Xanadu teams up with GlobalFoundries to manufacture key quantum photonics devices

Xanadu Quantum Technologies, the Canadian developer of photonics-based quantum computers, has signed a multi-year agreement with chipmaker GlobalFoundries (GF) aimed at scaling production of key optical components.

The deal aims to combine Xanadu’s ultra-low loss photonic design and process development with GF’s existing silicon photonics manufacturing capability, applied initially to silicon nitride (SiN) components and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs).

Those components will be fabricated on full-size silicon wafers at GF’s giant production facility in Malta, New York.

Optical circuit boards

“In photonic quantum computing, where information is carried by photons, reading calculation outputs requires photon number resolving (PNR) detectors, which are advanced optical sensors that determine the number of photons in a single light pulse,” explained Xanadu.

The Canadian firm, which last month announced plans to build its own volume manufacturing facility at an old Campbell’s soup factory in Toronto, has selected SNSPDs as its PNR platform for utility-scale quantum computing.

SNSPD technology is expected to increase the speed of Xanadu’s quantum computing systems dramatically, while reducing the chip overheads needed to deliver utility-scale quantum computers with Xanadu’s architecture.

“Combining ultra-high efficiency SNSPDs with ultra-low loss SiN photonics, used as optical circuit boards to guide photons with negligible signal loss across a wide spectrum of light, forms the backbone of Xanadu’s photonic quantum computing technology,” stated the company.

Quantum transition

Beyond SiN photonics and SNSPDs, Xanadu and GF are hoping to further develop high-performance quantum modules, supporting the long-term objective of providing the hardware needed for future quantum data centers.

Xanadu’s CEO Christian Weedbrook added: “Transitioning quantum computing technology to a high-volume manufacturing line is fundamental to delivering quantum computing at scale.

“Partnering with GlobalFoundries allows Xanadu to refine and scale up our existing industry-leading photonics platform and apply GF’s industrial expertise and technology to our photonic chip production.

“This partnership demonstrates our focus on execution and seeks to provide the reliable, precision-manufactured infrastructure necessary to transition quantum technology from the research environment to commercial-scale data centers.”

Nicholas Sergeant, the VP of quantum technology solutions at GF, commented: “By combining Xanadu’s advanced photonic computing technology with GF’s 300 mm manufacturing expertise, this partnership creates a path to industrialize the critical components needed to accelerate the deployment of fault-tolerant systems and enable future quantum computing architectures.”

Shrinking optical cavities

Elsewhere in quantum photonics hardware development, US-based Infleqtion is collaborating with Honeywell and researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), to develop a new integrated optical cavity that is expected to help shrink quantum sensors the size of a smart phone.

Fabricated on a SiN chip at Honeywell Aerospace's photonics foundry, a prototype version made using standard semiconductor equipment reduces the space needed to keep lasers stable inside quantum systems. Infleqtion's engineering team worked with UCSB's “OCAQπ” research group to design the prototype.

That effort was led by UCSB professor Daniel Blumenthal, building on a decade of work by the OCAQπ Group to shrink the scale of cold-atom quantum experiments from optical tables to the chip level.

“This collaboration is the latest example of the team bringing research into a commercial fabrication environment with a clear path to volume production,” announced Infleqtion, which in 2024 acquired Blumenthal’s photonics technology startup SiNoptiq.