ASML and Xanadu Partner to Reduce Optical Losses in Photonic Quantum Chips via Advanced Lithography

September 20, 2026

Bits&Chips Netherlands

Overview

ASML and Canadian quantum computing firm Xanadu have announced a collaboration to enhance the manufacturing of photonic quantum processors using advanced lithography techniques. This partnership aims to reduce optical losses and improve manufacturing efficiency for photonic quantum chips, a critical component of quantum computing systems. This collaboration represents a significant step in hardware development toward realizing practical quantum computing.

In Depth

Key Findings

ASML, a leading supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and Xanadu, a Canadian quantum computing company, have announced a landmark collaboration aimed at revolutionizing the manufacturing of photonic quantum processors. This partnership seeks to leverage ASML’s advanced lithography technology to significantly reduce optical losses and substantially improve manufacturing efficiency in photonic quantum chips, pointing towards critical hardware optimization for achieving high-performance quantum computing systems.

Technical / Clinical Details

Photonic quantum chips utilize photons as information carriers to form qubits and quantum gates. The performance of these chips heavily relies on minimizing optical losses within the photonic pathways. ASML’s lithography technology is essential for forming the minute structures of semiconductor chips with extreme precision, and this precision is key to minimizing photon leakage and scattering within photonic circuits. Xanadu, with its proprietary quantum algorithms and architectures, has sought high-quality photonic chip manufacturing techniques that minimize optical losses. The combination of both companies’ expertise is expected to extend qubit coherence times and reduce error rates, paving the way for the development of larger-scale and more stable quantum processors.

Background & Context

Quantum computing holds the promise of delivering computational power far beyond what current supercomputers can achieve, with potential applications in drug discovery, materials science, and financial modeling. However, a major challenge to its realization is the manufacturing of quantum processors with stable qubits and highly efficient quantum gates. Photonic quantum computing is considered one of the most promising approaches due to advantages such as room-temperature operation and compatibility with existing optical communication infrastructure. The entry of a major semiconductor manufacturing technology company like ASML into the quantum space is crucial for accelerating the maturation of quantum hardware manufacturing.

Strategic Significance & Outlook

The collaboration between ASML and Xanadu will likely mark a significant milestone towards the commercialization of photonic quantum computing. Reducing optical losses and improving manufacturing efficiency will enhance quantum chip yields, lower costs, and ultimately facilitate the broader adoption of quantum computing. This partnership highlights the importance of manufacturing technology in the industrialization of quantum tech and is expected to pave the way for quantum computers to be widely used in practical applications in the future.

Source: https://bits-chips.com/article/asml-joins-xanadu-to-cut-optical-losses-in-photonic-quantum-chips/

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