In the field of chip technology, quantum computing technology has become a new focus of competition between China and the United States. China's technology industry is accelerating the pace of quantum chip research and development, and American companies are not far behind, actively commercializing quantum computing. Recently, a number of companies and institutions in the United States have announced their important breakthroughs in the field of quantum computing.
First of all, IBM has successfully launched a new generation of quantum chip Condor, which has more than 1,140 qubits and is the world's first quantum chip with more than 4 qubits. By assembling three Condor quantum chips together, IBM has succeeded in building the world's first practical quantum computer, IBM Quantum System 2. This milestone further advances the commercialization of quantum computing.
Immediately afterward, Harvard University announced a major breakthrough in the field of quantum error correction technology. Researchers at Harvard University have developed a more efficient error correction method that is able to reduce the error rate of 280 qubits to 3 of 48 effective qubits5%。In contrast, IBM's error correction method can only reduce the error rate of 133 qubits to 1 of 48 valid qubits7%。
The biggest challenge in quantum computing is quantum error correction technology, because qubits have a very short lifespan. To solve this problem, Chinese technology companies have launched a variety of solutions. For example, they developed quantum refrigerators that use low temperatures to extend the survival time of qubits;At the same time, they are also working on superconducting quantum technology, among other things, to produce more qubits. Although these methods cannot increase the number of qubits rapidly, they can improve the efficiency of quantum computing by extending the survival time of qubits.
IBM's solution is to develop more powerful quantum chips to produce more qubits. Harvard's solution is to improve quantum utilization. Judging from their comparison of quantum chips, Harvard's error correction method is more efficient than IBM's Condor chip. If two U.S. companies or institutions can work together, they could seize the lead in quantum computing technology on a global scale.
While IBM and Harvard University are both technically excellent, Chinese technology companies are also actively involved in research on quantum computing technology. Taking Hefei Origin Quantum as an example, they have begun to plan to build the first quantum chip production line in China, and independently develop quantum lithography machines, quantum refrigerators and other equipment. Their goal is to establish a complete quantum chip industry chain, so as to get rid of the existing silicon-based chip technology dependence on overseas and realize the complete independence of the chip industry chain.
In the field of photonic chip technology, China is also making full progress, and they are studying how to combine photonic technology with quantum technology to develop optical quantum chips. This shows that China is catching up fast in advanced chip technology and is already leading the world in some technological areas.
It can be said that China and the United States occupy the position of the world's first camp in the field of quantum computing technology. Although the United States is temporarily ahead, this does not mean that they will be the first to commercialize quantum computing technology. After all, China spends far more on research than the United States, and its engineers and technicians are even better.
Therefore, China attaches great importance to the development of photonics and quantum computing technology, and they hope to get rid of the current situation that silicon-based chip technology is subject to overseas by accelerating the speed of scientific and technological research and development, establish a complete independent chip industry chain, and realize the overtaking of China's chip industry.
With the rapid development of U.S. technology companies, it is believed that Chinese researchers will follow suit and strengthen scientific and technological research and development. In the next few years, China and the United States will engage in a race to catch up, and neither will easily gain absolute superiority.