News: Optoelectronics
29 May 2025
Aeluma and Thorlabs unveil large-diameter wafer manufacturing platform for quantum computing and communication
Aeluma Inc of Goleta, CA, USA — which develops compound semiconductor materials on large-diameter substrates — has announced an advance in silicon photonics that could accelerate the adoption of quantum computing and communication at commercial scale, it is reckoned.
Aeluma's large-diameter wafer platform combines the performance of compound semiconductors with the scale of mainstream silicon manufacturing, enabling cost-effective solutions across high-growth markets including mobile, AI, defense & aerospace, automotive, and quantum computing.
Silicon photonics is a promising technology for quantum computing and communication. Aeluma says tht its ability to incorporate quantum dot sources and highly nonlinear electro-optic materials unlocks new high-performance functionality for this platform.
Collaborating with vertically integrated photonics products maker Thorlabs Inc of Newton, NJ, USA, and with support from the US Office of Secretary of Defense, Aeluma demonstrated wafer-scale integration of the nonlinear optical material aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) onto CMOS silicon photonics standard 200mm-diameter wafers, providing a path for scaling complex quantum photonic circuits.
The nonlinear optical material enables entangled photon pair generation and modulation, which are key building blocks for quantum photonic systems. Compared with other materials like silicon nitride or lithium niobate, AlGaAs offers significantly improved efficiency for next-generation quantum photonic circuits.
“Scalable photonic integration is essential to move quantum technologies out of the lab and into real-world systems,” says Matthew Dummer Ph.D., director of technology at Aeluma. “By merging the performance of compound semiconductors with the scalability of silicon photonics, we are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in quantum and AI.”
This combination of advanced materials and CMOS silicon substrates, using manufacturing methods compatible with mainstream fabs, marks a step toward volume production, which could move quantum technologies out of research labs and into mass-market products, says Aeluma.
“This successful collaboration was enabled by the large-area epitaxial growth capabilities of Aeluma and the direct wafer bonding expertise at Thorlabs,” says Garrett Cole Ph.D., manager of Thorlabs Crystalline Solutions of Santa Barbara, CA, USA. “The heterogeneous integration of compound semiconductor materials on silicon is broadly applicable and now shows significant promise for quantum photonics,” he adds.
The demonstration complements Aeluma’s work with quantum dot materials in 300mm silicon photonics, aimed at optical interconnects for AI infrastructure and advanced sensing. It directly addresses a long-standing challenge in scaling quantum photonic systems and could provide a meaningful step forward for quantum system integrators pursuing scalable, production-ready solutions, reckons Aeluma.
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