Sep 24 2015
A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and Lumerical Solutions, Inc. (Lumerical), a global provider of photonic design software, today announced they have co -developed a calibrated compact model library (CML) for IME's silicon photonics platform and process design kit (PDK). The CML will help photonic integrated circuit (PIC) designers who use IME's silicon photonics process to improve the accuracy and reliability of their designs.
IME's 25G silicon photonics platform and PDK are built on validated processes and devices. They offer state-of-the-art performance and enable PIG designers to build reliable devices, system architectures and achieve prototyping and product manufacturing with ease.
PIG design is often manual and iterative, and is based on custom component libraries and workflows, which may lead to errors and multiple design revisions. Leveraging IME's capabilities in silicon photonics process and device technology, and Lumerical's expertise in integrated photonics device simulation and circuit design tools, the collaboration overcame these challenges by adding calibrated simulation models to IME's silicon photonics PDK. The CML enables designers to accurately simulate and optimise the performance of complex PIG designs prior to fabrication.
The CML includes 15 active and passive elements, from waveguides to modulators and photo detectors, and forms part of IME's silicon photonics PDK, along with process data, layer tables, cells for device layout and design rules (See Annex A for more details on the CML).
With silicon photonics emerging as a leading technology platform for high bandwidth optical communication, R&D is critical in addressing the industry's needs for increasingly complex photonic-electronic circuits. I am confident that the combined strengths of IME’s capabilities in silicon photonics technologies for integration and manufacturing, and Lumerical’s experience in innovating design tools will enable designers to produce quality photonic integrated circuits, and accelerate the production of next generation devices”, said Prof. Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director, IME.
“The addition of calibrated models to IME’s photonic PDK is a compelling step forward in establishing the design and fabrication ecosystem necessary for photonic circuit designers to realise the commercial potential of integrated photonic technologies,” stated Todd Kleckner, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Lumerical. “We are excited to work with a renowned and innovative research institute like IME and support joint users of IME’s MPW services and our design tools to confidently scale design complexity and deliver on their next ambitious design challenge.”