Quantum Codes: A Comprehensive Survey of Techniques, Challenges, and Future Directions
Istiak Mahmud, Ahmed Abdelhadi · 2025
Quantum error correction is fundamental to enabling reliable quantum computation and communication in the presence of noise and decoherence. Over the years, a diverse range of quantum coding strategies has been developed, each offering distinct approaches to mitigate quantum errors and achieve fault tolerance. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of major quantum code families, including stabilizer codes, topological codes, quantum LDPC codes, convolutional codes, turbo codes, Reed-Muller codes, continuous-variable bosonic codes, and subsystem codes. For each class, we discuss their construction principles, operational strategies, advantages, and inherent limitations. In addition to reviewing existing methodologies, we compare different coding techniques through structured tables and highlight the practical challenges that persist, such as resource overhead, decoding complexity, and scalability. Furthermore, we identify future research directions aimed at overcoming these challenges, including hybrid error correction approaches, machine learning-assisted decoders, and fault-tolerant architectures without magic state distillation. By consolidating the landscape of quantum error correction research, this work aims to serve as a foundational reference for researchers and practitioners working toward scalable, robust quantum technologies.