In the pursuit of scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures, photonic-based quantum computers have emerged as a leading frontier. This article provides a comprehensive overview of advancements in photonic quantum computing, developed by leading industry players, examining current performance, architectural designs, and strategies for developing large-scale, fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers. It also highlights recent groundbreaking experiments that leverage the unique advantages of photonic technologies, underscoring their transformative potential. This review captures a pivotal moment of photonic quantum computing in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, offering insights into how photonic quantum computers might reshape the future of quantum computing.
In the pursuit of scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures, photonic-based quantum computers have emerged as a leading frontier. This article provides a comprehensive overview of advancements in photonic quantum computing, developed by leading industry players, examining current performance, architectural designs, and strategies for developing large-scale, fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers. It also highlights recent groundbreaking experiments that leverage the unique advantages of photonic technologies, underscoring their transformative potential. This review captures a pivotal moment of photonic quantum computing in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, offering insights into how photonic quantum computers might reshape the future of quantum computing.
Abstract In the pursuit of scalable and fault-tolerant quantum computing architectures, photonic-based systems have emerged as a leading frontier. This comprehensive review examines recent advances across key industry and academic players—including iPronics, Jiuzhang (USTC), ORCA Computing, Photonic Inc., PsiQuantum, Quandela, Quix Quantum, TundraSystems, TuringQ, and Xanadu—analyzing their photonic quantum processors, current performance benchmarks, architectural designs, quantum software ecosystems, and strategies toward developing large-scale fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers. The article highlights groundbreaking experiments that leverage the unique advantages of photonic technologies and underscoring their transformative potential in the NISQ and early fault‑tolerant regimes. With the global photonics market projected to reach USD 837.8 billion by 2025, this work captures photonic quantum computing’s pivotal moment in the early fault-tolerant era, offering forward‑looking insights into how photonic quantum computers may reshape the future of quantum technologies.
Integrated photonic quantum chips have emerged as a promising platform for realizing fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers. Compared with bulk-optics systems, integrated photonics offer compact device footprints, enhanced programmability, and exceptional stability, attributes that are essential for executing large-scale and computationally demanding quantum tasks. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances in both discrete-variable and continuous-variable universal photonic quantum computation. We survey progress in fault-tolerant architectures and state-of-the-art integrated platforms and highlight the key challenges that must be addressed to scale photonic systems toward full fault tolerance. Finally, we outline future opportunities and research directions aimed at bridging the gap between current proof-of-principle demonstrations and fully scalable quantum microprocessors.
In recent years, quantum computing has made significant strides, particularly in light-based technology. The introduction of quantum photonic chips has ushered in an era marked by scalability, stability, and cost-effectiveness, paving the way for innovative possibilities within compact footprints. This article provides a comprehensive exploration of photonic quantum computing, covering key aspects such as encoding information in photons, the merits of photonic qubits, and essential photonic device components including light squeezers, quantum light sources, interferometers, photodetectors, and waveguides. The article also examines photonic quantum communication and internet, and its implications for secure systems, detailing implementations such as quantum key distribution and long-distance communication. Emerging trends in quantum communication and essential reconfigurable elements for advancing photonic quantum internet are discussed. The review further navigates the path towards establishing scalable and fault-tolerant photonic quantum computers, highlighting quantum computational advantages achieved using photons. Additionally, the discussion extends to programmable photonic circuits, integrated photonics and transformative applications. Lastly, the review addresses prospects, implications, and challenges in photonic quantum computing, offering valuable insights into current advancements and promising future directions in this technology.
Abstract Recent years have witnessed significant progress in quantum computing and its applications, driven by the emergence of integrated quantum photonic chips. These chips offer significant advantages of scalability, stability, and low-cost advantages, enabling new possibilities in miniaturized quantum systems. Here, we provide an overview of the advances in integrated photonic chips for quantum computing, beginning with a summary of the prevalent photonic integrated platforms and key components for quantum computing systems. We then discuss a range of quantum computing applications, which are divided into two main directions: one is the Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) era, and the other is towards the future universal quantum computing. Finally, the review culminates in a perspective on the challenges of high-performance chip-based quantum computing, as well as a prospect for future opportunities in integrated quantum networks.
Quantum computing has transitioned from a theoretical curiosity to an emerging technological paradigm with demonstrable computational advantages in specific problem domains. This paper presents a comprehensive review of current advances in quantum computing hardware, software, and near-term applications within the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) era. We examine the architectural evolution of leading quantum platforms, including superconducting, trapped-ion, and photonic systems, analyzing their qubit counts, gate fidelities, and coherence times. The paper evaluates key quantum algorithms Shor's factoring algorithm [1], Grover's search algorithm [2], the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) [3], and the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) [4] in the context of their practical applicability to real-world problems. We further discuss the milestone of quantum computational advantage demonstrated by Google's Sycamore processor [5] and IBM's ambitious hardware roadmap toward fault-tolerant quantum computing [6]. Our analysis reveals that while universal fault-tolerant quantum computing remains a long-term objective, NISQ-era devices are already yielding valuable results in quantum chemistry simulation, combinatorial optimization, and quantum machine learning. We conclude by identifying the critical challenges—error correction, scalability, and algorithm design that must be addressed to realize the full potential of quantum computing.
The pursuit of a universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer has transformed quantum computing from a predominantly theoretical discipline into a rapidly diversifying hardware ecosystem. This review presents a comprehensive and technically grounded analysis of the principal physical qubit modalities: superconducting circuits, trapped ions, photonic platforms, neutral atoms, semiconductor spin qubits, and topological approaches, focusing on their underlying operating principles, performance characteristics, and system-level constraints. We examine how these qubit technologies are embedded within scalable quantum processor architectures, including control and readout infrastructures, connectivity topologies, and quantum error correction strategies. The review provides a comparative study of key performance metrics, such as coherence times, gate fidelities, error rates, and scalability, reveals fundamental trade-offs between speed, robustness, and operational complexity that shape distinct technological roadmaps and target applications. We further highlight the ongoing transition from noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices toward architectures centred on logical qubits, driven by advances in materials engineering, precision control, and quantum information theory. Together, these developments sketch the emerging routes toward fault-tolerant quantum computing and practical quantum advantage, while offering readers a coherent entry point and reference guide to the current quantum hardware landscape.