Mentor’s Tanner EDA partners with VPIphotonics to speed silicon photonic innovation

Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced that its Tanner EDA group is partnering with VPIphotonics – a pioneer of photonics simulation – to deliver dynamic and cost-effective design and analysis solutions for companies developing devices for the emerging silicon photonics market. Silicon photonics brings fiber optics directly into ICs for speed-of-light wired communication infrastructure and computing applications, as well as for more affordable LiDAR systems, which is seen as an essential step for the mass deployment of the autonomous vehicle market.

Through this partnership, Mentor is leveraging VPIphotonics’ 20-plus years of photonic simulation for active/passive/hybrid integrated circuits and systems. The collaboration places unique capabilities in the hands of the designers of complex optoelectronic and photonic integrated circuits and systems.

“With its standard interface to Calibre verification tools, native Open Access data model and quick PDK turnaround times, Mentor’s Tanner EDA technology provides the right environment for photonics IC designers to scale their innovations from the research stage and into production,” said Greg Lebsack, general manager for Tanner products at Mentor, a Siemens Business. “We are pleased to include VPIphotonics technology in our offerings for the photonics community.”

The VPIphotonics simulation environment, in conjunction with Mentor’s Tanner EDA IC layout environment, provides customers with a complete photonic circuit modeling capability that allows them to benchmark circuit performance in simulated system applications. Prior to this collaboration, silicon photonic design teams would need to run and manage multiple platforms to accomplish a complete circuit design and performance assessment.

“VPIphotonics is proud to integrate its best-in-class photonic circuit simulation solutions with the Tanner framework,” said Dr. André Richter, general manager of VPIphotonics. “This collaboration continues our strategy to provide practical and cost-effective design methodologies that meet the needs of our joint customers and the photonics community as a whole.”      

VPIphotonics is recognized as an industry leader for end-to-end photonic design automation comprising design, analysis and optimization of components, systems and networks. The company provides professional simulation software supporting requirements of optoelectronics, integrated photonics and fiber optics applications, optical transmission system and network applications, as well as cost-optimized equipment configuration.

Mentor will exhibit at OFC 2018. Please visit Mentor at the San Diego Convention Center March 13 – 15 at Booth # 5903.