Abstract: Centered on a discussion of the development of voltage quantum references and their current status,the Josephson effect，the resulting principles of Josephson junctions and Josephson junction arrays are expounded.The transition from traditional Josephson voltage references to programmable Josephson voltage references as the demand for measurements expands from DC to AC are described.The development history,research results,and applications of two important electrical metrology topics,namely,programmable voltage standards are focused on,based on binary division arrays and pulsedriven arrays,which are at the forefront of current research.Finally,the development of voltage quantum reference over the years is summarized and its future development direction is envisioned.

Key words: Josephson junctions, Josephson voltage standard, Josephson arbitrary waveform synthesizer, SNS junction, NbSi barrier, Uncertainty, Differential