Xanadu Quantum Technologies is partnering with ASML to develop advanced lithography processes for Xanadu's photonic quantum hardware.

Xanadu, a Canadian photonic quantum computing company, on Wednesday said that the collaboration will focus on reducing line edge roughness, or LER, a critical manufacturing hurdle in photolithography that causes optical signal loss.

Reducing optical loss is critical for bringing photonic quantum hardware to fault-tolerant, error-corrected scale.

"Collaborating with ASML gives Xanadu the opportunity to explore advanced, industry-leading lithography processes that will support the continued development of our photonic quantum hardware," Xanadu Chief Executive Christian Weedbrook said.

In late June, Xanadu laid out a timeline to build commercial-grade quantum computers by the end of the decade. The company expects to hit key engineering milestones between 2028 and 2029 to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer, one of which will be on reducing loss--the primary source of error in its photonic architecture--to a level where quantum error correction can more effectively correct logical errors.