Albany, New York, USA -- AIM Photonics has announced the addition of the Synopsys OptoCompiler™ electronic and photonic design automation (EPDA) solution to the set of design tools supporting its silicon nitride (SiN) photonic integrated circuit (PIC) process design kit (PDK).

Synopsys OptoCompiler is the foundation of Synopsys' unified electronic and photonic design platform and is a complete end-to-end design, verification and signoff solution for PICs. Synopsys OptoCompiler combines mature and dedicated photonic technology with industry-leading simulation and physical verification tools to enable engineers to design and verify complex PICs quickly and accurately.

“Synopsys is part of a trusted design ecosystem dedicated to advancing semiconductor development and manufacturing,” said Twan Korthorst, group director of Photonic Solutions at Synopsys. “We are pleased to support AIM Photonics’ mission to assist mutual customers with photonic IC development by including their SiN PDK in Synopsys OptoCompiler. Synopsys' membership in AIM helps designers efficiently create powerful new photonic-enabled chips and systems.”

“Our goal is to continue to advance and grow the integrated photonics ecosystem, and the Synopsys OptoCompiler gives designers yet another option to design their PICs using AIM Photonics’ PDKs,” said Amit Dikshit, AIM Photonics’ design enablement manager. “We’re proud to be able to offer our members and customers a wide range of options that enable them to choose the appropriate technology and design IP specific to their application, performance and business needs.”

A PDK is a set of building blocks developed and provided by foundries to enable designers to create PIC designs that can be manufactured in their facilities. AIM Photonics currently offers two PDKs: one for base passive and base active PICs, and the recently released SiN PDK, which includes the TLX component library. Each PDK includes design guides, design rule checking decks, component libraries, and various plug-ins/scripts for designers to create PIC prototypes to manufacture with AIM Photonics’ multi-project wafer fabrication services.

Additionally, Synopsys IC Validator™ is also supported as one of AIM Photonics’ signoff design rule check (DRC) tools for design submissions to its multi-project wafer (MPW) runs.

For more information about all of AIM Photonics supported EPDA tools, see https://www.aimphotonics.com/epda.

About AIM Photonics

The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) is one of nine Manufacturing Innovation Institutes established and managed by the U.S. Department of Defense to advance new technology and capabilities into products and systems that help secure national defense and economic priorities. We enable current and future photonics technologies by integrating traditional photonics with advanced nanotechnology transistors on a silicon wafer fabricated using a standard silicon foundry process.

Our goal is to help U.S. companies—both small and large—develop innovative products and services by providing them with technology on-ramps and access to strategic U.S. government, industry, and academic communities. We offer our prototyping services through the Albany Nanotech Complex, the most advanced publicly owned 300 mm wafer R&D facility in the world, and our state-of-the-art 300 mm test, assembly, and packaging facility in Rochester, New York, which provides advanced wafer-level and die-level test and assembly for electronic and photonic packaging.