Quantum Hardware Database
Xanadu Borealis
Xanadu Borealis was the first photonic quantum computer to demonstrate a quantum advantage claim that was accessible over the cloud to the public, using squeezed light and a technique called Gaussian Boson Sampling, distinguishing it from the more common qubit-based architectures covered elsewhere on this site.
Qubit Count
216
Qubit Type
Photonic (squeezed light states, continuous-variable)
Architecture
Time-multiplexed photonic loop
Released
2022
Gate Error (2Q)
Photon loss is the dominant error source rather than traditional gate error rates
Coherence Time
Not directly applicable — photons are typically used immediately rather than stored
Operating Temp
Room temperature for most components (some cooling needed for photon detectors)
Cloud Access
Yes — Xanadu Cloud
Company
Xanadu
Connectivity
Programmable via reconfigurable optical interferometers
Key Features
- Demonstrated a publicly accessible quantum advantage claim via Gaussian Boson Sampling
- Operates largely at room temperature, unlike superconducting approaches
- Time-multiplexed design reuses the same physical hardware for many computational modes
- Photonic approach offers a naturally different error model than qubit-based systems
Limitations
- Photon loss accumulates with circuit complexity, fundamentally limiting achievable circuit depth
- Uses continuous-variable quantum information rather than discrete qubits, requiring different algorithms than most of this database covers
Technical Notes
Borealis works with 'squeezed states' of light rather than traditional qubits, making it a continuous-variable quantum computer. This is a fundamentally different computational model than the discrete-qubit systems (superconducting, trapped-ion, neutral atom) covered elsewhere, suited to specific sampling problems rather than general-purpose gate-based algorithms.