Wave Photonics Adds Synopsys OptoCompiler Support for Its PDK Platform

Insider Brief

• Wave Photonics has announced that all PDKs available through its PDK Management Platform are now compatible with Synopsys OptoCompiler.
• The integration enables designers to access photonic design kits for multiple materials and wavelengths, supporting applications including quantum technologies, datacomms, and sensing.
• The platform also simplifies PDK distribution and management for foundries through features such as version tracking, documentation generation, and IP protection.

Press release – Wave Photonics announced that, as of today, all the PDKs developed or managed by Wave Photonics through the PDK management platform are now compatible with Synopsys OptoCompiler. OptoCompiler is the industry’s first unified electronic and photonic design platform, combining dedicated photonic technology with Synopsys’ industry-proven electronic design capabilities, including schematic-driven layout, photonic circuit simulation, and verification, enabling designers to create and verify complex photonic integrated circuits quickly and accurately.

Designers working in OptoCompiler can now access PDKs covering multiple materials and wavelengths, from blue to telecoms bands, and use them to design PICs for a wider range of applications, including datacoms, quantum technologies, and sensing. The PDKs also come with pre-calculated S-parameters, allowing users to simulate their circuits in Synopsys OptSim before tape-out.

For foundries, this integration simplifies PDK distribution to the OptoCompiler designer base. CORNERSTONE, one of the foundries using Wave Photonics’ PDK Management Platform, now has its open-sourced PDKs available to OptoCompiler users through the platform. More broadly, the platform helps foundries reduce the overhead of maintaining multiple PDK integrations while making it easier to access PDKs, install them, and use them for design and simulation across major design tools. The platform also supports PDK version tracking, automated documentation generation, NDA tracking, and black-box IP protection, helping foundries manage PDK distribution securely and efficiently.

The addition of OptoCompiler support expands the reach of Wave Photonics’ PDK Management Platform, helping bridge the gap between foundries and designers across the PIC ecosystem. By streamlining PDK distribution and access, Wave Photonics is enabling more designers to start designing for emerging photonic processes while helping foundries turn process capability into broader ecosystem usage.

To learn more about how the platform works, explore here: pdk.wavephotonics.com

Sander Roosendaal, R&D Engineering Director at Synopsys, said, “Synopsys OptoCompiler and Lumerical tools are built by photonics experts for photonics designers. We are pleased that Wave Photonics‘ PDK platform makes PDKs from smaller foundries and for emerging applications available in an easy and reliable way.”

Emre Kaplan, PDK Manager at CORNERSTONE, said, “Making our PDKs easily accessible to designers is an important focus for us. Wave Photonics’ PDK management platform has been a great support, helping us quickly make our PDKs available across design environments. With our PDKs now available in Synopsys tools, this is an exciting step forward, giving us the opportunity to reach a broader community of designers to develop PICs using our technology.”

James Lee, Wave Photonics CEO, said, “Adding the integration to Synopsys gives our users the ability to use our PDKs with leading EDA tooling with no setup effort. This will be particularly useful for customers working with smaller foundries or in the quantum space, where, unlike in the datacoms space, the available PDKs tend not to support the Synopsys tools natively. By leveraging the automation behind our PDK design and the management platform, all current and future PDKs will work out of the box with OptoCompiler.”