China produces -273 degree C quantum computer refrigerator

Origin Quantum has released a dilution refrigerator, a key component in superconducting quantum computers that can reach temperatures close to absolute zero.

China has made a breakthrough in the cooling capacity of quantum systems as a dilution refrigerator independently developed by a company in Hefei, Anhui Province, has just been shipped, CGTN reported on October 18.

Dilution refrigerator manufactured by quantum computing technology company Origin Quantum. (Photo: Ecns).

Dilution refrigerators , one of the key devices in superconducting quantum computers, can provide an environment with extremely low temperatures, close to absolute zero. Absolute zero is the lowest temperature that can be theoretically achieved, equivalent to -273.15 degrees Celsius. In addition to the field of quantum computing, dilution refrigerators are also widely used in advanced technology fields such as condensed matter physics, materials science, and deep space exploration.

The newly produced refrigerator can reach a temperature of 12 millikelvin (-273.138 degrees Celsius), has a cooling time of less than 40 hours, and can recover to its original temperature within 24 hours, meeting the requirements for superconducting quantum computing, according to Zhang Junfeng, a researcher at the Anhui Quantum Computing Engineering Research Center.

Origin Quantum, a quantum computing technology company, has independently developed a new dilution refrigerator. It is the first Chinese quantum computing company to produce a superconducting quantum computer in 2021, making China the third country in the world capable of providing a complete quantum computer, after the United States and Canada.

China has recently made great strides in developing quantum computers. According to a study published on October 10 in the journal Physical Review Letters , the new quantum computer prototype, JiuZhang 3, can solve extremely complex problems in a millionth of a second.