Xanadu announces quantum computing collaboration with Applied Materials

Companies working to develop high-volume fabrication processes for key component of photonic quantum computers

TORONTO, May 1, 2025 /CNW/ - Xanadu, a leading photonic quantum computing company based in Toronto, Canada, is collaborating with Applied Materials, Inc., a leader in materials engineering, to develop the first 300 mm high-volume-compatible process for building superconducting transition edge sensors (TESs). These TESs are a core component of photon-number-resolving detectors (PNRs), which are key elements that enable the qubit state preparation process in Xanadu's photonic quantum computers.

Xanadu's recent groundbreaking demonstration of its Aurora quantum computer, published in Nature earlier this year, paved the way towards a utility-scale photonic quantum computer by demonstrating the first ever modular, scalable, and networkable quantum computer. As Xanadu shifts its focus towards reducing optical loss throughout different components to achieve fault tolerance, it is also looking ahead to when its quantum computer will be ready to be scaled up to a full-fledged quantum data centre. Such scaling will require mass semiconductor manufacturing capabilities of various components, including TESs for PNRs, to reduce production costs and meet the stringent demands on detector performance, quality, and production volume required.

"Utility-scale quantum computers have exacting fabrication processing demands that require us to continually push what is possible in the fab. Applied Materials has been a tremendous collaborator for us over the years and we are excited to continue working with them on new materials fabrication challenges," says Elliott Ortmann, Head of Fabrication Process Engineering at Xanadu. "Developing the first 300 mm process for TESs opens up the ability to leverage the most advanced fabrication tools to produce higher quality and better-performing devices."

"Applied Materials' collaboration with Xanadu is focused on developing scalable fabrication approaches that can create better quantum devices for the industry," said Dr. Robert Visser, Vice President of Engineering in the Office of the CTO at Applied Materials. "Xanadu's TES design requires advanced materials engineering and process control – areas where Applied brings decades of expertise with 300 mm semiconductor platforms."

This collaboration builds on previous work done jointly between Xanadu and Applied Materials which focused on materials optimization of TES fabrication processes. Over the next year, the two teams aim to demonstrate the first 300 mm platform for building TESs for PNRs. Once a basic demonstration of the platform's capabilities is completed towards the end of 2025, the Xanadu and Applied Materials teams intend to continue optimizing its performance to meet the demands of high-throughput and high-reliability fabrication before ramping up for mass manufacturing.

About Xanadu: Xanadu is a Canadian quantum computing company with the mission to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere. Founded in 2016, Xanadu has become one of the world's leading quantum hardware and software companies. The company also leads the development of PennyLane, an open-source software library for quantum computing and application development. Visit xanadu.ai or follow us on X @XanaduAI.

SOURCE Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc.