Insider Brief
- Xanadu and DISCO Corporation are collaborating to develop advanced wafer processing techniques that enable ultra-low loss photonic integrated chips for quantum and other high-performance photonic applications.
- The partnership focuses on high-quality wafer dicing, specialized preparation for heterogeneous integration, and optimized polishing to achieve ultra-smooth surfaces that reduce optical losses and streamline manufacturing.
- By leveraging DISCO’s cutting, grinding, and polishing technologies, the collaboration aims to scale photonic chip packaging and support Xanadu’s goal of building a utility-scale photonic quantum computer.
PRESS RELEASE — Xanadu, the leading photonic quantum computing company, and DISCO Corporation, renowned precision machine and processing tool manufacturer, are developing advanced wafer processing techniques for ultra-low loss photonic integrated chips. This partnership focuses on enhancing wafer dicing processes, specialized wafer preparation for heterogeneous integration and assembly, as well as achieving ultra-smooth surfaces through polishing optimization. These capabilities are critical for high performance photonic integrated circuits, and will ultimately enable the scalability of photonic chip packaging for quantum and other cutting-edge photonic applications.
High-quality wafer dicing achievable with DISCO’s machinery is essential for photonic chip singulation and contributes to reducing optical losses. In addition, DISCO’s advanced dicing process also eliminates the need for manual polishing, streamlining the manufacturing process of photonic chips. This further facilitates scaling to high-volume photonic packaging. Xanadu is also leveraging DISCO’s industry-leading Kiru (cutting), Kezuru (grinding) and Migaku (polishing) technologies to enable wafer preparation for heterogeneous integration. These processes are critical to meeting the stringent requirements of photonic chip performance. Optimal polishing processes are key to achieving the ultra-smooth surfaces required for minimizing optical loss.
“DISCO Corporation has been a vitally important partner for us over the years”, said Christian Weedbrook, founder and CEO of Xanadu. “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. These capabilities are significant contributions towards achieving our goal of a utility-scale photonic quantum computer.”
In the words of Steve Latina, technical solution lead and account manager at DISCO USA: “Xanadu’s efforts are driving advancement not just in quantum compute, but the industry as a whole – from equipment and foundry process, to materials. Sharing the paradigm ‘every photon counts’ has a trickle-down effect, challenging their partners to achieve never-before-seen feats. DISCO is uniquely positioned to support Xanadu and growing market demand for highly clean, highly precise, and highly intelligent manufacturing.”
As Xanadu continues to work to reduce optical losses throughout its photonic components, improvements through collaboration with leading industrial partners like DISCO will play a pivotal role in the realization of utility-scale photonic quantum computers.
