Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

The Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "the Institute") was established on August 15, 1950, with its predecessors being the Institute of Physics of the National Central Academy and the Institute of Physics of the Peiping Academy established in 1928 and 1929 respectively. In 1950, based on the merger of the two institutes, the Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences was established, and its current name was adopted on September 30, 1958. The Institute is a multidisciplinary and comprehensive research institution focusing on basic research in physics and applied basic research. Its research directions mainly focus on condensed matter physics, including condensed matter physics, optical physics, atomic and molecular physics, plasma physics, soft matter physics, condensed matter theory, and computational physics. As a national team for scientific and technological innovation, the Institute adheres to the goals of "Three Orientations" and "Four Initiatives," systematically planning and advancing its "One-Three-Five" research plan. Multiple disciplines, including superconductivity, topology, nanomaterials, surfaces, and extreme conditions, are at the forefront of world science and technology; many fields such as magnetism, optics, advanced materials, and clean energy have provided strong support for the development of the national economy. In addition to focusing on basic frontier issues and conducting research in Zhongguancun, the Institute actively participates in the construction of the Huairou Science City of Beijing Science and Technology Innovation Center, the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Science and Technology Innovation Center, and the Yangtze River Delta Physics Research Center, making important contributions to building a strong science and technology nation. The Institute currently has three state key laboratories: superconductivity, magnetism, and surface physics; six key laboratories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: optical physics, electron microscopy, nanophysics and devices, extreme condition physics, frontier research on clean energy, and condensed matter theory and computation; and three institute-level laboratories: soft matter physics, solid-state quantum information and computing, and microfabrication. These, together with eight research centers: the International Quantum Structure Center, the Quantum Simulation Science Center, the Beijing Spallation Neutron Source Target Station and Spectrometer Engineering Center, the Clean Energy Center, the Superconducting Technology Application Center, the Functional Crystal Research and Application Center, the Quantum Computing Research Center, and the Applied Physics Center, constitute the research system of the Institute. The public technical platforms of the technical department and various laboratories and research groups together constitute the technical support system of the Institute. In addition, the Institute is the lead unit of the Beijing Regional Center for Large-Scale Scientific Instruments of Materials Science and Nanotechnology and the Electron Microscopy Technology Alliance of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a co-construction unit of the Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences. In 2019, the Institute made significant progress in the construction of major scientific facilities. For the Beijing portion of the Comprehensive Extreme Conditions Experimental Facility, basic construction was 95% complete, and scientific equipment had accumulated expenditures of over 60%. Significant progress was also made in the Materials Genome Research Platform and the Clean Energy Materials Testing, Diagnosis, and Development Platform projects, for which the Institute serves as the legal entity. Basic construction was 99% complete, and scientific instruments and equipment had accumulated expenditures of over 60%. The Institute, jointly with the Institute of High Energy Physics, co-built the China Spallation Neutron Source (Dongguan) project. The relevant teams devoted themselves to the open operation of the target station and spectrometers, completed the physical design optimization and overall engineering design of the atmospheric neutron irradiation spectrometer, and continued to conduct neutron scattering studies on magnetism and lithium-ion battery materials. As of the end of 2019, the Institute had a total of 825 employees, including 443 scientific and technical personnel and 148 technical support personnel, among whom there are 14 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and 8 academicians of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. There are 37 recipients of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. In 2019, the Institute continued to leverage its research strengths and undertook a total of 675 ongoing projects (including 279 new projects). Of these, it led 23 projects under the National Key Research and Development Program (6 new), 3 projects under the 973 Program (including major national scientific research projects); it led 25 key projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (5 new), 7 projects of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (1 new), and 7 major research plan projects of the National Natural Science Foundation (3 new); it led 1 strategic priority research program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 4 projects; it led 1 key deployment project of the Academy; and it led 12 major instrument development projects (including 2 new). In 2019, the Institute deeply cultivated various research fields and achieved multiple internationally influential scientific research results. It achieved atomic-level precision control of folding graphene nanostructures, creating the world's smallest "graphene origami." It observed, for the first time internationally, a nearly quantized conductance platform of Majorana zero modes, providing key experimental evidence for the existence of Majorana zero modes in iron-based superconductors. Using the concept of materials genome engineering, it developed a unique high-throughput experimental method for rapid screening of amorphous alloys, developed a new high-temperature high-strength bulk amorphous alloy material, breaking through the existing service temperature limit of amorphous alloys. It created an efficient and fully automated algorithm for detecting non-trivial topological states in non-magnetic materials, not only improving the efficiency of exploring new topological materials but also laying a foundation for high-throughput calculations. In collaboration with partners, it used a device with 12 superconducting qubits forming a one-dimensional chain to simulate strongly correlated quantum walks. In collaboration with partners, using a fully connected 20-superconducting-qubit device, it successfully prepared a multi-component Schrödinger cat state with 20 qubits. Combined with cryo-electron microscopy static structures, it achieved precise measurement of single-molecule dynamics in collaboration with partners, deeply analyzing the molecular mechanism by which chromatin remodeling factors regulate DNA sliding on nucleosomes. The work "Development of high-temperature bulk metallic glass based on materials genome engineering" was selected as one of the Top Ten Scientific Advances in China in 2019; the work "New research indicates that about 24% of materials in nature may have topological structures" was selected as one of the Top Ten Scientific and Technological Progress News in China in 2019; the works "First completion of quantum walk experiments with strongly correlated entangled systems" and "Achievement of atomic-level precise controllable folding of graphene nanostructures" were selected as highlights of scientific and technological innovation achievements of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2019.