News: Optoelectronics
25 September 2024
OpenLight and Epiphany partner on PIC design
Photonic application-specific integrated circuit (PASIC) chip design and manufacturing company OpenLight of Santa Barbara, CA, USA (which launched as an independent company in June 2022, introducing the first open silicon photonics platform with heterogeneously integrated III-V lasers) has partnered with fabless photonic design house Epiphany, aimed at advancing the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design ecosystem.
Epiphany will gain access to OpenLight’s open heterogeneously integrated III-V-based process design kit (PDK), providing more options and flexibility for mutual customers. OpenLight hence further broadens the scope of design possibilities, paving the way for more innovative and optimized PIC solutions across datacom, LiDAR, AI, healthcare and quantum computing applications.
According to market research firm IDTechEx, the overall PIC market will exceed $22bn by 2034, driven by key advances in technology and applications. The integration of PICs is expected to enhance business processes across multiple sectors by improving energy efficiency, reducing operational costs and supporting faster and more reliable network connections.
“Unlike typical silicon-based semiconductors, there’s a significant shortage of talent capable of designing advanced PICs. Our goal is to make the transformative benefits of heterogeneously integrated silicon photonics PICs accessible to more users,” says OpenLight’s CEO Dr Adam Carter. “By partnering with Epiphany, we’re bringing on PIC design experts who can immediately support customers to create unique, custom solutions using our technology. We’re not just bridging gaps — we’re paving a superhighway for innovation, accelerating development and lowering cost barriers,” he adds.
“The integrated photonics landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace, yet it remains a fragmented ecosystem with significant barricades,” says Epiphany’s co-founder & CEO Jörn Epping. “With OpenLight’s technology, we can leverage our expertise in integrated actives and passives to streamline design processes and address the lack of integration and accessibility while speeding up the adoption of integrated photonics technology across industries.”
The market for heterogeneously integrated PICs is still developing, with standardized processes and common optical test approaches yet to be established. OpenLight’s open PDK is said to offer significant advantages, with a comprehensive library of design components, supporting multiple platforms and technologies and facilitating collaboration between different players in the photonics ecosystem — from designers and manufacturers to end users.
With Epiphany’s expertise in integrating active and passive components in photonic designs and OpenLight’s advanced PDK technology, the PIC design services are said to offer enhanced functionalities and customization to meet customer needs.
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