Xanadu partners with DISCO to develop advanced wafer processing
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.
Canadian photonic quantum computing company Xanadu and Japan-based precision machine and processing tool manufacturer DISCO Corporation 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, Xanadu said in a media release.
High-quality wafer dicing is essential for photonic chip singulation and contributes to reducing optical losses. 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, the media release said.
“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.”
“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. DISCO is uniquely positioned to support Xanadu and growing market demand for highly clean, highly precise, and highly intelligent manufacturing.”