"In just 3 months, 'Origin Wukong' has attracted a total of 5.11 million remote visits from 117 countries worldwide, completing around 169,000 global quantum computing tasks!" Excitedly stated Guo Guoping, Deputy Director of the Quantum Information Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, during an interview with the Science and Technology Daily.
On January 6, 2024, China's third-generation self-developed superconducting quantum computer "Origin Wukong" went online and was temporarily opened for free to global users.
This marks the first large-scale and long-term opening of China's quantum computing power to the world, signaling China's official entry into the era of "usable" quantum computing power and indicating that China's self-developed superconducting quantum computer manufacturing chain is now complete.
Three Generations of Scientists Passing the Baton
The beginning of China's quantum computing journey can be traced back 26 years.
"In 1998, I was organizing the 'Quantum Communication and Quantum Computing' Xiangshan Science Conference. To expand the conference's influence, I wanted to invite a 'big shot' to chair the meeting," recalled Guo Guangcan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, in an interview.
That "big shot" was the pioneer of China's atomic and space programs, Qian Xuesen.
In a letter to Qian Xuesen, Guo Guangcan boldly suggested "applying the spirit of the 'Two Bombs, One Satellite' to quantum information research" and warmly invited Qian Xuesen to chair the conference.
Not long after, Guo Guangcan received a reply from Qian Xuesen. Qian Xuesen highly agreed with his views, believing that "China should mobilize national efforts to tackle the technical issues of quantum information systems."
Although Qian Xuesen could not attend due to health reasons, his support shone like a beacon on the future of quantum science research in China.
From that point on, Guo Guangcan began applying for relevant research projects. In 2001, he obtained the first national major project funding in the field of quantum information in China.
By 2010, Guo Guangcan's student, Guo Guoping, took over the baton and became the chief scientist of the "Solid-state Quantum Chip Research" major project. In 2013, Guo Guoping led a team to achieve 10-picosecond quantum logic gate operations on "one electron," raising the original world record by nearly a hundredfold, laying a solid foundation for research on semiconductor-based quantum computers.
In 2017, Guo Guoping founded China's first domestic quantum computing industrial enterprise - Origin Quantum Computing Technology (Hefei) Co., Ltd.
Due to its powerful computing capabilities and wide application prospects, quantum computers are seen as the future super "industrial accelerators." In 2023, Google conducted a comparative test, showing that for the same computing tasks, a quantum computer takes less than 3 minutes, while the fastest supercomputer would require around 50 years.
Earlier this year, Origin Quantum introduced the quantum computer "Origin Wukong" equipped with a 72-qubit self-developed superconducting quantum chip. Named "Wukong," it signifies its powerful computing capabilities akin to the "72 transformations."
Starting from Scratch in Every Development
"The superconducting quantum computer industry chain has three key points: chips, hardware, and software," said Guo Guoping.
To create China's self-developed quantum computer, Origin Quantum established two large laboratories for quantum chip manufacturing and quantum computer assembly testing, completing full-stack development from chips to the entire machine's software and hardware.
Quantum chips need to operate under extremely low temperatures of -273.15°C. This requires the cables connecting the quantum chips to not only transmit signals without distortion but also isolate heat.
"To solve this problem, we collaborated with the 40th Institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation to develop a high-density microwave interconnect module suitable for ultra-low-temperature environments, achieving the localization of this module," said Jia Zhilong, Deputy Director of the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center and a member of the Origin Wukong development team. "This provides crucial support for the industrialization of China's superconducting quantum computers."
The assembly testing of quantum computers involves assembling and testing quantum chips, quantum measurement and control instruments, quantum operating systems, quantum software, and more. "Starting from scratch in every development means facing enormous challenges," Guo Guoping admitted.
Kong Weicheng, head of the hardware development team for "Origin Wukong," explained that the new machine is paired with Origin's third-generation quantum computing measurement and control system, "Origin Tianji," achieving the first domestic batch automation testing of quantum chips and increasing the efficiency of the quantum computer's overall operation by tens of times.
In addition to chips and hardware, "Origin Wukong" also features China's first quantum computer operating system - Origin Sinan 3.0. Dou Menghan, head of the operating system development team, told reporters that this system, for the first time in China, supports batch processing of quantum computing tasks, not only enabling quantum super-synergistic computing but also efficiently scheduling quantum computing resources, significantly enhancing the overall efficiency of quantum computers.
From Laboratory to Manufacturing Chain
On April 10, "Origin Wukong" successfully equipped China's first PQC (Post-Quantum Cryptography) "anti-quantum attack shield." From enhanced computing power to being both offensive and defensive, this marks a more complete manufacturing chain for China's quantum computers.
"To manufacture a superconducting quantum computer, it starts from theoretical research in the laboratory and goes through numerous challenges," explained Zhang Hui, General Manager of Origin Quantum. Origin Quantum has also successively developed and manufactured China's first non-destructive probe for quantum chip testing and laser annealing equipment for repairing quantum chips. With the formation and improvement of this superconducting quantum computer manufacturing chain integrating research, design, production, and testing, Origin Quantum has become the only company in China currently capable of delivering complete superconducting quantum computers. Currently, "Origin Wukong" has collaborated with multiple national supercomputing centers, as well as sectors and units in finance, communications, electricity, aviation, aerospace, and more. The active participation of these industries has provided a more fertile research environment for the manufacturing and application of China's quantum computers.
This year's government work report proposes actively nurturing emerging and future industries, formulating development plans for future industries, exploring new tracks such as quantum technology and life sciences, and establishing a group of leading areas for future industries.
"The quantum computer manufacturing chain connects technological innovation on one end and new productive forces on the other." Speaking about the next steps, Guo Guoping stated, "We will accelerate the verification of quantum computing principles, technology transfer, and application development, steadily advancing towards the goal of realizing large-scale programmable universal quantum computers!"
(Original title: "Wukong" Generates Great Computing Power - China's Third Generation Self-developed Superconducting Quantum Computer Embarks on the Road to Breakthrough)
