This paper presents a comprehensive systematic and bibliometric review of the rapidly expanding literature on quantum computing. The study addresses six research questions concerning prominent themes, temporal evolution, types of key findings, frequently reported research gaps, higher-order gap typologies, and future research directions. Utilizing a researcher-curated database, the final corpus comprises 153 studies compiled from non-Scopus, Scopus and Web of Science. The results demonstrate that quantum hardware and architecture, algorithms, and theoretical foundations dominate the current literature. Furthermore, publication output has risen significantly between 2018 and 2025. Among the reported findings, algorithmic innovations, performance claims, and hardware advancements are the most common. Despite this progress, the field faces substantial barriers; technical, scalability, fault-tolerance, and methodological-standardization gaps are the most frequently reported. Based on these identified gaps, eight actionable future research directions emerge to guide the scientific community. Ultimately, this review concludes that quantum computing is actively transitioning from a purely physics-driven domain into a multidisciplinary, engineering- and application-oriented science. However, its continued advancement is presently constrained by a hardware-methodology-application triad, wherein reporting practices often outpace empirical verification and standardized benchmarking.
This paper presents a comprehensive systematic and bibliometric review of the rapidly expanding literature on quantum computing. The study addresses six research questions concerning prominent themes, temporal evolution, types of key findings, frequently reported research gaps, higher-order gap typologies, and future research directions. Utilizing a researcher-curated database, the final corpus comprises 153 studies compiled from non-Scopus, Scopus and Web of Science. The results demonstrate that quantum hardware and architecture, algorithms, and theoretical foundations dominate the current literature. Furthermore, publication output has risen significantly between 2018 and 2025. Among the reported findings, algorithmic innovations, performance claims, and hardware advancements are the most common. Despite this progress, the field faces substantial barriers; technical, scalability, fault-tolerance, and methodological-standardization gaps are the most frequently reported. Based on these identified gaps, eight actionable future research directions emerge to guide the scientific community. Ultimately, this review concludes that quantum computing is actively transitioning from a purely physics-driven domain into a multidisciplinary, engineering- and application-oriented science. However, its continued advancement is presently constrained by a hardware-methodology-application triad, wherein reporting practices often outpace empirical verification and standardized benchmarking.
Quantum computing has emerged as a transformative computational paradigm capable of addressing limitations increasingly encountered by classical computing systems as Moore’s law approaches physical and economic constraints. By leveraging quantum mechanical principles such as superposition, entanglement, and interference, quantum systems offer the potential for significant computational advantages in solving complex problems that are currently infeasible for conventional architectures. This review critically synthesizes recent advances in quantum computing by examining foundational principles, major algorithmic breakthroughs, evolving hardware platforms, and interdisciplinary real-world applications. A structured narrative literature review was conducted using major scientific databases, including PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Nature, ScienceDirect, and arXiv, with emphasis on peer-reviewed studies, landmark foundational research, and major industry developments published between 2018 and 2026. Key findings indicate substantial progress in superconducting, trapped ion, photonic, and topological quantum systems, alongside innovations in algorithms such as Shor’s, Grover’s, variational quantum methods, and quantum machine learning. Despite these advancements, major challenges including decoherence, noise, scalability limitations, and fault-tolerant error correction remain substantial barriers to commercial maturity. Future implications suggest quantum computing may profoundly influence artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, optimization, molecular simulation, and scientific discovery, particularly through hybrid classical-quantum systems and cloud-based democratization. Although practical deployment remains transitional, quantum computing is positioned to become a foundational technology with broad scientific, industrial, and societal implications.
This chapter discusses a systematic review of the literature available on quantum computers from their theoretical bases through their current advances to their trends in the future. It uses the PRISMA approach to collect such writings from many fields, including physics, computer science, and engineering. It identifies crucial breakthroughs, including Feynman’s conjecture and Shor’s algorithm, and examines how they have affected modern quantum computing paradigms. The said focus areas will center on quantum algorithms, hardware developments in quantum information technology, cryptography, and machine learning, all with an emphasis on their combined contribution to the growth of the field. Identified milestones include achievements of the so-called quantum supremacy and advances made possible by qubit technologies, such as superconducting circuits and ion traps. The review not only presents future challenges, such as scalability, error correction, and noise management, but also pinpoints research gaps and possible avenues for subsequent exploration. The chapter examines the themes of interdisciplinary collaboration and funding trends as well as emerging issues such as quantum cloud computing and hybrid quantum-classical models. Such an overview of the trajectory of quantum computing by this review is also an academic reference as well as a strategic guide for researchers, policymakers, and technologists traversing this fast-evolving field.
Quantum computing represents a paradigm shift in computational capabilities, promising to solve problems that are intractable for classical computers. This paper explores the architecture, implementation, and operational aspects of quantum computing, focusing on its applications in various fields. I conducted a comprehensive literature review to identify existing research gaps and propose methodologies for effective quantum computing implementation. My findings highlight the potential of quantum computing in optimization, cryptography, and machine learning, among other areas. This research paper provides a comprehensive examination of the architecture, implementation, and operational strategies of quantum computing, with a focus on its diverse applications in optimization, cryptography, and machine learning. Through an extensive literature review, I identify critical research gaps and propose innovative methodologies for effective quantum computing implementation. I conclude with strategic recommendations for future research directions, emphasizing the importance of enhancing quantum hardware, developing hybrid algorithms, and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations. This foundational study not only deepens the understanding of quantum computing’s current state but also paves the way for future advancements in this rapidly evolving field. The insights gained from the literature review, methodology, and results sections contribute to a deeper understanding of the current state of quantum computing and its potential applications.
This bibliometric study examines the field of quantum computing research from 2014 to 2023, utilizing the Web of Science Core Collection database and the Bibliometrix R package. A total of 1,260 documents from 688 sources were analyzed using bibliometric indicators, network analysis, and text mining techniques to identify research trends, collaboration patterns, and emerging themes. A five-fold increase in publications was observed, with the United States, China, and Germany emerging as the leading contributors to international collaborations. Core research areas were identified as quantum algorithms, error correction, and cryptography, while quantum machine learning and noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computing were recognized as emerging trends. Potential research gaps in topological quantum computing and scalable error-correction schemes were identified. The findings underscore the necessity for continued focus on practical applications and interdisciplinary collaboration to advance quantum computing technologies.
Quantum computing, grounded in the principles of superposition and entanglement, has emerged as a revolutionary paradigm with the potential to outperform classical systems in specific computational tasks. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of the foundational concepts, algorithmic developments, hardware architectures, and programming ecosystems in quantum computing. We analyze the current progress in key application areas such as cryptography, machine learning, optimization, and quantum chemistry. Furthermore, we review recent advances between 2023 and 2025, including developments in fault-tolerant architectures and quantum error correction. The paper also discusses the significant technical challenges that hinder large-scale practical deployment, including qubit scalability, decoherence, and programming limitations. By synthesizing literature across disciplines, this review aims to provide a holistic understanding of the quantum computing landscape and outline critical directions for future research and integration with classical systems.
Abstract Quantum computing has rapidly emerged as one of the fastest-growing research domains, driven by both technological breakthroughs and the promise of computational advantages over classical systems. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the global quantum computing literature from 1980 to 2025, comprising 31,662 publications indexed in Scopus and accumulating over 800,000 citations. Using advanced bibliometric techniques—including co-authorship mapping, keyword co-occurrence networks, co-citation analysis, and centrality measures—we characterize publication trends, institutional contributions, collaborative structures, and thematic evolution across the field. The results reveal exponential growth in output since 2015, led primarily by the United States, China, and Europe, with key institutions such as MIT, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CNRS, and the University of Waterloo at the forefront. The intellectual structure exhibits a dual-core configuration, with foundational algorithmic work (e.g. Shor, Grover, Nielsen & Chuang) tightly connected to emerging NISQ-era applications such as quantum machine learning, cryptography, and hybrid algorithms. Keyword analysis reveals the progressive expansion from core quantum algorithms toward increasingly diverse applied domains in healthcare, finance, chemistry, energy, and climate modeling. Public funding bodies (e.g. NSFC, NSF, European Commission, DOE, DoD, MoST) and private-sector investment from major technology firms are jointly driving this translational acceleration. Together, these findings provide an integrated quantitative map of the field’s evolution, offering valuable insight for future scientific policy, international collaboration, and strategic funding initiatives.