Physicists are investigating the possibility of using photons of light to develop large-scale quantum computing, or in other words, photonic quantum computing.

Scientists and engineers working on quantum computers follow the same physical principles, but not the same paths.

Among the most researched approaches to quantum computing, we find the architecture based on trapped ions and superconductors.

Trapped ions quantum computers are the furthest ahead in the game as they’re already available in the market for corporate clients (D-Wave computers). However, they don’t lend themselves very well to scaling up.

For any of the proposed methods for large-scale quantum computing to work, there are two crucial requirements.

First, the system has to maintain qubits in a stable and completely isolated environment that ensures the integrity of information without the need for extremely low temperatures.

Two, the system must be made up of controllable qubits via entangling transistors.

Qubits can be any kind of atomic particles that allow such features. In this regard, photons may be the best option.

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