Photonic quantum computing developer Xanadu (NASDAQ/TSX: XNDU) and Japanese chemical manufacturer Mitsubishi Chemical have announced the second phase of their joint R&D partnership to advance semiconductor fabrication through quantum simulation. The expanded initiative is supported by binational funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and Japan’s Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP). The SIP program component is led by Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and the Global Research and Development Center for Business by Quantum-AI Technology (G-QuAT).
| [ Xanadu & Mitsubishi Chemical Phase 2 EUV Workflow Architecture ] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Quantum Simulation Engine | Multi-Scale Industrial Workflow | Binational Support & Ecosystem |
| • Xanadu FTQC Algorithm Pipeline | • Integrated Mitsubishi Blur Models | • NRC IRAP (Canada Innovation Fund) |
| • Photonic QPU Execution (XNDU) | • EUV Photoresist Chemistry Inputs | • SIP / AIST / G-QuAT (Japan) |
| • 92 eV Photoabsorption Modeling | • Blur-Resistant Resist Discovery | • Cross-Border Tech Scaling |
Mitigating Radiation-Induced Blur in EUV Lithography
Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography operates at 92 eV light wavelengths to etch sub-nanometer circuit patterns onto silicon wafers for advanced AI, mobile, and high-performance computing chips. However, spatial resolution is fundamentally bottlenecked by radiation-induced blurring—a highly complex quantum mechanical phenomenon involving photoabsorption, secondary electron cascades, and Auger decay that classical computers struggle to simulate accurately:
- Phase 1 Validation: Following initial work that demonstrated quantum algorithms could model the optical properties and light-matter interactions of photoresists, Phase 2 moves to establish a production-ready computational pipeline.
- FTQC-Ready Parameter Integration: Parameters computed by Xanadu’s fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) algorithms will feed directly into Mitsubishi Chemical’s multi-scale macroscopic models to predict electron blur and identify new blur-resistant materials.
- Resource Optimization: Algorithms developed by Xanadu target early fault-tolerant quantum hardware, aiming to model 92 eV photoabsorption cross-sections with fewer than 500 physical/logical qubit allocations.
Government Innovation Grants and Corporate Alignment
The project strengthens technology and economic ties between North America and East Asia:
- NRC IRAP Financial Backing: Building on over $800,000 in previous R&D advisory and financial support, NRC IRAP expands its direct funding for Xanadu’s industrial quantum application roadmap.
- Japanese SIP & G-QuAT Mandate: Under the direction of Dr. Masahiro Horibe (Sub-Program Director at SIP and Deputy Director at G-QuAT, AIST), Japan’s SIP program supports the real-world deployment of quantum simulation inside domestic materials manufacturing supply chains.
Led by Xanadu Founder & CEO Dr. Christian Weedbrook and Mitsubishi Chemical Senior Chief Scientist Dr. Qi Gao, the collaboration creates an end-to-end framework to demonstrate commercial utility on early fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Review the press release on GlobeNewswire here, inspect scientific paper preprints on arXiv here, and examine the previous corporate updates of Photonic Quantum Algorithms for Materials Science and Industrial Chemistry here.
August 25, 2026
