MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jul. 10, 2018 –
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) and the Institute of Microelectronics of Chinese Academy of Sciences (IMECAS) announced that a new, production-ready silicon photonics process design kit (PDK) based on IMECAS' 8-inch CMOS process is now available in the Synopsys PhoeniX OptoDesigner photonic integrated circuit (PIC) layout software.
Photonics, or the manipulation and movement of light waves, represents a new and growing opportunity for integrated circuit (IC) foundries with applications in high-speed data communications, advanced sensing, and imaging markets. Photonics promises orders-of-magnitude speed improvements with reduced power consumption for data transmission and ultra-sensitive sensing capabilities in multiple domains.
The IMECAS PDK gives access to passive photonic components optimized for the 1550-nanometer (nm) communications wavelength, including several versions of single-mode waveguides, grating couplers, MMIs, waveguide crossings, and thermo-optic heaters used for light modulation. IMECAS' silicon photonics offerings include quarterly MPW runs with expected chip delivery times of approximately three months from the beginning of the MPW run.