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Photonic 91³Ô¹ÏÍø Enewsletter

Photonic 91³Ô¹ÏÍø Quarterly Update - June 2022

This newsletter provides the latest information on Synopsys Photonic 91³Ô¹ÏÍø including product announcements, new papers, tech talks, upcoming events, and more.

In this issue:

 

Photonic 91³Ô¹ÏÍø v2022.06 Releases Now Available

OptoCompiler Release Highlights

  1. Photonic enhancements and fixes:
    • FlexConnector family PolyLine Reshape no longer experiences a slowdown
    • Back-annotation of devices that are internally hierarchical no longer breaks
    • Connectors take subgrid offset into account (for seamless abutment)
    • Fixed photonic align subgrid offset test for R180 placement
    • Added ¡®-lpp¡¯ parameter to ps::busMockup to enable any layer-purpose pair for the mockup layout
    • pxFlexConnectorManhattan no longer causes an infinite loop when straightName or arcName are empty strings
    • Proper behavior when setting parameters back to default; all Tcl procedures that generate CDF now set the storeDefault flag
    • Radius property value on outward-facing ports now has the correct sign
    • All connectors no longer lose connectivity when evaluation fails
  2. Design Checking, Physical Verification, and Extraction (PVE)
    • A new feature, Partial Layout Extraction (PLE) is available to speed up analog design closure. The flow can help avoid extra design iterations by providing accurate simulation results based on best-available parasitics and layout dependent effects, long before the layout is complete and LVS clean. The PLE workflow integrates the signoff StarRC, IC Validator and PrimeSim engines in a way that delivered signoff quality results in an interactive setting during a layout creation process. 
    • Exploring GPD parasitic database from schematic view 
  3. Co-design
    • New Export to Fusion Compiler and Export to IC Compiler II commands
    • New Validate for Fusion Compiler and Validate for IC Compiler II
  4. Custom Compiler Environment
    • Python Support
    • Selection Table Assistant 
  5. In-Design Electrical Reporting
    • New EM Calculator
    • EM reporter 
      • Descriptions are added for dynamic electromigration analysis. See Types of EM Analysis and Workflow for Dynamic EM Analysis.
      • The new Load Report in Results Browser
  6. Layout
    • Merge highlighted shapes on the layout canvas
  7. PrimeWave Design Environment
    • Monte Carlo Enhancements: Sigma Amplification and Fast Sensitivity
    • Back-Annotation Enhancement: Print SPF Annotation Results
    • PrimeSim XA Enhancement to Block Level Options
    • New Help Buttons in Property Editor for analogLib Elements
  8. Routing
    • Pattern Route Assistant
      • New Import and Export Custom Patterns command
      • New Add Custom Pattern to Catalog
  9. SDL and Visually Assisted Automation
    • Introduces new placement template
  10. Schematic Editor
    • Net Tracer Assistant enhancement

OptoDesigner Release Highlights

Fixes and enhancements:

  • mask::netlist() now has an extra parameter to display only certain elements
  • New function pda::getNetlistBBs returns a data structure with all layout instances in a pda netlist
  • Commenting out #endif in scripts now works as expected
  • Classes like vector_int are no longer part of the standard @layout, but must be included through #include @stdlib
  • pdk packing functionality
  • gds file import correctly interprets mirrored instantiations again
  • Trenching operations now support layer (0,0)
  • No longer removes nonstandardly-named 'PDAConfig.ini' when lib.defs file is present
  • pda::newBB now errors out if the requested name is an empty string
  • Invalid characters in loaded scripts now properly detected and replaced by spaces
  • Invalid character encoding in loaded scripts detected
  • Help menu xml can also be loaded without an internet connection
  • pxBusGuide with single waveguide now uses specified radius
  • Fixed bug in Concat function that could invert the sign of the first entry
  • BendEulerFull with negative angle now has correct output port location
  • ml::CircleSegment no longer triggers erroneous mcsCurveCheck errors
  • Fixed crash in export for very rare cases

OptSim Release Highlights

New Support for Multimode Simulations for PICs

Most Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) are designed with fundamental modes. However, applications for multimode silicon photonics are on the rise. These applications include mode-division multiplexing, multimode coupling, on-chip nonlinear photonics, on-chip polarization handling devices and multimode gratings, and quantum photonics. To be able to model multimode photonic applications, the photonic simulators need to evolve from supporting few modes (TE, TM and crosstalk) to supporting multimode simulation, analyses and visualization.

  1. Synopsys OptSim 2022.06 adds new model templates and modeling capabilities as enumerated below to facilitate multimode PIC simulations:
    • Additional model templates for:
      • Mode Adder
      • Mode Splitter 
      • Mode Combiner
      • Polarized Mode Splitter
      • Polarized Mode Combiner
  2. New multimode support in the Waveguide model template
  3. New multimode support in the Multiport Optical Device Bidirectional model template


Added Support for Monte Carlo Analyses

Variations in manufacturing processes and component parameters require rigorous Monte Carlo analyses in order to get realistic estimates of the yield and commercial viability of the design. The Synopsys OptoCompiler platform provides powerful capabilities for Monte Carlo and corner analyses. Since traditional CMOS designers are a key user group of electronic-photonic design automation (EPDA), it is necessary to augment the design experience by providing EDA-like Monte Carlo features to the design flow. Synopsys OptSim v2022.06 adds a new support for statistical expressions during Monte Carlo simulation (e.g., UNIF, AUNIF, GAUSS, AGAUSS, LIMIT) in Synopsys OptoCompiler.


Enhancements to Electronic-Photonic Co-Simulation

Synopsys OptoCompiler and the Synopsys PrimeWave design environment provide designers with seamless schematic entry and simulation setup for both electronics and photonics on the same chip or combination of chips. Designers choose a desired Synopsys PrimeSim electrical simulator (e.g., Synopsys PrimeSim Spice or PrimeSim HSPICE) for co-simulation with Synopsys OptSim. Synopsys OptoCompiler v2022.06 extends co-simulation support to schematics with multi-level, mixed-domain hierarchies including electronic and photonic devices.

Photonic Device Compiler Release Highlights

  • Default option added for theta setting of port monitors
  • A number of updates to the Alchemy Flow:
  • Support for a number of new keywords including:
    • New model_types: Schematic
    • New device_type: FlexConnector, CompositeWaveguide
  • Miscellaneous usability improvements and bug fixes
Photonic Device Compiler | Synopsys

RSoft Photonic Device Tools Release Highlights

  • Added more outputs to LED Utility, luminance, radiance, and tristimulus values for LED simulation
  • Updated the interface with Synopsys Sentaurus TCAD to maintain compatibility with the new proprietary TDR data format, as well as input of custom Soref coefficients
  • Added new overlap monitor functionality and analysis
    • Includes plane wave and Gaussian test field options, in addition to the existing launch field and data file options
    • Displays the output polarization angle of a vector field
  • Added support of SGE/UGE batch scheduler for Cloud computation, in addition to LSF and PBS batch schedulers
  • Added Sapphire, TiO2, BK7 glass to the material library to support metalens design
  • Updated Python API supports the creation of RSoft CAD files via scripting, and includes improved debugging features
  • Photonic Device Compiler, which utilizes the RSoft Photonic Device Tools and Custom PDK Utility to develop photonic devices within Synopsys OptoCompiler, adds Custom PDK Utility improvements in this release.
CMOS Image Sensor | Synopsys
RSoft Photonic Device Tools | Synopsys

On-Demand Tech Talks and Presentations

View the latest:

Suitability of BPM for Silicon Photonics Tech Talk
Fiber and Waveguide Design and Simulation: Strengths of RSoft and Photonic Device Tools Tech Talk

Also available:
  • Metalens Design and Simulation with RSoft and CODE V
  • From Optical Fibers to Transceivers: Inter-Datacenter System Design
  • Simulation of Micro-LEDs Using RSoft Photonic Device Tools
  • New Features v2021.03 Synopsys Webinar
  • Designing an Optical Transceiver

News

Popular Application Notes

Industry Articles

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Upcoming Training and Events

Joint Webinar


28 June 2022

  • Session 1 ¨C China 11:00am | Japan 12:00pm 
  • Session 2 ¨C USA PST 9:00am | Europe (Germany) 6:00pm 

Conferences


28-29 June 2022, Brussels, Belgium

Presentation by Twan Korthorst: "E-O-E Co-design using customizable IP for High-Performance Computing Data Centre Interconnects"


19-22 July 2022
Torremolinos, Spain
 


19-21 September 2022
Basel, Switzerland

Training and Tech Talks

Using Scripts with the RSoft Photonic Device Tools Tech Talk
15 June 2022
4:00¨C5:00 p.m. CEST
10:00¨C11:00 a.m. EDT
 

RSoft Photonic Device Tools Discovery Training (North America and Europe) 
28 June 2022
3:00¨C6:00 p.m. CEST

6 September 2022
3:00 p.m.¨C6:00 p.m. CEST 

8 November 2022
3:00 p.m.¨C6:00 p.m. CET

RSoft Passive Components Training (Europe & North America) 
20¨C22 September and 27¨C28 September 2022
2:00 p.m.¨C6:00 p.m. CEST
9:00 a.m ¨C 12:00 p.m. PDT

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