Chapter 77
Yenching University Academician Fan Ji'an's team officially announced a programmable quantum computing chip, achieving a quantum walk simulation of 298 images!
Chinese research team achieves another brilliant breakthrough: quantum chip is about to be unveiled!
"Taking a shortcut to success! New quantum computing chip successfully developed"
China's domestically developed quantum chip has been unveiled, potentially bringing new opportunities.
Overnight, Fan Ji'an and his quantum chip achievements spread like wildfire across the country, dominating the trending topics on major social media apps like Weibo and becoming a hot topic of discussion.
Wow! This is something I've never seen in my lifetime!
"Great! We finally have our own high-end chips!"
"Is the news true? It feels a bit sudden."
"It feels sudden because you haven't been paying attention to this kind of news. Academician Fan Ji'an's team has been researching chips for many years."
"Yes, we must have broken through the bottleneck some time ago. In just a few months, we released several results. Success was a natural outcome."
"Right now, we can only keep it in the laboratory. Without EUV lithography machines, how can we get it onto the production line?"
"But at least it gives us more leverage in international competition."
"I still have higher expectations for Ji Zhixing's photonic chip, otherwise we will ultimately be constrained by others because of EUV lithography machines."
"But photonic chips are still a long way off, and we don't even know how feasible they are, while quantum chips have been a real success."
The newly developed quantum chip has sparked heated discussions both online and offline, and Fan Ji'an has been hailed as a technological pioneer and national hero, reaching the pinnacle of his reputation.
The noise outside somewhat affected Deng Yi and others in the photonic chip project team.
As Chinese people, they are naturally pleased to see the success of domestically produced high-end chips. However, given Fan Ji'an's style of doing things, coupled with his discord with Professor Gao Xiao, their photonic chip project may soon be suppressed—Professor Gao Xiao was called away early this morning and hasn't returned yet.
Deng and the others continued their experiments, but they couldn't help but glance towards the door from time to time.
Ji Zhixing sat at the door, engrossed in reading a copy of "Chinese Science".
Yesterday, after learning that the latest issue of *China Science* had published Fan Ji'an's latest research findings, he immediately read it. He initially thought it was just another milestone, but it turned out to be a mature achievement in chip applications.
From yesterday to today, Ji Zhixing has studied this paper carefully several times. He couldn't find any problems, but he still felt that something was very wrong.
It's not that he's resentful of lagging behind; in fact, if his emergence, like a catfish, has stimulated Fan Ji'an's research motivation and fostered healthy competition in the chip industry, then it might not be a bad thing. As long as China can independently develop high-end chips, what does it matter who makes them?
However, the competition between the two teams was far from reaching a fever pitch. Given Fan Ji'an's style of doing things, why would he be in such a hurry to reveal his final trump card?
Moreover, this groundbreaking paper was published in the journal *Chinese Science*.
In the past, Fan Ji'an's papers in the field of chips were published in Science or Nature, but he never chose the more professional journals in the field of chips, such as Review of Modern Physics and Physics Reports.
The reason for this is simply the impact factor. Journals like *Reviews of Modern Physics* and *Physics Reports* have impact factors in the 20s, while *Science* and *Nature* have impact factors in the 60s.
Although the impact factor of "Chinese Science" has continued to grow to 13.879, it is still incomparable to "Science" and "Nature".
Given Fan Ji'an's character, Ji Zhixing found it hard to believe that he harbored any enthusiasm for building a Chinese journal system.
Therefore, all these anomalies made Ji Zhixing harbor persistent doubts about the authenticity of Fan Ji'an's trump card.
Deep down, he hoped that Fan Ji'an's quantum chip technology was genuine. Because, given Fan Ji'an's influence and authority in China's chip industry, if his quantum chip had flaws, the consequences would be dire.
If this scandal breaks out, the domestic chip market will undoubtedly suffer a severe blow, with incalculable economic and political losses. The harm will be even greater than that of the "Hanxin" chip scandal of that year.
However, due to the lack of EUV lithography machines, quantum chips will have to wait to go from the laboratory to the production line, and in the short term, he has no way to distinguish their authenticity by market reaction.
Ji Zhixing turned the page and began studying the paper again from the beginning.
"Single-chip white light design based on the mixed spectrum of the c-plane and semi-polar plane of multi-wavelength stacked InGaN/GaN multi-quantum-well structure..."
Yes, this part should be fine. Yesterday, he simulated the carrier concentration of a dual-wavelength stacked c-plane InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) light-emitting diode in the System Space Lab, and the results were consistent with the paper's conclusions.
"Controlling the distribution of charge carriers, especially empty space, in the active region of the quantum well enables the modulation of the emission peak ratio of dual wavelengths..."
He wasn't entirely clear on the experimental procedure for this part, but he explored and studied spontaneous recombination rate and polarization electric field on his own. By adjusting the thickness of the well layer and barrier layer of the dual-wavelength stacked InGaN multiple quantum wells, it was possible to achieve the results described in the paper.
As Ji Zhixing watched, he couldn't help but start pulling out his hair again.
Quantum chips and photonic chips are fundamentally different in their underlying logic. Therefore, although he is currently making great strides in photonic chip development, his expertise in quantum chips is certainly far inferior to Fan Ji'an's. Even Professor Gao Xiao is below Fan Ji'an. Or rather, it could be said that in the field of quantum chips, no one in China can surpass him.
Ji Zhixing genuinely hoped that Fan Ji'an's quantum chip was real, but if it was fake, he also hoped to discover the problem as soon as possible to avoid causing greater harm.
My conflicted thoughts were interrupted by a phone ringing.
Ji Zhixing turned around and saw Yu Zhuli walking out of the lab next door, holding her phone. He vaguely heard Yu Zhuli address the person on the other end of the line as "Director Jiao".
Ji Zhixing thought for a moment, and realized that the director surnamed Jiao at Yan University seemed to be the director of the Academic Affairs Office. He hadn't thought too much about it at first, but Yu Zhuli's voice grew louder and louder not far away, her tone unusually agitated, as if she had gotten into an argument with Director Jiao.
The faint whispers that reached Ji Zhixing gave him a bad feeling.
After Yu Zhuli hung up the phone, he came over to Ji Zhixing and said, "The school said that Professor Fan Ji'an needs someone to further verify the quantum properties of continuous spin, superposition and entanglement from a mathematical perspective, and has arranged for me to go to the Quantum Information Research and Development Center to assist in the research."
Ji Zhixing's heart sank. Just as he suspected, it was Fan Ji'an's trick. Yu Zhuli wasn't the only talent at Yan University working on partial differential equations; why would they deliberately pull Yu Zhuli away from the photonic chip project if not to suppress them?
Yu Zhuli deserves much credit for their rapid progress in photonic chip research.
While he was exploring the architecture of a three-dimensional photonic chip based on a VCSEL array, Yu Zhuli directly provided two-dimensional optical data from a mathematical perspective, establishing an addressable VCSEL array through the data input layer. This was equivalent to laying a solid foundation, allowing him to directly build the reinforcing steel on top.
When he tried to integrate the entire working optical path of DNNs through a high-brightness single-photon source and high spatiotemporal resolution single-photon imaging technology, Yu Zhuli stayed up for two nights in a row to calculate the transient network characteristics of the two-dimensional quantum walk mode. With this, he successfully reduced the chip architecture size to the micrometer level.
In short, working with Yu Zhuli was an unprecedentedly smooth research experience.
Now, Fan Ji'an is trying to use a legitimate job transfer to cut off this arm of his and suppress the research and development of photonic chips.
This is what you call an academic clique!
Yu Zhuli pursed his lips tightly. He knew very well that this work arrangement was not what it seemed.
He repeatedly refused, but Director Jiao was very firm, using accusations of "overall scientific and technological situation" and "national interest" to pressure him into agreeing.
"I'm going to the administration building," Yu Zhuli said.
Ji Zhixing nodded and watched him leave. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to say anything now.
Yu Zhuli was, after all, a faculty member of Yenching University, and within reasonable limits, he didn't have much say in the school's work arrangements. As a young teacher, he lacked the experience and resources to challenge the administration.
As an individual, if Yu Zhuli is willing to stay in the photonic chip project group, then he can only wait for Professor Gao Xiao to come back and help him resolve the situation.
Ultimately, he was just an outsider at Yenching University.
Just as he was pondering this, Professor Gao Xiao returned in a huff, bringing some bad news—Fan Ji'an had gone to higher levels and persuaded the Ministry of Science and Technology to take the lead in integrating the resources and achievements of the Quantum Information R&D Center and the Photonic Chip Project Team to further promote the optimization and upgrading of quantum chips.
Ji Zhixing's pupils contracted. This so-called integration, given Fan Ji'an's methods and current momentum, would likely end up being a mere merger.
Working under Fan Ji'an could only result in two outcomes: either they would be suppressed by Fan Ji'an and unable to advance the project smoothly, or their final results would be taken by Fan Ji'an.
Gao Xiao waved his hand: "I refused." He then picked up his thermos and took a big gulp. He had been arguing all morning and was dying of thirst.
Fan Ji'an persuaded many people to endorse him, but he wasn't without connections. Moreover, the attitude of those above him was merely suggestion and hope, not a mandatory requirement, so he ultimately refused firmly.
"Let me tell you, there's a 100% problem with that quantum chip of his!" Gao Xiao said, slamming his thermos heavily on the table. He could naturally think of the same suspicious points that Ji Zhixing could.
They claim the research and development was successful, but what results can't be achieved in the lab? With the absence of EUV lithography machines as cover, they still have a long time before facing the test of the market.
"I suspect he just wants to gain a reputation first to boost his own momentum and make it easier to suppress us. He can also take advantage of the time difference and rush to develop quantum chips before the EUV lithography machine is solved."
In truth, although Gao Xiao deeply disliked Fan Ji'an, he also believed that with Fan Ji'an's abilities, developing a quantum chip was only a matter of time. However, in order to prevent the photon chip from surpassing him, Fan Ji'an resorted to these underhanded tricks.
It is foreseeable that they will face a series of troubles in the future!
After Gao Xiao finished speaking, he left again. He had to make another trip to the Ministry of Science and Technology, just in case.
As Ji Zhixing was pondering Fan Ji'an's possible next move, Yu Zhuli returned.
He remained calm and said, "I have resigned."
"Ah!" Ji Zhixing didn't expect Yu Zhuli to make such a choice.
No matter what, from a universal perspective, a teaching position at Yenching University is a rare and respectable job. It offers good benefits and high social status, something many people would kill for. Yet Yu Zhuli resigned so easily, as if he had just gone to a delivery station to return something.
After announcing her resignation, Yu Zhuli went into the laboratory as usual.
Ji Zhixing watched Yu Zhuli's retreating figure, his heart heavy.
No, we can't keep passively taking hits like this!
Ji Zhixing's gaze fell on the paper in "Chinese Science," and an idea gradually took shape in his mind.
A note from the author:
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