed from his keen insight into opportunities in the IT market. In 2003, he founded a company in Nanjing focused on laptop sales and maintenance, officially embarking on his entrepreneurial journey.

From that point on, Lei Ming’s career became deeply intertwined with the display industry. He served as an agent for overseas-brand LCD screens and precision probes, ventured into the research, development, and assembly of LCD monitors, and later expanded his business to include sales of all types of display screens and chips, firmly rooting himself in the display sector.

This more-than-a-decade-long career in trade not only amassed considerable wealth for Lei Ming but also endowed him with valuable client resources and industry insights. During an industrial inspection trip to South Korea, he witnessed for the first time the marvel of MEMS probe equipment: on a disk the size of a palm, nearly ten thousand needle points as fine as human hair were densely arranged, capable of precisely aligning with test points on a wafer to identify every “bug.”

This scene was deeply imprinted in Lei Ming’s memory. At that moment, he was awed by the high-precision technology before him and clearly recognized the vast gap between domestic and international capabilities in high-end testing.

Indeed, throughout the lengthy manufacturing process of display panels—Array, Cell, Module—testing acts as a “lifeline,” bearing the critical responsibility of ensuring yield rates, monitoring processes, and distinguishing quality. Probes, serving as the “bridge” connecting test signals to the panel under examination, directly determine the efficiency and accuracy of the entire testing system through their performance.

As new display technologies rapidly evolve toward high resolution and ultra-narrow bezels, the pitch of test pads continues to shrink. Traditional probes soon revealed limitations such as low precision and short lifespan, struggling to meet the demands of ultra-fine-pitch testing.

In contrast, probes manufactured using MEMS processes can not only stably produce three-dimensional microstructures but also achieve batch processing, ensuring consistency and flatness in probe structures.

However, the high-end display panel testing field has long been dominated by international giants. Through numerous interactions with domestic clients, Lei Ming heard firsthand their frustrations regarding foreign manufacturers’ slow service responses and lengthy delivery cycles. This predicament of dependency sparked his strong desire for independent research and development and achieving domestic substitution.

In December 2016, Lei Ming officially founded MicroBridge Testing, dedicating himself fully to the research and development of MEMS probe technology and aspiring to become the “bridge builder” in the microcosm.

MEMS is hailed as one of the most revolutionary frontier technologies of the 21st century. It integrates micro-mechanical structures, micro-sensors, micro-actuators, and signal processing and control circuits into a single micro-system at the micron or even nanometer scale. To put it figuratively, it is akin to meticulously carving complex three-dimensional microscopic structures—such as channels, cantilever beams, and cavities—onto a silicon chip half the size of a fingernail. The technical difficulty is self-evident.

The core of conquering this technology lies in achieving ultimate “uniformity.” Lei Ming explains, “We once undertook a biochip research and development task for a prestigious university. It required precisely processing tens of thousands of micropores, each 20 microns in diameter, on a glass substrate, with the spacing error for each pore controlled within plus or minus 3 microns. Achieving precision in a localized area isn’t overly difficult, but attaining high consistency and uniformity across a large-area substrate is a tremendous challenge.”

“If you can’t make them all equally good, you must at least make them all equally bad.” This classic adage in the MEMS industry vividly illustrates the importance of uniformity control. MEMS probes are a typical application of this technology in the field of high-precision testing. From the precise replication of probe structures to micron-level control of array flatness, and finally achieving highly stable lifespan, each parameter challenges the technical team’s limits and measures a company’s true capabilities.

At the outset of the venture, Lei Ming had no background in MEMS technology. Yet, relying on strong self-learning abilities and dedication to technology, he led the team in systematic overcoming hard challenges). They repeatedly debugged and experimented with aspects such as production environment, equipment conditions, chemical solution ratios, and parameter control, searching for the optimal process combination. Finally, in early 2020, they successfully broke through the technical bottleneck, an achievement that filled the domestic gap in high-precision electrical testing technology.

However, the technical breakthrough was merely the first step; breaking the deeply ingrained “import dependency” in clients’ minds was another formidable battle. MicroBridge Testing established a clear dual-track strategy: building on reliable product quality as the foundation and using ultimate service response as the breakthrough point.

In terms of performance, the core metrics of MicroBridge Testing’s MEMS probes have reached parity with international competitors. Its conventional thin-film probes achieve a testing lifespan of up to 20,000 cycles, meeting international advanced levels in precision, surface conductivity, uniformity, and other aspects. More competitively, leveraging cost advantages from localized manufacturing, its product prices are approximately 30% lower than imported equivalents, truly achieving “high quality at reasonable prices.”

Regarding service, Lei Ming always emphasizes, “Once an abnormality occurs at the client’s site, regardless of whether the issue originates from us, MicroBridge will respond immediately to jointly seek a solution.” This “partnership-style service” that exceeds expectations gradually became the key wedge for MicroBridge to penetrate the market.

Efforts eventually bore fruit. Starting from the third quarter of 2023, MicroBridge Testing’s MEMS probes successfully transitioned from pilot production to commercial mass production. From initial cautious trials of only 10% or 20%, to achieving 100% substitution in specific process stages of leading domestic display industry enterprises, domestic high-precision probes have truly gained a firm foothold.

Today, MicroBridge Testing’s project for the research, development, and industrialization of new display panel MEMS probes and matching electrical testing equipment is in full swing and is expected to be fully completed early next year. Once officially operational, the new production line will not only significantly enhance the company’s process capabilities and overall capacity but also, through intelligent management systems, achieve dual benefits of improved efficiency and strengthened quality control, propelling the company into a new phase of explosive market growth.

While consolidating its advantages in the display industry, MicroBridge Testing is actively exploring broader application areas. The application scope of MEMS probe technology extends far beyond display panels. There is also significant demand for high-precision testing equipment in strategic emerging fields such as semiconductors, photovoltaics, and biomedical applications. The company has already undertaken technical preparation and achieved research and development breakthroughs in multiple frontier directions, developing various specialized probes for different application scenarios and accumulating strength for future cross-field expansion.

Regarding this, a relevant person in charge from the Fifth Investment Department of Nanjing Venture Capital Group commented: “Electrical performance testing is an indispensable quality inspection process in display manufacturing. Currently, testing probes in domestic display factories are still predominantly imported. Conservatively estimated, this niche market has an annual demand of approximately 3 billion yuan, with a domestic substitution rate below 20%. As China’s display industry now leads globally, achieving supply chain autonomy and controllability is urgent.” In this view, over its nearly ten-year development journey, MicroBridge Testing has completed the entire process from independent technology research and development, breaking through with core clients, to verifying import substitution. This preliminarily demonstrates the company’s capabilities in technology development and market expansion. As multiple products successively enter client verification and introduction stages, the company eagerly hopes to further enhance its commercialization capabilities and maintain innovation, bringing higher-quality MEMS probe solutions to the industry.

Looking back, “persistence” is the entrepreneurial tenet carved into Lei Ming’s bones. From starting alone in 2016 to welcoming its first round of financing in 2024, a full eight years passed. Every technological breakthrough and every equipment investment relied solely on the founder’s personal funds.

Although storms were encountered along the way, Lei Ming and his team never retreated. They firmly believe that the historical tide of import substitution cannot be stopped, that the vast landscape of the Chinese market holds great promise, and that the wisdom and resilience of domestic technical personnel will ultimately break through layer upon layer technical barriers, forging a path of independent innovation for an industrially strong nation.

Dedicated to building bridges in the microcosm and paving the way for “Smart Manufacturing in China,” MicroBridge Testing, with its increasingly solid technological foundation and continuously expanding industrial reach, is connecting the future of China’s precision manufacturing and high-end testing, assisting “Made in China” as it strides toward a new era of higher quality and greater competitiveness.