Nansha quantum team achieves breakthrough, publishes in Nature sub-journal

The ion trap quantum experimental platform of the quantum laboratory in Nansha, Guangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: nanshafabu] 

A quantum precision measurement team in Guangzhou's Nansha district has achieved a major breakthrough by building a device capable of simultaneously measuring signal frequency and amplitude at unprecedented precision, with the results published in Communications Physics, a Nature sub-journal. 

Led by Professor Feng Mang from the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the team used two different atomic "ears" — ⁴⁰Ca⁺ and ⁴³Ca⁺ heteronuclear ions — to listen to both frequency and amplitude modulation at the same time, with AI coordinating the process. 

"This is the first time globally that both signal tone and volume have been measured with such accuracy in one device," Feng said. The technology could potentially enhance fiber-optic communications and enable next-generation quantum sensing. 

The team, established in 2020 and now part of Guangzhou Industrial Control Sci-Tech Innovation Group's Quantum Center, is the only group in China able to simultaneously manipulate both calcium ion types for quantum logic gates. 

Previous milestones include launching China's first ion-trap quantum computing cloud platform in 2022 with Baidu and achieving the world's highest fidelity in simulating 360-layer complex quantum circuits in 2024. 

Nansha has backed the team through policy support and dedicated funds, including a one-billion-yuan entrepreneurship fund, as the district positions itself as a hub for quantum technology industrialization.