Optical quantum computing

Quantum computing offers a much more efficient way of computation than its classical counterpart, due to the specific characters in quantum mechanics. To realize quantum computers, one must find a specific physical system as a platform. Available systems include atoms, electrons, ions, photons and so on. Photons are easier to manipulate and have a better coherence. This article studies on the basic concepts of optical quantum computing, and then introduces the optical implementation of Shor´s quantum factoring algorithm, along with some other present applications, to show the promising future of optical quantum computing.