Abstract Grover's algorithm solves the unstructured search problem. Grover's algorithm can find the target state with certainty only if searching one out of four. Designing the deterministic search algorithm can avoid any repetition of the algorithm, especially when Grover's algorithm is a subroutine in other algorithms. Grover's algorithm can be deterministic if the phase of the oracle or the diffusion operator is delicately designed. The precision of the phases could be a problem. A near‐deterministic quantum search algorithm without the phase design is proposed. The algorithm has the same oracle and diffusion operators as Grover's algorithm. One additional component is the rescaled diffusion operator. It acts partially on the database. The success probability of Grover's algorithm is improved by the partial diffusion operator in two different ways. The possible cost is one or two more queries to the oracle. The deterministic search algorithm is also designed when searching one out of eight, sixteen, and thirty‐two.
We introduce a novel deterministic quantum search algorithm that provides a practical alternative to conventional probabilistic search approaches. Our scheme eliminates the inherent uncertainty of quantum search without relying on arbitrary phase rotations, a key limitation of other deterministic methods. The algorithm achieves certainty by recursively expanding the base oracle so that it marks all states prefixed by the same two bits as the target, encompassing exactly one-quarter of the search space. This enables a step-by-step reduction of the superposition until the target state can be measured with certainty. The algorithm achieves deterministic success with a query complexity of O(Nlog2(3)/2)≈O(N0.7925), falling between Grover's O(N) scaling and the classical O(N). Our approach relies exclusively on two-qubit nearest-neighbour diffusion operators, avoiding global diffusion entirely. We show that, despite the increased query complexity, this design reduces the total number of two-qubit gates required for diffusion by more than an order of magnitude for search spaces up to at least 18 qubits, with even greater advantages on hardware with limited qubit connectivity. The scheme's inherent determinism, reliance on simple nearest-neighbour, low-depth operations, and scalable recursive structure make it well-suited for hardware implementation. Additionally, we show that the algorithm naturally supports partial database search, enabling deterministic identification of selected target bits without requiring a full search, further broadening its applicability.