Tower Semiconductor Bolsters Quantum Hardware Manufacturing with Xanadu
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Tower Semiconductor and Xanadu are deepening their strategic collaboration, announced February 19, 2026, to accelerate the development of photonic quantum hardware. The companies are co-engineering a unique production flow for Xanadu’s custom material stack, leveraging Tower’s high-volume silicon photonics platform to build a scalable foundation for fault-tolerant quantum computers. This builds upon prior successes, including joint tapeouts to refine Xanadu’s designs. “Our work with Tower has been instrumental in moving our hardware from concept to prototype to demonstrator systems within a scalable manufacturing environment,” said Christian Weedbrook, Founder and CEO of Xanadu. This collaboration aims to meet the manufacturability requirements of large-scale photonic quantum computing as the industry moves toward commercial systems. Tower Semiconductor & Xanadu Expand Photonic Quantum Collaboration The pursuit of practical quantum computing took a significant step forward on February 19, 2026, as Tower Semiconductor and Xanadu announced an expanded partnership focused on silicon photonics. This isn’t merely incremental progress; the collaboration is specifically geared towards creating fault-tolerant quantum computers, leveraging Tower’s established high-volume manufacturing capabilities. Prior joint efforts have already yielded successful “tapeouts” – test runs of Xanadu’s designs on Tower’s production lines – paving the way for this deeper integration. Crucially, the companies have co-engineered a unique production flow tailored to Xanadu’s specific material requirements, creating a platform designed for scalability without sacrificing performance. This custom stack is intended to support the increasing complexity of quantum systems as they evolve, addressing a key challenge in the field. Current development focuses on optimizing critical components using standard product flows for ultra-low loss silicon nitride (SiN) and integrated photodiodes, allowing Xanadu to validate designs on a proven manufacturing platform. Dr. Ed Preisler, Vice President and General Manager of RF Business Unit at Tower Semiconductor, affirmed that “Xanadu is advancing one of the most scalable quantum architectures in the industry, and we’re pleased to deepen our collaboration to support manufacturable scale.” This partnership extends Tower’s reach beyond traditional markets like automotive and data centers, solidifying its position in emerging technologies.
Custom Material Stacks Enable Scalable Quantum Hardware The pursuit of scalable quantum computing hardware is currently focused on refining fabrication processes and material integration, moving beyond theoretical designs toward practical realization. Companies like Xanadu are pioneering approaches using photonic quantum computing, a method promising inherent scalability, but demanding precise manufacturing control. Recent advancements center on the development of custom material stacks, specifically tailored to support the increasing complexity of these quantum systems. Tower Semiconductor, a leading analog semiconductor foundry, is collaborating with Xanadu to engineer a production flow optimized for these stacks. This partnership isn’t simply about manufacturing; it’s about co-engineering a platform that balances scalability with performance. Dr. The ultimate goal is to meet the manufacturability requirements for large-scale photonic quantum computers, paving the way for more powerful and accessible quantum technology. Our work with Tower has been instrumental in moving our hardware from concept to prototype to demonstrator systems within a scalable manufacturing environment. Christian Weedbrook, Founder and CEO of Xanadu SiN & Photodiode Optimization for Low-Loss Performance Tower Semiconductor is concentrating efforts on minimizing signal degradation in Xanadu’s photonic quantum systems through material science advancements. This isn’t simply about incremental improvements; the goal is to validate Xanadu’s advanced photonic circuit designs within a proven, high-volume manufacturing environment, ensuring designs translate effectively to production. The collaboration is yielding tangible results in component optimization, critical for maintaining signal integrity as quantum systems scale. This partnership isn’t confined to quantum computing, however. Dr. The focus on SiN and photodiodes is strategically aligned with meeting the manufacturability demands of large-scale photonic quantum computing, paving the way for more complex and powerful systems. Source: https://towersemi.com/2026/02/19/02192026/ Tags: Quantum News There is so much happening right now in the field of technology, whether AI or the march of robots. Adrian is an expert on how technology can be transformative, especially frontier technologies. But Quantum occupies a special space. Quite literally a special space. A Hilbert space infact, haha! Here I try to provide some of the news that is considered breaking news in the Quantum Computing and Quantum tech space. Latest Posts by Quantum News: Rigetti & Algorithmiq Partner to Tackle Financial Fraud with Quantum Machine Learning February 20, 2026 Bloomberg Reports: Quantum Startup Pasqal Seeks €200 Million to Fuel Growth February 20, 2026 Scaleway & AQT Launch European Quantum Computing Partnership, February 2026 February 20, 2026