Learn STRAWBERRY-FIELDS with Real Code Examples

Strawberry Fields allows developers to construct and simulate quantum circuits using continuous-variable quantum computation, unlike qubit-based systems.

It supports both Gaussian and non-Gaussian states, making it suitable for photonic quantum algorithms.

The library abstracts complex quantum photonic operations and integrates with simulators and hardware backends for experimentation.

High-level circuit construction using Python API

Built-in simulators (Fock, Gaussian, and TF backends)

Gate and measurement operations for CV systems

Support for quantum state tomography and analysis

Integration with TensorFlow and PyTorch for quantum ML

Mode: the photonic equivalent of a qubit in CV systems

Gate: operations on modes (e.g., displacement, squeezing)

Circuit: sequence of gates applied to quantum modes

Measurement: extracting classical information from quantum modes

Backend: simulator or real photonic device executing the circuit

notebooks/ - interactive experiments and tutorials

circuits/ - custom CV quantum circuit definitions

simulations/ - backend simulation results

data/ - measurement outcomes and analyses

scripts/ - automation and utility functions

Import Strawberry Fields and initialize a program

Add photonic modes to the circuit

Apply Gaussian and non-Gaussian gates

Measure modes to obtain classical outcomes

Simulate or execute on supported hardware backends

Beginner: simulate simple Gaussian circuits

Intermediate: implement non-Gaussian operations

Advanced: quantum machine learning experiments

Expert: optimize large photonic circuits

Enterprise: integrate hybrid quantum-classical pipelines

Strawberry Fields vs Qiskit: SF targets CV photonic systems; Qiskit targets qubits on IBM hardware

Strawberry Fields vs Cirq: SF is photonic and CV; Cirq targets qubits on Google hardware

Strawberry Fields vs Pennylane: SF can integrate with Pennylane for hybrid ML

Strawberry Fields vs PyQuil: SF focuses on CV photonics; PyQuil targets Rigetti qubits

Strawberry Fields vs Braket: SF is specialized for CV photonics; Braket is multi-hardware qubit platform

2018 – Initial release of Strawberry Fields by Xanadu

2019 – Fock and Gaussian backends added

2020 – Integration with PennyLane for quantum ML

2021 – TensorFlow backend with automatic differentiation

2023 – Support for multi-mode Gaussian boson sampling and photonic hardware backends

Mode: photonic analog of a qubit

Gate: quantum operation on a mode

Circuit: sequence of gate operations

Gaussian state: quantum state with Gaussian statistics

Non-Gaussian state: quantum state with non-Gaussian properties