Synopsys and TSMC partner on silicon photonics
The companies have announced several new collaborations, including developing end-to-end multi-die electronic and photonic flow solutions for TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engine (COUPE) technology
Synopsys has announced broad EDA and IP collaborations with TSMC for advanced node designs, adding that they have been deployed across a range of applications, including AI, high-performance computing, and mobile designs. Among the newest collaborations is a co-optimised Photonic IC flow, addressing the application of silicon photonics technology in the quest for better power, performance, and transistor density. Synopsys also noted the industry's confidence in its digital and analogue design flows, which it says are production-ready for TSMC N3/N3P and N2 process technologies.
The two companies are collaborating on next-generation AI-driven flows, including Synopsys DSO.ai, for design productivity and optimisation. In addition, Synopsys is developing a broad portfolio of Foundation and Interface IP on TSMC N2/N2P. In a related announcement, Keysight, Synopsys, and Ansys introduced a new integrated radio frequency (RF) design migration flow from TSMC's N16 process to its N6RF+ technology.
Regarding the Photonic IC flow, Synopsys noted that the high volume of data processing for AI training requires low-latency, power-efficient, and high-bandwidth interconnects, driving the adoption of optical transceivers and near-/co-packaged optics using silicon photonics technology. Together with TSMC, the company is developing end-to-end multi-die electronic and photonic flow solutions for TSMC's Compact Universal Photonic Engine (COUPE) technology to enhance system performance and function. This flow spans photonic IC design with Synopsys OptoCompiler and integration with electrical ICs utilising Synopsys 3DIC Compiler and Ansys multiphysics analysis technologies.
“The advancements in Synopsys' production-ready EDA flows and photonics integration with our 3DIC Compiler, which supports the 3Dblox standard, combined with a broad IP portfolio enable Synopsys and TSMC to help designers achieve the next level of innovation for their chip designs on TSMC's advanced processes,” said Sanjay Bali, vice president of strategy and product management for the EDA Group at Synopsys. “The deep trust we've built over decades of collaboration with TSMC has provided the industry with mission-critical EDA and IP solutions that deliver compelling quality-of-results and productivity gains with faster migration from node to node.”
Dan Kochpatcharin, head of the Design Infrastructure Management Division at TSMC, added: “Our close collaboration with Open Innovation Platform (OIP) ecosystem partners like Synopsys has enabled customers to address the most challenging design requirements, all at the leading edge of innovation from angstrom-scale devices to complex multi-die systems across a range of high-performance computing designs. Together, TSMC and Synopsys will help engineering teams create the next generation of differentiated designs on TSMC's most advanced process nodes with faster time to results.”
Image credit: Synopsys
