Jiuzhang Photonic Quantum Processor by University of Science and Technology of China (USTC): status and timeline

Jiuzhang Photonic Quantum Processor

Demonstrate quantum computational advantage using photonic systems and advance optical quantum computing.

ResearchStage 1 of 5

Jiuzhang 4.0 in Nature 2026; 3,050 photons and 10^54 speedup.

Updated 15 May 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

No announced next step

Jiuzhang 1.0 demonstrated2020Complete.
Jiuzhang 2.0 with phase tuning2021Complete.
Jiuzhang 3.0 with 255-photon detection2023Complete.
Jiuzhang 4.0 with 3,050-photon detection in Nature2026Complete.

Most important updates

USTC Jiuzhang 4.0 photonic quantum processor published in Nature; 3,050 photons, 10^54 speedup15 May 2026

Current obstacles

Scaling to useful computationBoson sampling shows advantage but does not solve practical problems; scaling requires architectural changes.
Photon loss at scaleEach optical component introduces loss; improving efficiency is needed for larger systems.

Physics limits

Boson sampling utilityGBS demonstrates quantum advantage but is not known to solve practical computational problems.
Photon storage and routingPhotons travel at light speed and cannot be stored easily, limiting large-scale architecture.
Multiplexing limitationsTemporal multiplexing reduces components but still faces bandwidth and timing limits.

How it works

4 parts

Squeezed Light

Creating quantum advantage

Four optical parametric oscillators generate 1,024 squeezed photons at 92% efficiency.

Mode multiplexing

Delay loops increase modes

Delay loops allow 16 detection channels to access 8,176 effective quantum modes efficiently.

Boson sampling

Computing photon distributions

The processor computes photon distributions across output modes, hard to simulate classically.

Photon detection

Superconducting detectors

Nanowire detectors at 93% efficiency count up to 3,050 photons per run.

Spec sheet

Spec	Jiuzhang Photonic Quantum Processor
Max detected photons per run	3,050^R (reported)
Effective quantum modes	8,176^R (reported)
Squeezed-state inputs	1,024^R (reported)
Light source efficiency	92%^R (reported)
Overall system efficiency	51%^R (reported)
Time per output sample	25.6 microseconds^R (reported)
Speedup vs El Capitan	~10^54^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

1 update

Fri 15 May

Major: USTC Jiuzhang 4.0 photonic quantum processor published in Nature; 3,050 photons, 10^54 speedupPaperResearch

About University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)

The team behind Jiuzhang Photonic Quantum Processor

University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)

Quantum computing, superconducting processors, quantum research

CAS flagship university. Quantum research under Pan Jianwei; developed Zuchongzhi 3.0, a 105-qubit processor with record quantum advantage.

Hosts Division of Quantum Physics & Information (Pan Jianwei, 2001) with leading superconducting and trapped-ion labs.
March 2025: Zuchongzhi 3.0 unveiled, a 105-qubit processor with 99.9% single-qubit and 99.62% two-qubit fidelity.
Zuchongzhi 3.0 surpassed Google's Sycamore by six orders of magnitude; deployed on Tianyan cloud with 37M+ global visits.

en.ustc.edu.cn (opens en.ustc.edu.cn)Company profile →

Founded: 195868 yrs
Headquarters: China
Status: Public
Valuation: public
Works in: QuantumSuperconducting
Coverage: 3 programs · 6 updateslatest 15 May 2026checked 10 Oct
Partners: Chinese Academy of Sciences (opens cas.cn)Innovation Academy for Quantum Information (opens cas.cn)Tianyan quantum cloud platform (opens quantum.ustc.edu.cn)
People: Pan Jianwei (opens quantum.ustc.edu.cn)Division Director, Quantum Physics & InformationZhu XiaoboChief Designer, Zuchongzhi processorWu YulinQuantum scientist

Spec

Jiuzhang Photonic Quantum Processor

Max detected photons per run

3,050^R (reported)

Effective quantum modes

8,176^R (reported)

Squeezed-state inputs

1,024^R (reported)

Light source efficiency

92%^R (reported)

Overall system efficiency

51%^R (reported)

Time per output sample

25.6 microseconds^R (reported)

Speedup vs El Capitan

~10^54^R (reported)