Two Chinese semiconductor companies have agreed to jointly set up a
laboratory for quantum chips to develop low-temperature integrated
circuit technology, aiming to build a complete production chain for the
crucial high-tech component of the future that is currently dominated by
foreign industry leaders, a source at one of the companies confirmed to
the Global Times on Sunday. Industry insiders said that mass
production of such chips can't be realized within a short time or make
China self-sufficient in the traditional semiconductor field, but it is
critical to start research and development (R&D) to avoid
overreliance on foreign supplies again in the future. Origin
Quantum Computing Co and Nexchip Semiconductor Corp will be the
co-developers of the quantum chip facility based in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, according to a scientist at Origin. Quantum chips
around the world are still only at the R&D stage, and China is also
in the initial stages. Mass production is still far off, the scientist
told the Global Times on Sunday on the condition of anonymity. "The
purpose of the laboratory is to catch up to foreign enterprises. From
the lab to the market, the industry estimates it could take eight to 10
years, perhaps more," Zhang Xiaorong, director of the Cutting-Edge
Technology Research Institute, told the Global Times on Sunday. Intel
has been researching quantum chips for more than a decade but remains
in the research stage. China lags behind in terms of technology and
related industries. It will take China even more time to realize mass
production, said the scientist. The scientist revealed that the
laboratory will use 55-nanometer technology to develop quantum chips in
China, which lags behind global leading technologies in the area. For
instance, in 2019, Intel introduced a cryogenic control chip, which was
fabricated using Intel's 22-nm technology, to speed up the development
of full-stack quantum computing systems, according to Intel. "China
has to start R&D on quantum chips and quantum computing. Otherwise,
it may face the pain of a lack of core technology in chips again, as it
does today. Therefore, even if the period for R&D is very long,
maybe with no economic benefit in the short term, China can't fall
behind," the scientist noted. Quantum chips mainly refer to the
processors of quantum computers, namely quantum CPUs, rather than the
chips traditionally used in various fields. The development of quantum
chips uses traditional chip manufacturing processes. But analysts said that quantum chips should be the future direction for all kinds of chips. "Today's
chipmaking process has reached its limits at the 1-nanometer level,
which means that computing power is nearing its limit. Quantum computing
is the hope of breaking this traditional computing limit," the
scientist noted. "The theory of quantum computing is mature, but
the technology for making chips is far from maturity, and the
manufacturing process is very difficult," Zhang added. For
example, the temperature needs to be close to absolute zero for a
quantum chip, so the cooling device needs be huge, compared with a small
fan as the cooling equipment for chips in today's personal computers or
laptops. Many low-end chips, which don't even need a fan, can be cooled
using normal ventilation. However, as firms are rushing to field
of quantum chips, analysts urged caution after recent failed projects
in the chip industry such as the fallout of Wuhan Hongxin Semiconductor
Manufacturing Co. "Don't rush to an industry with a bright future
blindly," Wang Peng, an associate professor at the Gaoling School of
Artificial Intelligence at Renmin University of China, told the Global
Times on Sunday.
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