Xanadu, the Canadian photonic quantum computing firm, has teamed up with semiconductor equipment manufacturer Disco to develop next-generation wafer processing techniques for ultra-low-loss photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

The partnership will see the pair create specialized ways to prepare silicon wafers during the production of photonic chips, with the ultimate goal of scaling photonic chip packaging.

Disco machinery will be used to perform high-quality wafer dicing, which is crucial for separating photonic chips and reducing optical losses.

The Japanese company’s process also reduces the need for manual polishing, a vital part of photonic chipmaking, as extremely smooth surfaces are needed to minimize optical loss.

Xanadu plans to leverage Disco’s Kiru (cutting), Kezuru (grinding), and Migaku (polishing) technologies to prepare silicon wafers for heterogeneous integration (when the different semiconductor technologies are brought together during the production process).

“Our close collaboration with Disco Corporation has helped us continuously push the boundaries of photonic packaging capabilities with their leading-edge dicing, grinding, and polishing solutions,” said Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO of Xanadu.

Founded in 2016, the team at Xanadu is attempting to develop a utility-scale photonic quantum computer. Its X-Series hardware is powered by laser pulses to “squeezed states” or photonic qubits on a chip.

Earlier this year, the startup built a prototype of what it claimed was the world’s first universal photonic quantum computer.

Dubbed Aurora, the 12-qubit machine consists of four photonically interconnected modular and independent server racks, housing 35 photonic chips and 13 km of fiber optics. The system is capable of operating at room temperature and is fully automated.

“Xanadu's efforts are driving advancement not just in quantum compute, but the industry as a whole – from equipment and foundry process, to materials,” said Steve Latina, technical solution lead and account manager at Disco USA.

“Sharing the paradigm 'every photon counts' has a trickle-down effect, challenging their partners to achieve never-before-seen feats.”

Xanadu’s partnership with Disco comes as the startup is looking to scale production, having opened an advanced photonic packaging facility in Toronto in June.

In addition to its own devices, the site will be open to external customers across both academia and industry.