Synopsys driving advancement of PIC technologies with PIC Design Suite
Synopsys and Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF) have announced that a new, production-ready process design kit (PDK) based on AMF's silicon photonics (SiP) process is now available in the Synopsys OptoDesigner photonic integrated circuit (PIC) layout software.
Synopsys is driving the advancement of PIC technologies with its PIC Design Suite, which comprises the OptSim Circuit and OptoDesigner tools. The suite offers a seamless PIC design flow with photonic-aware physical layout capabilities enabled by support for foundry-specific PDKs. PDKs provide a crucial link between photonic circuit simulation and layout tools by supporting efficient design concept verification, signoff checks, and mask generation.
The AMF PDK includes passive and active photonic components optimized for 1550 and 1310 nm communications wavelengths, including high-speed modulators, low loss couplers, polarization components, and high-bandwidth photo detectors. AMF's silicon photonics offerings include MPW runs, customized platform development, 200-millimeter volume manufacturing, integrated MEMS optical assemblies, packaging, and opto-electric testing.
"We are excited to partner with AMF to help designers accelerate the development of advanced photonic applications using AMF's silicon photonics processes," said Tom Walker, group director of R&D for Synopsys' Photonic Solutions. "OptoDesigner users can quickly verify and synthesize SiP-based PIC layouts for fabrication to support high-speed data communications and advanced sensing applications."
"Our collaboration with Synopsys enables our customers to access a full suite of AMF's device library with ready-to-use passive and active functional blocks through decade long development efforts," said Dr. Tan Yong Tsong, CEO of AMF. "Our customers can look forward to shortening design cycles and time to market."
