Wave Photonics streamlines PIC design with PDK management platform
The new platform, which has been launched with the silicon photonics foundry CORNERSTONE as its first user, integrates PDKs into all major EDA tools to simplify access for PIC designers
Wave Photonics, a Cambridge-based start-up specialising in integrated photonics design, has announced the launch of its PDK Management Platform to integrate foundry PDKs with leading EDA tools, provide ready-calculated S-Parameters for circuit simulation, and provide easy access for designers. The platform aims to reduce repetitive work involved in mapping PDKs to multiple EDA tools, allowing teams to focus on higher-value work.
The platform has been launched with the first foundry adopter, CORNERSTONE, a silicon photonics rapid prototyping foundry that is using the platform to manage and distribute its PDKs across a global base of designers.
Wave Photonics says the platform integrates PDKs into all major EDA tools with no manual setup required. According to the company, the platform has built-in compatibility with Wave Photonics’ EDA partners Luceda Photonics (IPKISS), Cadence (Virtuoso), Siemens (L-Edit Photonics), and the open-source GDSFactory, with functionality for Synopsys (OptoCompiler) and Latitude Design Systems (PIC Studio) coming soon.
Foundries can upload their PDKs directly to the platform. Wave Photonics says the platform then automatically generates S-parameters (which can use Wave Photonics’ fabrication models for improved accuracy), produces documentation, and packages the PDK for integration into EDA tools. Each packaged PDK is hosted on the platform with its metadata, enabling version tracking. Fine-grained access controls and NDA tracking features allow foundries to manage distribution and maintain confidentiality of the process data. Once PDK access is granted to the designers, designers can download the PDK and design immediately using their preferred EDA tool.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Wave Photonics to bring our PDKs to a wider range of PIC design platforms,” said Emre Kaplan, PDK manager at CORNERSTONE. “Together, we’re building a more connected ecosystem that simplifies access, strengthens PDK management, and accelerates the development of next-generation photonic devices. I’d like to thank the teams at Wave Photonics and CORNERSTONE for their shared commitment and collaboration in making this achievement possible.”
James Lee, Wave Photonics CEO, said, “For designers, there is a lot of repetitive work required to access, set up, and get S-Parameters for a PDK, and maintaining and updating the PDK for different tools can be a burden for fabs. With our EDA partners, we’d already built a solution to this for our PDKs and decided to offer this as a service to foundries so they can improve the designer experience and focus their efforts on high-value work and customer support.”
