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Table of contents

1. Definition and characteristics of quantum

1.1 Quantum superposition

1.2 Quantum entanglement

1.3 Quantum decoherence

2. The era of quantum supremacy is coming

2.1 The Second Quantum Technology Revolution

2.2 Global Quantum Technology Competition

3. Quantum Computing

3.1 Definition and Advantages of Quantum Computing

3.2 Main technical paths of quantum computing

3.3 Development Status and Technical Difficulties of Quantum Computers

3.4 Applications of Quantum Computers

4. Quantum Communication and Security

4.1 The necessity of quantum secure communication

4.2 Current status and difficulties of the main technologies of quantum secure communication

4.3 Quantum Communication Network and Quantum Internet

4.4 Applications of quantum communication

5. Quantum Precision Measurement

5.1 Definition of quantum precision measurement

5.2 Current Status and Difficulties of Quantum Precision Measurement Technology

Applications of Quantum Precision Measurement

VI. A Panorama of Quantum Technology Investment

6.1 Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication, and Quantum Measurement Company Map

6.2 Evaluation of China’s Major Quantum Technology Companies

1. Definition and characteristics of quantum

Quantum is the basic unit in physics that describes particles in the microscopic world. It is a discrete unit of energy and momentum. A quantum is not a "son" like an electron. In the classical world, various physical phenomena change continuously, such as temperature. In the microscopic world, the state of energy is discontinuous and is composed of pieces of energy. Physical quantities such as energy and momentum are infinitely divided into infinitesimals. There is a minimum basic unit, which is the quantum. This indivisibility in the microscopic world is called quantization.

Quantum has properties such as quantum superposition, quantum entanglement, and quantum measurement. These properties are not only of great significance in physics, but also play a key role in emerging quantum technology fields such as quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum measurement. These unique properties of quantum mechanics provide us with a new perspective to understand and utilize the basic laws of nature.

1.1 Quantum superposition

Quantum superposition is an important concept in quantum mechanics, which refers to the fact that a quantum system can be in a superposition state between multiple possible states at the same time. In classical physics, an object can only be in one definite state, but in quantum mechanics, a quantum system can be in a linear combination of multiple possible states. This means that in some cases, a quantum system can be in multiple states at the same time until it collapses into one of the definite states when it is measured.

Quantum superposition is the foundation of quantum computing and quantum information. By utilizing quantum superposition, quantum parallel computing can be achieved and computing efficiency can be improved.

1.2 Quantum entanglement

Quantum entanglement is a special phenomenon of mutual correlation in quantum mechanics, which means that when two or more quantum systems interact with each other, their states become closely related. No matter how far apart they are, the state of one system will immediately affect the state of another system. This correlation is called entanglement.

For two particles in an entangled state, the state of correlation between them cannot be established before they are measured. However, no matter how far apart they are, as long as the entangled state is not destroyed, once one of the particles is measured, the state of the other particle will also be determined. Quantum entanglement not only provides the most effective parallel processing method for quantum computing, but is also an essential tool for realizing quantum communication. Because it is very sensitive to environmental changes, quantum entanglement can also be used to make very accurate and sensitive quantum sensors.

1.3 Quantum decoherence

Quantum decoherence refers to the loss of coherence (i.e. interference and superposition properties of quantum states) in a quantum system after a certain process or interaction. Quantum decoherence usually causes the quantum state to become more classical, that is, closer to the state in classical physics.

Quantum decoherence can occur in different situations, such as quantum measurement, quantum decoherence, environmental interference, etc. Among them, environmental interference is the most common cause of quantum decoherence. When a quantum system interacts with its surrounding environment, the uncertainty and noise of the environment will cause the interference effect of the quantum state to gradually disappear, and the system will gradually lose coherence.

Quantum decoherence is an important issue that affects quantum computing and quantum information processing, because coherence is a key resource in quantum computing. Therefore, studying how to extend the coherence time of quantum states and reduce the impact of quantum decoherence is one of the current research focuses in the field of quantum information.

2. The era of quantum supremacy is coming

2.1 The Second Quantum Technology Revolution

The first proposal of the concept of quantum can be traced back to 1900, by German physicist Max Planck. Planck proposed the concept of energy quantization, which is the basis of quantum theory, thus opening the curtain of the quantum physics revolution in the early 20th century. In 1905, Albert Einstein further developed the concept of quantum, proposed the concept of light quantum (photon), and explained the photoelectric effect.

The "first quantum technology revolution" began in the early 20th century. Physicists represented by Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger and Paul Dirac established the theoretical framework of quantum mechanics, described the basic characteristics of quantum mechanics, and realized the combination of quantum mechanics with mathematics, chemistry and biology, giving birth to many major inventions - the atomic bomb, laser, transistor, nuclear magnetic resonance, computer, etc.

In 2014, Nature, the world's top scientific magazine, proposed that the "second quantum technology revolution" had begun.

The "first quantum technological revolution" brought mankind from the industrial age into the information age, and the "second quantum technological revolution" that is taking place means that mankind will break through the physical limits of classical technology and enter the quantum age. It marks that mankind's exploration of the quantum world has moved from the simple "detection era" to the active "control era", and heralds major breakthroughs in the fields of quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum precision measurement.

The "Second Quantum Technology Revolution" uses quantum entanglement, quantum superposition, quantum measurement and other innovative applications, which is expected to trigger changes in many fields:

Quantum computing: The development of quantum computers will undergo a transition from special-purpose quantum computers to general-purpose quantum computers, and ultimately realize programmable general-purpose quantum computers to solve specific problems that classical computers cannot handle.

Quantum communication: a communication method that is anti-eavesdropping and uses quantum non-cloning properties to establish a secure communication network. The main technologies include quantum key distribution (QKD), quantum teleportation (QT), etc. The development of quantum communication technology will further promote the construction of quantum Internet.

Quantum precision measurement: Quantum precision measurement technology brings higher-precision measurement tools to scientific research and industry. Since quantum states are extremely sensitive to changes in the external environment, the sensitivity and resolution of quantum precision measurement will significantly exceed the classical limits and promote technological progress in related fields.

The "Second Quantum Technology Revolution" is changing our understanding of the quantum world and promoting the application of quantum technology in many fields. With the continuous advancement of technology, quantum technology is expected to completely change the way we live and work in the next few decades.

2.2 Global Quantum Technology Competition

"The quantum technology revolution has given China an opportunity to 'change lanes and overtake'," said Zhang Qingrui, former acting president of National Taiwan University, professor at Chung Yuan Christian University, and consultant to Foxconn Quantum Research Institute, in his book "Quantum Megatrends."

In the information technology era, the computing power of classical computers has been improved according to Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors that can be accommodated on an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. Precision control of nano-processing has become a key technology in the information technology era, but as the size of transistors approaches the atomic scale, it becomes increasingly difficult to continue to reduce the physical size of transistors.

In the "second quantum technology revolution", properties such as quantum superposition, quantum entanglement and quantum measurement are used to create new quantum components. It does not simply rely on the miniaturization technology of Moore's Law. As long as the properties of objects can be mastered, even sub-micron technology can make quantum components with quantum entanglement properties. The performance of quantum components with entanglement properties is far superior to that of classical electronic components. The "second quantum technology revolution" will bring more disruptive innovative industries.

Professor Pan Jianwei of the University of Science and Technology of China, who is known as China's "Father of Quantum", once said that in modern information science, China has always played the role of learner and follower. Now in the era of quantum technology, if we do our best, we can become the main force.

At present, my country's achievements in the field of quantum communication are already leading the world: in 2016, the world's first quantum science experimental satellite "Micius" was successfully launched; in 2017, the 2,000-kilometer long-distance Beijing-Shanghai quantum communication line was established; in 2018, "Micius" conducted satellite-to-ground quantum key distribution over 7,600 kilometers with China's Xinglong and Austria's Graz ground stations respectively; in 2022, the team of Professor Long Guilu of Tsinghua University designed a new quantum direct communication system with mixed encoding of phase quantum states and timestamp quantum states, achieving 100 kilometers of quantum direct communication and breaking the world record for "quantum direct communication".

In the field of quantum computing, in December 2020, the University of Science and Technology of China announced the successful construction of the 76-photon prototype "Jiuzhang", becoming the second country to achieve quantum supremacy (Note); in June 2021, the University of Science and Technology of China released the "Zu Chongzhi" programmable 56-qubit superconducting computer, which shortened the task that a supercomputer takes 8 years to complete to 1.2 hours. China is the only country that has achieved quantum supremacy in both superconducting and optical quantum technology paths.

According to data from the Forward-looking Industry Research Institute, in terms of total investment, global quantum information investment will reach US$38.6 billion in 2023, of which China's total investment will reach US$15 billion, ranking first in the world.

Currently, China and the United States are in the leading position in the competition in quantum technology, and Europe and other traditional technological powers are also actively catching up. Although there are leaders in quantum technology at present, all participants are not far from the starting line, so there are far more opportunities for "changing lanes and overtaking" than in other technological fields.

In 2021, my country's "14th Five-Year Plan" outline proposed to accelerate the layout of advanced technologies such as quantum computing and quantum communications. The goal is to complete the construction of national quantum communication infrastructure and develop a general-purpose quantum computer by 2030.

(Note: Quantum Supremacy, also known as quantum supremacy, refers to the ability of quantum computers to surpass the most powerful traditional computers when performing specific tasks. This concept was proposed by physicist John Preskill in 2012 to describe the significant advantages of quantum computers over classical computers in solving certain problems.)

3. Quantum Computing

As a cutting-edge technology, quantum computing has attracted great attention from researchers and investors around the world in recent years. It uses the principles of quantum mechanics to break through the binary-based computing methods of traditional computers, and has shown the potential to far surpass classical computers in certain specific problems. With the continuous deepening of quantum physics theory and the increasing maturity of quantum technology, quantum computing has gradually moved from theory to practical application, and is considered to be an important development direction of future computing technology.

3.1 Definition and Advantages of Quantum Computing

Quantum computing is a technology based on the principles of quantum mechanics that uses quantum bits as the basic unit of information for computing. The super-parallelism of quantum computers comes from the superposition state of quantum bits. Compared with the same number of classical bits, the computing power of multiple quantum bits is exponentially different.

Traditional computers use binary bits, each of which is either 0 or 1, while quantum computers use qubits, which can be in a superposition state of 0 and 1 at the same time. As the number of qubits increases, N qubits can have a value at the same time, which is equivalent to performing operations at the same time.

Quantum computers manipulate these superposition states and the interactions between quantum bits through quantum algorithms, and are able to process a large number of possible computing paths simultaneously, making them much faster than traditional computers at solving certain specific types of problems, such as integer factorization and search algorithms.

3.2 Main technical paths of quantum computing

my country attaches great importance to the research of quantum science and has issued a number of policies and plans to support the research and application of quantum technology. In the field of quantum computing, Chinese scientific research institutions and enterprises have achieved a series of internationally influential results in key technical routes such as superconducting quantum computing and optical quantum computing, and are in a leading position in the global quantum computing competition.

Quantum computing is currently in its early stages of exploration, and the development directions of quantum bits are very diverse. Mainstream solutions include superconductivity, ion traps, photons, ultracold atoms, silicon-based quantum dots, and topological quantum, all of which are basically developing along the roadmap of quantum computing superiority - dedicated quantum computing - general quantum computing.

According to the "2024 Global Quantum Computing Industry Development Outlook" report released by ICV, a cutting-edge technology consulting agency, China and the United States dominate the distribution of major global quantum computing equipment companies, with 20 companies in the United States and 18 in China, accounting for 28% and 25% respectively. From the distribution of technical routes, superconducting, ion trap, and optical quantum paths are the most popular. Among the 71 major quantum computing equipment companies in the world in 2023, 19 are superconducting quantum computing paths, accounting for 27%, including 8 in the United States and 5 in China; followed by optical quantum computing paths, a total of 13, accounting for 18%, of which the largest number is Chinese companies, reaching 4; 10 are ion trap quantum computing paths, accounting for 14%, and Chinese companies account for 4.

(1) Superconducting quantum computing path

Superconducting quantum computing is one of the most mature quantum computing technologies. It is based on superconducting quantum circuits and processes information by manipulating superconducting quantum bits. Superconducting quantum circuits are highly compatible with existing integrated circuit systems in terms of design, preparation, and measurement, and can use traditional electronic components as control systems. IBM, Intel, Google, Origin Quantum, Guodun Quantum, etc. are conducting research and development on the path of superconducting quantum computing.

The advantages of superconducting quantum bits are their high continuity and scalability, as well as their relatively low distortion rate. This technology route has achieved entanglement and quantum gate operations between multiple quantum bits, laying the foundation for building practical quantum computers. However, superconducting quantum bits are very sensitive to environmental temperature and electromagnetic interference, so experiments need to be carried out in extremely low temperatures and well-shielded environments.

The US quantum computing industry chain is well-developed, with leading technology companies such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft entering the market, especially with significant advantages in superconducting quantum computing. In the field of superconducting quantum chips, in December 2023, IBM released Condor, the world's first quantum computing processor chip with more than 1,000 qubits, which has 1,121 qubits.

In April 2024, the Institute of Quantum Information and Quantum Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences released a 504-bit superconducting quantum computing chip "Xiaohong", breaking the record for the number of superconducting quantum bits in China.

Peng Chengzhi, professor at the Institute of Quantum Information and Quantum Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and chief scientist of China Telecom Quantum Group and Guodun Quantum (688027.SH), said that superconducting quantum computing chips can reuse more mature semiconductor chip processing technology and have a special advantage in expanding the number of bits, so research and development is "not difficult". "The most difficult part is how to improve the quality and quantity of quantum bits simultaneously, so as to truly improve the performance of the chip and more precisely control large-scale quantum bits. This is what the mainstream international scientific research teams are working on."

The computing power that a quantum computer can achieve depends on many factors, including the number of bits, fidelity, coherence time, gate operation speed, connectivity, etc., taking superconducting quantum computers as an example. Among them, the number of bits is a key indicator. However, it should be noted that it is meaningless to talk about the number of bits alone. What is more important is the gate fidelity (especially the two-bit gate fidelity), coherence time, and bit connectivity under large-scale quantum bits.

In addition, the characteristic of superconducting materials is that when the temperature drops below a certain critical temperature, the resistance is zero and the current can flow without loss. In order to achieve efficient operation and stable storage of quantum bits, quantum chips need to operate in an extremely low temperature environment of -273.12℃ or lower, so the dilution refrigerator is one of the key devices for superconducting quantum computing.

At present, my country's domestically produced dilution refrigerators have made major breakthroughs, and the actual operating indicators have reached the international mainstream level of similar products. The commercially available and mass-produced domestically produced dilution refrigerator ez-Q Fridge launched by Guodun Quantum provides quantum chips with an extremely low temperature and low noise environment as low as 10mK, with a cooling power of 450uW@100mK (450uW@100mK means that the cooling power of the dilution refrigerator can reach 450uW at a temperature of 100 mK. The greater the cooling power, the higher the number of bits of quantum computing can be supported), and serves the "Zu Chongzhi No. 2" to achieve quantum computing superiority experiments; the Benyuan SL1000 dilution refrigerator independently developed by Benyuan Quantum can provide an extremely low temperature environment below 10mK and a cooling capacity of no less than 1000μW @100mK, meeting the extremely low temperature environment requirements in cutting-edge technology fields such as superconducting quantum computing, condensed matter physics, materials science, and deep space exploration.

Achieving "quantum supremacy" is the key to measuring the performance of quantum computers, that is, the computing power for a specific problem exceeds that of a classical supercomputer. Currently, there are only two superconducting quantum computers in the world that have achieved this: the American "Planeta" and the Chinese "Zu Chongzhi No. 2".

Zu Chongzhi II is a 66-qubit programmable superconducting quantum computing prototype developed by a research team composed of Pan Jianwei, Zhu Xiaobo, Peng Chengzhi and others from the Institute of Quantum Information and Quantum Technology Innovation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In May 2023, the team made improvements based on the original 66-qubit chip of Zu Chongzhi II, adding a control interface of 110 coupling bits, bringing the number of qubits that users can manipulate to 176 bits.

As the only corporate unit involved in the research and development of "Zu Chongzhi", Guodun Quantum has successfully sold 4 quantum computers through its supply chain management and integration capabilities of superconducting quantum computing prototypes (including room temperature control systems, low-temperature signal transmission systems, chip packaging systems, control software systems, etc.).

In addition, the third-generation autonomous superconducting quantum computer "Origin Wukong" developed by Benyuan Quantum was put into operation in January 2024. "Benyuan Wukong" is equipped with a 72-bit superconducting quantum chip "Wukong Core", with a total of 198 quantum bits, including 72 working quantum bits and 126 coupled quantum bits.

(Note: A quantum bit (qubit) is the basic unit of quantum computing. It is a carrier of quantum information, similar to a bit in classical computing. A quantum bit can be in a superposition state, that is, a superposition of multiple states at the same time, which allows quantum computers to process multiple computing tasks at the same time. A coupled quantum bit (cQubit) is a special type of quantum bit that interacts or couples with each other. Coupled quantum bits are often used to implement quantum gate operations, allowing different quantum bits to exchange information and influence each other. In general, a quantum bit is the basic unit of quantum computing, and a coupled quantum bit is a special form of quantum bit used to implement quantum gate operations and quantum computing.

(2) Photonic quantum computing path

The optical quantum computing path uses photons as carriers of information and implements the quantum computing process through quantum optical elements. The key advantage of optical quantum computing is that the interaction between photons and the environment is very weak, and they can maintain a stable quantum state for a long time with high fidelity. In addition, optical quantum computing can be performed at room temperature, unlike superconducting quantum computing, which requires an extremely low temperature environment. Its technical challenges lie in the generation, operation and detection of photons, which require high-precision manipulation technology and equipment. Currently, companies using photons as a quantum computer path include PsiQuantum, Xanadu, Turing Quantum and Bose Quantum.

China is the only country that has achieved quantum supremacy in both superconducting and photonic quantum technology paths. In addition to the "Zu Chongzhi" of the superconducting quantum computing path, my country has another quantum computer that has achieved "quantum supremacy" - the "Jiuzhang" series developed by Pan Jianwei's team at the University of Science and Technology of China. The "Jiuzhang" series uses the photonic quantum computing path.

In terms of specific function quantum computers, China has made great breakthroughs and progress in the path of optical quantum computing. In October 2023, the team of USTC successfully built a quantum computing prototype "Jiuzhang No. 3" with 255 photons. The prototype is composed of 255 photons and is 100 trillion times faster than the world's fastest supercomputer in solving the mathematical problem of Gaussian boson sampling, once again breaking the world record of optical quantum information technology. In addition, the new generation of coherent optical quantum computer with 550 computing qubits, "Tiangong Quantum Brain 550W", released by Bose Quantum in April 2024, has achieved a breakthrough in practical quantum computing by combining it with development kits represented by "Kaiwu SDK" and "quantum algorithms" jointly developed with multi-industry ecological partners.

Unlike general-purpose quantum computers that can change the computing programs they execute at will, specific-function quantum computers can only execute specific quantum algorithms. If they want to process calculations beyond their original design functions, they must change their hardware or equipment.

In the field of programmable general-purpose optical quantum computers, Turing Quantum has launched DeepQuantum, the first optical quantum computing programming framework in China. Using QubitCircuit in DeepQuantum, developers can easily build and simulate quantum circuits and quickly design and optimize quantum neural networks. In addition, through DeepQuantum's QumodeCircuit, users can conduct in-depth research on optical quantum circuits and develop practical applications based on algorithms such as Gaussian boson sampling. DeepQuantum not only includes automatic differentiation functions, but also has built-in multiple non-gradient optimizers to help users efficiently implement and explore variational quantum algorithms. At the same time, Turing Quantum will deploy optical quantum computing hardware on the Quantum Cloud Platform, and users will be able to experience real quantum computing through DeepQuantum.

(3) Ion trap quantum computing path

The ion trap quantum computing path is a technology that uses ions (usually charged atoms or molecules) as quantum bits to perform quantum information processing. The external electromagnetic field is used to "trap" the ions within a certain range, and the movement of the ions is controlled by the interaction between the charge and the electromagnetic field. The advantages of ion trap quantum computing are long stable entangled states and high logic gate fidelity, but the technical difficulty lies in the simultaneous stable "trap" and accurate control of a large number of ions. Laser cooling technology and ultra-high vacuum environment are required, and compatibility with integrated circuits is yet to be developed, resulting in limited scalability. Currently, the companies that are deeply engaged in ion trap quantum computing technology include Quantinuum, IonQ, Qike Quantum, Huayi Quantum, Guoyi Quantum, etc.

Huayi Quantum released the first-generation ion trap quantum computer commercial prototype HYQ-A37 with a scale of 37 qubits in 2023. Its qubit coherence time, fidelity and other related performance indicators are at the world-class level. Currently, users can use visualization tools or code editors to quickly design quantum circuits by appointment, and remotely access HYQ-A37 to perform computing tasks and obtain real-time graphical feedback on computing results. Huayi Quantum expects to launch a 110-bit low-temperature ion trap quantum computer in 2024.

3.3 Development History and Technical Difficulties of Quantum Computers

Since the 1980s, quantum computing has been verified by basic physical ideas and elementary principles, and now quantum computers have reached the NISQ (noisy intermediate-scale quantum computer) stage.

Computers with high-fidelity quantum gates of 50 to 100 qubits are called NISQ computers. "Noisy" means that there is a certain degree of noise and error between qubits, and the fault tolerance is low, so accurate quantum computing cannot be achieved. Fault-tolerant general-purpose quantum computers are a long-term development goal and will take some time to achieve. However, the computing power of noisy medium-sized quantum computers has far exceeded that of supercomputers, and they can execute some specific quantum algorithms and tasks, and have demonstrated quantum advantages in some application fields.

The main constraints on the development of quantum computers at this stage are:

(1) Extreme low temperature requirements: In order to maintain the stability of the quantum state of quantum bits, quantum computers need to operate in an ultra-low temperature environment close to absolute zero. Under such conditions, quantum bits can effectively exhibit the characteristics of quantum entanglement and quantum superposition. The maintenance and operation costs of the refrigeration system are high, and as the number of quantum bits increases, the corresponding refrigeration requirements will also increase. Effective and cheap cryogenic technology needs to be improved.

(2) The stability of quantum bits: Quantum bits (or qubits) are the basic information units of quantum computers, but they are very fragile and easily affected by noise and external interference, leading to quantum decoherence. Decoherence destroys quantum information and makes calculation results unreliable. Increasing the coherence time of quantum bits is a current research hotspot.

(3) Quantum error correction: Errors are inevitable in quantum computing, and due to the special properties of qubits, these errors are different from those in traditional computers. Developing effective quantum error correction technology is crucial to achieving reliable quantum computing, but current quantum error correction algorithms are still complex and difficult to scale.

(4) Scalability: Existing quantum computers have relatively few qubits, but computing complex problems requires hundreds, thousands, or even more qubits. How to scale up quantum computers without reducing the quality of individual qubits is a huge technical challenge.

(5) Material and technology limitations: The manufacture of high-quality qubits requires advanced materials and sophisticated manufacturing processes. For example, superconducting qubits require high-purity superconducting materials, while ion trap technology requires high-precision lasers and vacuum systems. The development and maturity of these technologies directly affect the performance and feasibility of quantum computers.

(6) Insufficient development of algorithms and software: Although it is known that some quantum algorithms can theoretically provide performance that exceeds classical computing, the algorithm libraries and software tools for quantum computers are still limited, and there is a lack of widely applicable quantum software platforms and programming frameworks.

(7) The gap between theory and experiment: Quantum computing has made rapid progress in theory, but the pace of implementing these theories in actual experiments is relatively slow. Many theories have not yet been verified in experiments, so a lot of innovation and optimization must be done in experimental technology and design.

(8) Shortage of talent and knowledge: Quantum computing is an interdisciplinary field that involves multiple disciplines such as physics, computer science, engineering, and mathematics. Currently, researchers and engineers with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills are relatively scarce, which limits the speed of development in the field of quantum computing.

(8) Limitations of application scenarios: Quantum computers currently show potential in certain specific problems, such as chemical simulation, password cracking, and complex optimization problems. However, in many general computing tasks, the advantages of quantum computers are not yet obvious, and their actual value in commercial and industrial applications needs to be further explored.

As mentioned above, although the commercialization of quantum computing still faces many challenges, quantum technology has entered the engineering stage from the theoretical research stage. The emergence of fault-tolerant general quantum computers in the future will subvert almost all industries. The existing technology industry will undergo tremendous changes after the "second quantum technology revolution" and must be prepared in advance to enter a new quantum era.

3.4 Applications of Quantum Computers

(1) Quantum computing cloud platform

Achieving "quantum supremacy" is a necessary prerequisite for the commercialization and popularization of quantum computing, and the quantum computing cloud platform is the key to the development of practical applications of quantum computing.

At present, the hardware cost of quantum computers is extremely high, especially for high-fidelity and large-scale quantum bit systems. At the same time, the operation and maintenance of quantum computers require professional technology and environment. The quantum computing cloud platform provides a low-cost way for universities, research institutes, enterprises, etc. to access quantum computing systems.

On the one hand, the cloud platform can quickly update and deploy the latest quantum computing technologies and algorithms, so that users can immediately experience the advantages brought by technological progress; on the other hand, when users try the cloud platform for application development and testing, they can feedback problems and needs to the platform provider to promote the iteration and optimization of technology. As a bridge connecting different quantum computing companies, scientific research institutions and corporate users, the quantum computing cloud platform promotes cooperation between quantum computing and various industries, and jointly promotes the development and application of quantum computing technology.

In May 2023, Quantum Shield released a new generation of quantum computing cloud platform, which was connected to the self-developed "Zu Chongzhi" 176-bit superconducting quantum computer. It not only refreshed the domestic cloud platform superconducting quantum computer bit record, but also became the world's first quantum computing cloud platform with the potential to achieve quantum superiority in the superconducting quantum route and open to the outside world. Quantum Shield said that in the future, it also plans to connect multiple high-performance quantum computers, mutual disaster recovery and iterative updates, so that the cloud platform hardware maintains the international advanced level.

In November 2023, Guodun Quantum assisted China Telecom Quantum Group's "Tianyan" quantum computing cloud platform and China Telecom's "Tianyi Cloud" supercomputing platform to connect and build a "supercomputing-quantum computing" hybrid computing architecture system.

(2) Main application scenarios of quantum computing

According to ICV data, the global quantum industry will reach US$4.7 billion in 2023, and the average annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2023 to 2028 is expected to reach 44.8%. Benefiting from the technological progress of general-purpose quantum computers and the widespread application of special-purpose quantum computers in specific fields, the total market size of the quantum computing industry is expected to reach US$811.7 billion by 2035.

As an emerging computing technology, quantum computing has shown breakthrough application potential in many fields such as finance, medicine, and chemical industry. Among them, the financial industry is a potential important application field of quantum computing. According to ICV forecasts, among the global downstream applications of quantum computing, the financial field will have the highest market share in 2035, reaching 51.9%, a significant increase from 15.8% in 2030. The second largest market is the pharmaceutical and chemical fields, at 20.5% and 14.2% respectively.

Quantum computing has been widely used in the financial sector, aiming to reduce costs and processing time. Currently, it mainly includes: risk management, derivative pricing, portfolio optimization, arbitrage trading and credit scoring.

Mainstream financial companies at home and abroad, such as JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, have established quantum departments to develop quantum financial applications; Benyuan Quantum and Xinhua Finance, China Economic Information Service, jointly released "Quantum Financial Applications", which was launched on the Xinhua Finance App and provided applications of quantum computing in portfolio optimization, derivative pricing, and risk analysis; China Construction Bank has actively explored and practiced the application of quantum information technology, established a quantum financial application laboratory, and cooperated with quantum security and quantum computing teams at home and abroad to carry out a series of forward-looking research and innovative explorations. China Construction Bank has launched quantum financial application algorithms such as "Quantum Bayesian Network Algorithm" and "Quantum Portfolio Optimization Algorithm", which have demonstrated the potential of quantum computing in risk analysis and portfolio optimization.

In medical research and development and chemical materials science, quantum computers can simulate complex chemical reactions and material properties, which is of great significance for discovering new drugs, new materials and optimizing chemical reaction processes.

New materials and new drugs have huge economic value, especially in the field of medicine. If quantum computing can replace the traditional trial and error method through computational analysis, it will not only greatly reduce the time for new drug development, but also save huge pharmaceutical development costs. To promote the application of quantum computing in pharmaceutical research and development and material science, it still needs to be combined with specific quantum algorithms.

In July 2022, BGI Life Sciences Institute cooperated with Quantum Spin Technology to explore the application of quantum computing in the field of life sciences. They used quantum algorithms to realize genome assembly, solved the problem of genome assembly, and used fewer quantum resources to simulate larger quantum systems, which made it possible to simulate large-scale systems in the NISQ era.

In March 2022, Turing Quantum used tensor network technology to speed up quantum AI drug design by 38 times through tensor contraction and merging, and launched a series of quantum AI application modules. Among them, the four major modules, QuOmics (genomics), QuChem (drug molecular structure design), QuDocking (drug virtual screening), and QuSynthesis (chemical molecule reverse synthesis), have achieved quantum algorithm enhancements to varying degrees.

In April 2021, Origin Quantum released the Origin quantum chemistry application system ChemiQ 2.0, which provides a foundation for the application of quantum computing in the field of chemistry and enables innovative applications of quantum computing in new medicines, new materials, new energy and other fields.

In the field of artificial intelligence, since quantum bits can be in multiple states, quantum neural networks can be used to process large-scale data sets and complex models. This will help improve the performance of artificial intelligence systems and drive artificial intelligence technology forward.

The combination of quantum computing and machine learning, using the advantage of quantum computers in processing large amounts of data to help machine learning break through the bottleneck of too many parameters, is an important research direction recently. IBM has added a machine learning module to the Qiskit architecture, combining the advantages of quantum computing and machine learning, using the advantages of quantum computers in processing big data, and establishing the future advantages of quantum machine learning models.

4. Quantum Communication and Security

As an important branch of quantum technology, quantum communication is a major breakthrough in information transmission technology. It is also the first quantum technology to enter the practical stage and the most mature. Quantum communication makes communication safer. Quantum communication, especially quantum secure communication, has basically been put into practical use. Based on quantum key distribution technology, quantum secure communication has many engineering applications in China. The downstream is the information security industry, and the industry is highly mature.

With the support of national policies, my country's quantum communication industry has developed rapidly in recent years and has reached the world's leading level. With the continuous participation of many outstanding enterprises and scientific research institutions, the quantum communication industry has also become the focus of attention in the primary and secondary markets.

4.1 The necessity of quantum secure communication

Quantum technology is considered the next milestone in science and technology. Quantum computing brings a leap in computing power, making it easy to deal with complex problems. Whether it is drug design, climate simulation, or optimizing large systems, quantum computing is expected to show its prowess. But this double-edged sword will also bring huge threats - it can crack most of today's encryption technology in an instant.

Traditional public key cryptography systems, such as RSA and ECC (elliptic curve cryptography), rely on the computational difficulty of integer factorization and discrete logarithm problems. It takes an extremely long time to crack them and they are very safe under existing technical conditions.

However, with the development of quantum computers, quantum algorithms such as Shor's algorithm have been found to be able to quickly crack these problems. Taking the most popular and widely used encryption algorithm, the RSA algorithm, as an example, the most common encryption is 2048-bit encryption (the longer the key length, the longer the cracking time), and the Shor algorithm can theoretically crack 2048-bit RSA encryption in just 8 hours, thus threatening the security of traditional public key cryptography.

The threat and concerns about quantum computers to traditional cryptography have been around for some time, but have not yet become a reality. The computing power of a quantum computer depends on the number of qubits that can be processed. Current quantum computers only have hundreds to a thousand noisy qubits, which are used to create a small number of stable and error-corrected qubits. To threaten traditional encryption technology, thousands of stable qubits are required, which may require millions of noisy qubits. Therefore, although the capabilities of quantum computers are developing rapidly, they have not yet reached the level of threatening classical encryption, but industry experts say that they may reach this level in the next 5-10 years or less.

Although the threat of quantum computing to traditional cryptography is still in the theoretical stage, one of the biggest problems at present is the forward security of sensitive information. Although quantum computing technology has not yet achieved a real breakthrough, a lot of encrypted sensitive information is circulating on the Internet, which means that criminals can steal encrypted data now and store it, and then decrypt it when quantum computing technology matures.

To address this problem, quantum communication security technologies such as quantum key distribution (QKD), post-quantum cryptography (PQC), quantum random number generator (QRNG), and quantum teleportation (QT) are currently being adopted. Among them, QKD is considered to be the only unconditionally secure communication method in theory, because the security of QKD keys is based on the laws of quantum physics, rather than the computational complexity of mathematical problems. my country has begun to build a quantum secure communication network based on QKD technology, and commercial applications are being continuously promoted, while the PQC algorithm is currently undergoing standardization demonstration.

4.2 Main Technologies of Quantum Secure Communication

Quantum computing is the "spear" and quantum secure communication is the "shield". Before the "second quantum technology revolution" officially arrives, the development of quantum secure communication technology provides new solutions for information security, especially in areas with high security requirements, such as government communications, financial transactions, and national defense security. With the continuous maturity of technology and the promotion of its application, quantum secure communication is expected to build a more secure and reliable communication network in the future.

(1) Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG)

A random number generator is a device or algorithm that can generate a sequence of random numbers. Random number generators are very important in cryptography and are used to generate encryption keys, initialization vectors (IVs), and other parameters that need to be kept secret. They ensure the security and unpredictability of the encryption process.

Random number generators are divided into true random number generators (TRNG) and pseudo-random number generators (PRNG). TRNG generally refers to randomness generated based on physical processes or natural phenomena, such as thermal noise of electronic devices, radioactive decay, photon arrival time, etc. Because they rely on unpredictable physical processes, they are considered "truly" random. PRNG uses a deterministic algorithm to generate a random sequence of numbers based on an initial state (seed) according to the algorithm rules.

Since the number of random numbers generated by TRNG per second is limited, TRNG is usually used as the "seed" of PRNG to generate a true and non-repeatable random number sequence. Although PRNG is also called a random number generator, it is actually highly predictable as long as the algorithm and seed state are known. Therefore, finding the perfect TRNG has always been an important research direction.

The quantum random number generator (QRNG) is a perfect TRNG. QRNG uses the quantum random superposition of quantum mechanics and the probability characteristics of the quantum world to produce a truly random key. Since the quantum mechanism of QRNG has been fully mastered and understood, the quantum components that generate random numbers have been used in information encryption. The current main research and development direction of QRNG is to produce more economical, faster and more miniaturized quantum random chips.

(2) Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)

Quantum key distribution (QKD) uses quantum states to carry information and share keys between communicating parties through specific protocols. This technology applies the basic properties of quantum mechanics to ensure that any attempt to steal the key in transmission will be discovered by the legitimate user, thus achieving the only unconditionally secure communication method in theory to date.

The key to quantum key distribution (QKD) is to use matter in quantum state as a password, and quantum state has the following two key characteristics, thus ensuring the secure transmission of information:

First, the measurement of a quantum state will change its state: According to the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, measuring a quantum state will cause its state to change. If someone tries to steal information in transit, they must measure the quantum state, which will affect the quantum system and be detected by legitimate users.

Second, the non-cloning of quantum states: According to the principles of quantum mechanics, it is impossible to perfectly copy an unknown quantum state. This means that the complete information of the quantum state cannot be stolen during the transmission process, ensuring the security of the information.

At present, quantum secure communication technology mainly uses QKD network to achieve secure key distribution, and then combines it with symmetric cryptography technology to ensure the secure transmission of information. In simple terms, it is to add light quantum state sending and receiving devices that can replace the functions of common optical modules at both ends of single-mode optical fiber to achieve secure communication based on physical encryption.

QKD technology is the key technology to realize quantum communication, but with various secure QKD protocols, quantum networks with fast speed and long transmission distance are also an indispensable part of realizing quantum communication. Although quantum communication technology has initially become practical under the promotion of QKD and other solutions, transmission distance and cost are still factors that restrict the application and industrial development of the entire industry. Commercial, fiber-based point-to-point QKD is limited in transmission distance, while satellite-to-ground QKD long-distance transmission requires expensive components such as satellites. The future development goal of quantum communication is to establish a wide-area quantum communication network system covering the world, and related technologies still need further breakthroughs.

(3) Quantum Teleportation (QT)

Quantum teleportation (QT) is a method of information transmission based on the principles of quantum mechanics. It allows the state of a quantum system (such as a quantum bit) to be accurately transmitted from one location (usually called the "sender") to another location (usually called the "receiver") without a physical transmission medium. Quantum teleportation does not involve the instantaneous movement of matter itself, but the instantaneous transfer of quantum information.

The realization of quantum teleportation is based on the following quantum mechanics principles:

Quantum Entanglement: There is a special connection between two or more quantum particles. Even if they are far apart, a change in the state of one particle will immediately affect the states of other entangled particles.

No-Cloning Theorem: It is impossible to make a perfect copy of an unknown quantum state.

Quantum Measurement: Measurement of a quantum system will lead to the collapse of the state, and the measurement results are usually random.

The basic steps of quantum teleportation include:

a. Prepare a pair of entangled particles and send one to the receiving end and leave the other at the sending end.

b. Perform a specific joint measurement on the quantum bit to be transmitted and the entangled particle at the sending end. This measurement will cause the information of the quantum bit to be transferred to the entangled particle at the receiving end, but this process is random and will destroy the original quantum bit state.

c. Send the results of the joint measurement (classical information) to the receiving end via ordinary communication channels (such as telephone or Internet).

d. Based on the received classical information, the receiver performs a series of quantum operations on the entangled particles it possesses to reconstruct the original quantum bit state.

Through this process, the quantum information at the sender is "teleported" to the receiver. It is important to note that quantum teleportation does not allow for superluminal communication, because reconstructing the original state requires relying on information transmitted through the classical communication channel, and this transmission rate is limited by the speed of light.

Quantum teleportation is currently mainly studied in laboratory environments. Quantum teleportation is a key technology for realizing long-distance quantum communication and quantum networks, and is expected to play an important role in the future quantum Internet.

(4) Post-quantum cryptography (PQC)

PQC technology refers to the research and development of encryption algorithms that can resist attacks from quantum computers. At present, a variety of cryptographic techniques and algorithms have been developed in the field of PQC and quantum cryptography to counter the threat of quantum computing, with the focus on avoiding the use of integer factorization and discrete logarithm problems to encrypt data. Specific methods include lattice-based cryptography, hash-based cryptography, code-based cryptography, and multivariate-based cryptography.

Among them, lattice-based encryption technology is considered to be the most prominent and reliable at present. In the PQC standardization work with the greatest global influence led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), three of the four standardized algorithms selected in 2023 are based on lattice-based encryption technology.

Although the new post-quantum cryptography can resist the cracking of Shor's quantum algorithm, it is not foolproof. On the one hand, although these post-quantum cryptography problems seem difficult to crack at present, new methods to solve these problems may be discovered in the future; on the other hand, the actual implementation of the post-quantum cryptographic algorithm may also have defects or errors in parameter selection, which may become potential security vulnerabilities.

It is reported that the security of the PQC algorithm has expanded from theoretical mathematical vulnerabilities to practical application levels. The Kyber Key Encapsulation Mechanism (KEM), one of the standardized algorithms nominated by NIST, has successively exposed security vulnerabilities in responding to side channel attacks in 2023.

The emergence of actual attacks emphasizes the importance of timely checking and fixing potential vulnerabilities when deploying PQC algorithms, prompting the continuous improvement and evolution of PQC algorithms to improve security in real application scenarios.

Cryptography plays a very important role in national security. In order to maintain the security of the digital world, PQC technology needs to be continuously developed and updated to adapt to new threats at any time.

4.3 Quantum Communication Network and Quantum Internet

(1) Construction of quantum communication security network in my country

The core equipment of quantum secure communication network includes QKD products, channel and key networking exchange products, etc. The quantum secure communication networks that can be realized at present include local area network, metropolitan area network and backbone network.

The local area network enables access to multiple terminals within a unit or location, and has low distance requirements; the metropolitan area network is responsible for connecting different areas within the city, connecting to the backbone network above and the local area network below; and the backbone network realizes cross-provincial and cross-city connections (including terrestrial optical fiber and satellite-ground station implementation methods). At this stage, terrestrial optical fiber is mainly used, and has high distance requirements.

In August 2016, my country successfully launched the world's first quantum science experimental satellite, Micius, becoming the first country in the world to achieve quantum communication between satellites and the ground, and fully verified the feasibility of using satellite platforms to achieve global quantum communication.

In 2018, with the approval of the National Development and Reform Commission, Guoke Quantum Communication Network Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, undertook the task of building the first phase of the national wide-area quantum secure communication backbone network, which will be fully connected and passed acceptance in 2022. The national quantum backbone network covers important national strategic regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin Cities Economic Circle. The total mileage of the ground trunk line exceeds 10,000 kilometers. It is the world's first and currently the only large-scale wide-area quantum network.

In June 2023, at the Fifth Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development High-level Forum, the results of the construction of the Yangtze River Delta regional quantum secure communication backbone network built and operated by Guoke Quantum were released. The total mileage of the Yangtze River Delta regional quantum secure communication backbone network line is about 2,860 kilometers, forming a ring network with Hefei and Shanghai as the core nodes, connecting Nanjing, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Jinhua, Wuhu and other cities.

In terms of metropolitan area network, in August 2022, Hefei, Anhui Province opened the Hefei Quantum Metropolitan Area Network, which was the largest, most widely covered and most widely used quantum metropolitan area network in the country at that time. It includes 8 core network nodes and 159 access network nodes, with a total length of 1,147 kilometers of optical fiber.

At present, 20 to 30 cities have their own quantum metropolitan area networks, and the construction of quantum backbone networks is expected to accelerate the construction of metropolitan area networks in corresponding supporting cities. Taking Shanghai as an example, at the Shanghai Industrial Technology Innovation Conference held on March 22, 2024, Shanghai Telecom stated that it plans to build a quantum secure communication metropolitan area network in Shanghai, and it is expected to complete the first phase of construction in 2024, thus becoming the benchmark example of the country's first practical quantum communication network.

The investment in the construction of the quantum backbone network and the size of the entire project are quite large, but the current quantum network applications and customer groups are relatively small compared to traditional projects. Therefore, the subsequent quantum application part still requires the joint efforts of various industries to promote and accelerate the construction of the entire quantum network.

In accordance with the "four new" (new track, new technology, new platform, and new mechanism) standards, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council recently selected and determined the first batch of start-up enterprises to accelerate the layout of new fields and new tracks, cultivate and develop new quality productivity, and focus on emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum information, and biomedicine.

Earlier in January 2024, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovation and Development of Future Industries", proposing to proactively deploy new tracks and promote the industrialization and application of next-generation mobile communications, satellite Internet, quantum information and other technologies.

The intensive issuance of relevant policies reflects my country's recognition of the importance of quantum communication technology, provides strong policy support for the development of the industry, and is expected to push China's quantum communication industry to new heights in the future.

(2) Quantum Internet

The Quantum Internet is a new communication network concept based on quantum information technology. It uses the principles of quantum mechanics to achieve data generation, storage, transmission and processing. Different from the traditional Internet based on classical physics principles, the core of the quantum Internet is to use quantum bits and quantum entanglement characteristics to provide more secure and efficient communication capabilities.

In addition to being able to transmit quantum information absolutely securely, the quantum Internet can also use quantum sensors and quantum computers to engage in quantum precision measurement, quantum digital visas, distributed quantum computing, etc.

The quantum Internet has three key points: first, the devices connected to the network are quantum devices; second, the network transmits quantum information; and third, the way the network transmits information is based on quantum mechanics.

Although some quantum communication satellites and ground base stations have been built and cross-regional quantum key distribution has been successfully achieved, building a global quantum Internet still faces huge technical and engineering challenges, and requires solving security issues and long-distance transmission problems under realistic conditions.

At present, the safe distance for point-to-point QKD using optical fiber reaches about 100 kilometers. Under existing technology, the distance of quantum communication can be effectively extended through trusted repeaters.

In 2017, my country's quantum secure communication trunk line, the "Beijing-Shanghai Trunk Line", passed through 32 relay nodes, connected the approximately 2,000-kilometer inter-city optical fiber quantum network and successfully docked with the quantum satellite "Micius", forming the world's first satellite-to-ground quantum Internet.

In January 2018, China and Austria achieved intercontinental quantum key distribution over a distance of 7,600 kilometers for the first time, and used shared keys to achieve encrypted data transmission and video communication, indicating that "Mozi" has the ability to achieve intercontinental quantum secure communication.

The invention of the Internet brought humanity into the information age, and quantum Internet will provide an opportunity to change the world. Major countries around the world are actively planning for it. In August 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy released a report titled "Establishing a National Quantum Network to Lead a New Era of Communications," proposing a strategic blueprint for building a national quantum Internet within 10 years.

In general, commercial quantum computers have not yet been put into large-scale applications, and the quantum Internet connecting quantum computers is still a future concept. The QKD quantum secure communication network currently promoted by various countries is the prototype of the quantum Internet. The ultimate goal of the quantum Internet is to integrate quantum computing, quantum measurement and other functions.

4.4 Applications of quantum communication

According to ICV's forecast, the global quantum communication market size will be approximately US$2.3 billion in 2021, and is expected to grow to US$15.3 billion by 2025 and US$42.1 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of approximately 34% from 2021 to 2030.

The quantum communication industry chain is mainly divided into upstream components and core equipment, midstream network transmission lines and system platforms, and downstream security application markets. At present, the quantum communication market is still in the stage of communication network infrastructure construction, and core equipment and solutions are still the key to the industry chain. According to ICV data, the market size of core equipment and solutions in the upstream and midstream is expected to reach 80% in 2025, about US$12.24 billion.

Judging from the current construction of quantum communication infrastructure in my country, the construction of more than 12,000 kilometers of quantum backbone network has been completed. According to the overall plan, there may be nearly 20,000 kilometers of backbone network construction in the future, involving Beijing to Lanzhou, Zhangjiakou, Xi'an and other places.

As my country's quantum communication network infrastructure is further improved, downstream commercial applications are also worth looking forward to. According to ICV Consulting data, the market size of downstream quantum communication applications is about US$230 million in 2021, and is expected to reach US$3.06 billion in 2025 and US$11.788 billion in 2030, with a CAGR of about 54.87% from 2021 to 2030.

At present, quantum secure communication is still limited to the fields of national defense, finance, government affairs, etc. In the future, the quantum communication industry will empower more downstream scenarios, and related companies are actively exploring more commercial application areas.

Among them, Guodun Quantum, together with its partners, integrated quantum security technology with big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence to jointly promote the "quantum +" industry ecosystem. Guodun Quantum and China Telecom jointly launched products and services such as "quantum security OTN dedicated line" and "quantum encrypted intercom". The number of users of quantum secret talk services has now reached more than one million; Guodun Quantum and its shareholding company Zhejiang Guodun Electric Power have carried out "quantum + 5G" application demonstrations in the power field, and the first "quantum + substation" in Zhejiang Province has been put into operation in Shaoxing; cooperate with companies such as DingTalk (China) to jointly develop a series of security office products such as the "quantum security application portal".

As quantum key distribution (QKD) networking technology matures and terminal devices become more mobile and miniaturized, the application of quantum secure communications will expand to telecommunications networks, enterprise networks, personal home networks and other fields.

5. Quantum Precision Measurement

Quantum precision measurement technology is based on the theory of quantum mechanics. It adopts technical principles such as particle energy level transition, quantum entanglement, quantum coherence, etc. to prepare, measure and read the quantum states of microscopic particles such as atoms and photons, and achieves high-accuracy and precision measurement of physical parameters such as magnetic field, frequency, electric field, time, length and other physical parameters.

5.1 Definition of quantum precision measurement

Important technical means of quantum precision measurement include: measurement based on the energy levels of microscopic particles, quantum coherence superposition measurement and quantum entanglement measurement, which are also the basic properties of quantum mechanics.

(1) Based on the measurement of microscopic particle energy levels

According to Bohr's atomic theory, when atoms transition from a high "energy state" to a low "energy state", they release electromagnetic waves. The characteristic frequency of this electromagnetic wave is discontinuous. When the physical quantity to be measured interacts with the quantum system, the quantum system undergoes changes such as energy level transition, energy level splitting or degeneracy. At this time, the quantum system will radiate or absorb the spectrum, and the energy of the radiation or absorption spectrum is related to the physical quantity being measured. The technology based on the measurement of microscopic particle energy levels has high requirements for the external environment (such as temperature, magnetic field, etc.) and relies on the manipulation technology of quantum states. For example, in 1967, 9192631770 times the electron energy level transition period in cesium atoms was defined as 1s, which applied the technical principle of microscopic particle energy levels.

(2) Based on quantum coherence measurement

The measurement technology based on quantum coherence mainly utilizes the wave characteristics of quantum systems. The physical quantity to be measured has different effects on the two atomic beams. When the two atomic beams interfere, the physical quantity to be measured is reflected in the phase difference of the atomic beams. Atomic gyroscopes, gravity gradiometers, etc. use technical principles based on quantum coherence. Technical means based on quantum coherence have been applied in the fields of gravity detection and inertial navigation. The next development trend is to move towards miniaturization and chipization to enhance the practicality of the system.

(3) Measurement based on quantum entanglement

The measurement technology based on quantum entanglement is to put n quanta in an entangled state, and the effects of the external environment on these n quanta will be coherently superimposed, so that the final measurement accuracy reaches 1/n of a single quantum. This accuracy breaks through the shot noise limit of classical mechanics and is the highest accuracy that can be achieved within the scope of quantum mechanics theory - the Heisenberg limit. At present, the application fields of measurement technology based on quantum entanglement include quantum communication, quantum satellite navigation, quantum radar, etc.

Simply put, quantum precision measurement uses the characteristics of quantum superposition and quantum entanglement to break through the classical limits of traditional measurement technology from the basic principles, and to raise various changes in the environment, such as temperature, magnetic field, pressure, time, length, weight and other basic physical quantities and derived quantities, to the quantum limit.

5.2 Current Status and Difficulties of Quantum Precision Measurement Technology

Among the three major fields of quantum information, quantum measurement has the characteristics of diversified technical directions, rich application scenarios, and clear industrialization prospects. The development maturity of various technical directions of quantum measurement varies greatly. There are mature commercial products such as atomic clocks and atomic gravimeters, as well as prototype products such as quantum magnetometers, optical quantum radars and quantum gyroscopes that are in the engineering research and development and application exploration stage, and prototypes such as quantum correlation imaging and Rydberg atomic antennas that are still in the process of system technology research.

The advancement of quantum precision measurement technology requires cross-integration and innovation in multiple fields such as quantum physics, materials science, optics, and electronics. It faces many technical difficulties, mainly including:

(1) Generation and maintenance of quantum entanglement: Quantum entanglement is a key resource in quantum precision measurement. However, it is not easy to generate high-quality entangled states in experiments, and entangled states can easily be disentangled (i.e., decoherence) due to interference from the external environment.

(2) Decoherence and noise control: Quantum systems are very fragile and easily affected by the external environment, resulting in decoherence of quantum states. At the same time, various noise sources, such as thermal noise and electromagnetic noise, will also interfere with the measurement results. Therefore, to achieve high-precision measurements, it is necessary to control noise and decoherence very well.

(3) Detector efficiency and resolution: Quantum precision measurement often requires high-efficiency and high-resolution detectors to detect quantum states. Current detectors still have room for improvement, especially in terms of detection efficiency and time resolution.

(4) System calibration and error analysis: In order to ensure the accuracy of the measurement, the quantum measurement system needs to be accurately calibrated. In addition, the error analysis of the measurement results is also very complicated and needs to consider multiple factors such as systematic error and statistical error.

(5) Manipulation of quantum states: Quantum precision measurement often requires precise manipulation of quantum states, including the preparation of specific quantum states and the realization of precise quantum state conversion. These operations require extremely high experimental techniques.

(6) Development of materials and devices: The production of materials and devices for quantum precision measurement, such as quantum dots and superconducting quantum interferometers, must not only meet the requirements of quantum measurement, but also have stability and repeatability. This is a challenge in both materials science and device engineering.

(7) Scalability of large-scale quantum systems: Although we have been able to achieve relatively precise control of small-scale quantum systems, it remains a huge challenge to expand these technologies to large-scale systems in order to obtain higher-precision measurement results.

With the continuous development of quantum technology, these difficulties will be gradually overcome, thus promoting the expansion of quantum precision measurement into practical application areas. The international metrology system is in the process of transforming from physical standards based on classical physics to "quantum standards".

The "Metrology Development Plan (2021-2035)" issued by the State Council in 2021 and the "14th Five-Year Plan for Market Supervision Modernization" issued by the State Council in 2022 both clearly mentioned the need to establish a national modern advanced measurement system with quantum metrology as the core, to develop quantum metrology benchmarks, to study quantum metrology technologies based on quantum effects and physical constants, and to promote the upgrading of metrology standards.

5.3 Applications of Quantum Precision Measurement

According to ICV data, the global quantum precision measurement market is expected to grow from US$1.47 billion in 2023 to US$3.90 billion in 2035, showing an upward trend with a compound annual growth rate of 7.79%. Among them, the three major sub-segments of quantum clocks, quantum gravimeters & gradiometers, and quantum magnetometers have a large market size, accounting for about 85% of the quantum precision measurement market.

(1) Quantum clock

As a relatively mature quantum precision measurement product, atomic clocks have highly accurate and stable time measurement capabilities. Currently, optical atomic clock technology is rapidly expanding its application areas, covering multiple industries such as railway mobile communications, data centers, national defense, and scientific measurement. This trend shows that optical atomic clocks not only have excellent performance in scientific laboratories, but are also gradually moving towards practical applications, providing accurate time measurement and synchronization services for different industries.

Quantum clocks can play an important role in many fields due to their extremely high stability and accuracy. The following are some of the main application scenarios:

Global Positioning System (GPS) and Satellite Navigation: Quantum clocks could be used to improve the accuracy of GPS and other satellite navigation systems. Since these systems rely on precise time measurements to calculate location information, quantum clocks could greatly improve their performance and reliability.

Scientific research: Physics experiments, especially those involving measuring extremely small differences in time, can benefit from the high accuracy and stability of quantum clocks. This includes measurements of fundamental physical constants, precision quantum experiments, astrophysical observations, and exploration of the fundamental laws of the universe.

Communication networks: Quantum clocks can improve the accuracy of network synchronization, which is essential for maintaining the reliability of high-speed data transmission and communication systems. As data centers and network infrastructure continue to expand, the demand for time synchronization is also growing.

Financial transactions: In the financial industry, transactions require precise time stamping. The accuracy of quantum clocks can be used to improve the transparency and fairness of trading systems, especially in high-frequency trading.

Military and Defense: Precise time measurement is critical to modern military communications, navigation, intelligence gathering, and weapons systems. Quantum clocks could improve the performance and accuracy of these systems.

Quantum computing and quantum information: Quantum clocks could also play an important role in quantum computers and quantum communications, which rely on precisely controlling and measuring the state of quantum bits (qubits).

Geophysics and climate monitoring: Quantum clocks are expected to be used to more accurately monitor Earth's rotation, crustal movement, and sea level changes, data that are critical to understanding and predicting climate change and natural disasters.

Deep space exploration: In deep space missions, quantum clocks can provide more precise navigation and control, helping spacecraft to travel long distances in the universe.

According to ICV data, the quantum clock market will show a steady growth trend from 2023 to 2035, with the market size increasing from US$580 million in 2023 to US$1.21 billion, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.77%.

(2) Quantum Gravimeter

A quantum gravimeter is a high-precision instrument that uses the principles of quantum mechanics to measure the Earth's gravitational field. These devices typically use clouds of ultracold atoms to detect tiny changes in the gravitational field by making precise measurements of the atoms' free-falling motion. The working principle of a quantum gravimeter is based on quantum interference, a quantum physics phenomenon in which the wave functions (or states) of atoms are split, shifted, and recombined to produce measurable interference patterns.

As the demand for accurate measurement of gravity fields and gravity gradients in scientific research and engineering applications continues to increase, quantum gravimeters and quantum gravity gradiometers have been widely used in the following fields due to their high dynamic scene reliability and zero drift.

Geophysical research: detection of crustal movement, earthquake monitoring, volcanic activity research, groundwater level measurement, etc.

Mineral and oil exploration: Determine the density distribution of underground rocks to help discover mineral resources and oil fields.

Engineering and Construction: In construction projects, gravity changes are monitored to assess the stability of foundations.

Defense and national security: The high-precision measurement capabilities of quantum gravimeters have potential applications in the defense sector, such as for underwater navigation and detection of underground structures.

Navigation Systems: Provides precise inertial navigation information for submarines or other vehicles that require accurate ground reference data.

At present, quantum gravimeters and gradiometers are mainly used in the military field. According to ICV data, in 2023, military defense will account for 44% of the market share, followed by research, accounting for 33%, and the civilian market related to oil and gas exploration will account for 23%.

As the technology continues to mature and the downstream application market continues to expand, the price and performance of the product will play a key role, and the civilian market will bring about a strong growth trend in the quantum gravimeter and quantum gravity gradient meter market. The market size will grow rapidly from US$170 million in 2023 to US$1.07 billion in 2035, with a compound annual growth rate of 15.21%, demonstrating the huge potential of this field.

(3) Quantum magnetometer

A quantum magnetometer is an instrument that uses quantum effects to measure the strength of a magnetic field. They are typically more sensitive than conventional magnetometers and can detect extremely weak magnetic fields. The basic principle of how a quantum magnetometer works is that when the quantum states of certain substances (usually atoms or electrons) are affected by an external magnetic field, their energy levels change. By accurately measuring these energy level changes, the strength of the magnetic field can be inferred.

In the current quantum magnetometer market, technological diversity is a notable feature. Various technologies, including proton magnetometer, SQUID magnetometer, OPM magnetometer, SERF magnetometer, NV color center magnetometer, etc., all play unique advantages in different application scenarios. This makes the market present diversified and wide-ranging choices in technology.

Quantum magnetometers have high sensitivity and accuracy and are widely used in many fields. The following are some of the main application scenarios:

Geophysical Exploration: Quantum magnetometers can be used to detect magnetic minerals, such as iron ore, underground, helping geologists identify mineral resources. In addition, they can also be used to monitor changes in the Earth's magnetic field to predict earthquakes and other geological events.

Medical imaging: In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quantum magnetometers can help improve the resolution and quality of imaging. In addition, they can also be used in magnetic particle imaging (MPI), an emerging imaging technology that is expected to become a radiation-free medical imaging method in the future.

Biological research: Quantum magnetometers can be used to measure weak magnetic fields in living organisms, for example, to monitor magnetic field changes in the heart to study heart disease, or to track signal conduction in the nervous system.

Military and Security: In the military field, quantum magnetometers can be used to detect submarines, mines or other hidden metal objects. In addition, they can also be used to prevent eavesdropping and surveillance by spy equipment.

Space and astrophysics: Quantum magnetometers can detect weak magnetic fields in space, helping to study phenomena such as the solar wind, planetary magnetic fields, and interstellar magnetic fields.

Basic physics research: In experimental physics, quantum magnetometers can be used to detect extremely weak magnetic fields, which is crucial for research in fields such as particle physics, quantum physics, and condensed matter physics.

Industrial applications: Quantum magnetometers can be used for non-destructive testing, such as detecting tiny cracks and corrosion in pipelines, aircraft and bridges to ensure the safety of these structures.

Quantum magnetometers are increasingly used in scientific research, especially in physics, earth sciences and biomedicine. At the same time, in the industrial field, quantum magnetometers are widely used in magnetic material testing, electronic manufacturing, etc. The expansion of these applications has further promoted the growth of the market size.

According to ICV data, the quantum magnetometer market will show a steady growth trend in 2023-2035, from US$480 million in 2023 to US$1.0 billion in 2035. This growth trend is mainly driven by the continuous demand for high-precision magnetic measurement in scientific research, industrial fields and other fields.

VI. A Panorama of Quantum Technology Investment

6.1 Quantum Technology Company Map

(1) Major companies in the field of quantum computing

(2) Major companies in the field of quantum communication

(3) Major companies in the field of quantum measurement

6.2 Evaluation of major domestic quantum technology companies

References to this report

[1] Zhang Qingrui, “Quantum Megatrends”

[2] iCV & Photon Box, “Global Quantum Computing Industry Development Outlook 2024”

[3] iCV & Photon Box, "Global Quantum Communication and Security Industry Development Outlook 2024"

[4] iCV & Photon Box, "Global Quantum Precision Measurement Industry Development Outlook 2024"

[5] Dongwu Securities, “Quantum Information: The Next Information Revolution”

the data shows

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Editor-in-Chief: Qian Kun

Chief Writer: Wang Yuanli

Editor: Huang Yu

Reviewed by: Qian Kun and Huang Yu

Visual: Fu Lele

Coordinator: Zhu Guoquan, Zhou Jin

Contact: Wang [email protected]