Keysight Launches Photonic Designer: A Comprehensive Solution for Accurate Photonic Circuit Design
Introduction to Photonic Designer
Keysight Technologies, Inc. has introduced Photonic Designer, a groundbreaking photonic design automation (PDA) software solution tailored for photonics design engineers. This innovative tool aims to address the growing challenges faced by engineers in the photonics industry, such as fragmented tool chains, inconsistent simulation precision, and increasing compliance requirements. The solution provides a streamlined workflow from concept to simulation, emulation, and manufacturing, ensuring accuracy and ease of use throughout the design process.
The Challenges in Photonics Design
Photonics design engineers often struggle with scattered toolchains and simulation inconsistencies, which can hamper efficiency and the precision needed for high-quality designs. Traditionally, engineers have had to switch between multiple software platforms, each focusing on different aspects of the design process. This creates potential for discrepancies and inefficiencies, making it difficult to ensure design consistency and accuracy.
Keysight’s Comprehensive Solution
To tackle these challenges, Keysight’s Photonic Designer offers a unified, physics-driven simulation environment. It integrates real-world measurement data directly into the simulation workflow, allowing engineers to optimize models and streamline compliance and validation processes. The software ensures that designs meet industry modulation standards before fabrication, providing engineers with a high level of confidence in the accuracy and robustness of their designs.
Key Features and Benefits
- Accurate Design Validation
Photonic Designer ensures that designs are verified against industry modulation standards before fabrication. The software uses best-in-class simulators and models, which allow engineers to confidently create and test photonic circuits while minimizing costly iterations. - Interoperable Workflow
The software supports an open, interoperable workflow ecosystem, allowing for maximum flexibility when integrating with other tools. This eliminates the inefficiencies of using multiple software platforms and ensures a smoother, more seamless design process. - Optimization for Manufacturing Conditions
Photonic Designer enables engineers to optimize photonic model variables to align with foundry processes and manufacturing conditions. This improves the chances of achieving successful fabrication results, reducing time and costs associated with design iteration. - Automation and Acceleration of Design Verification
The solution automates design verification and optimizes workflows, enabling engineers to reduce their go-to-market time and accelerate product development. - Seamless Foundry Compatibility
The tool ensures that designs are compatible with foundry process design kits (PDKs), avoiding costly design iterations that often arise from compatibility issues. This integration ensures that designs can move smoothly from concept to fabrication.
Photonic Designer for Pure and Combined Optical-Electrical Workflows
Photonic Designer is versatile, designed to support both pure optical and combined electrical-optical-electrical workflows. This flexibility allows engineers to simulate, validate, and optimize photonic circuits with ease. The intuitive interface ensures that even complex designs can be managed effectively, meeting stringent design rules for precision and reliability.
Keysight Launches Photonic Designer: A Comprehensive Solution for Accurate Photonic Circuit Design
Partnership with CompoundTek for Enhanced Accuracy
In addition to the core features of Photonic Designer, CompoundTek, a leading provider of photonics foundry services, is offering a Photonic Designer PDK for silicon photonics processes. This collaboration with Keysight allows engineers to confidently design photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with foundry-verified components, ensuring compatibility with manufacturing processes and accelerating the time-to-market for new photonic solutions.
Expert Insights on the Collaboration
S. Gunasagar, Chief Operating Officer at CompoundTek, commented, “We are excited to offer a highly accurate PDK for our silicon photonics process. This integration with Keysight’s ADS allows engineers to confidently design and validate photonic circuits with the assurance of manufacturing compatibility, ultimately accelerating time-to-market for innovative solutions.”
Nilesh Kamdar, EDA Design & Verification General Manager at Keysight, emphasized, “Engineers need a reliable and precise environment to design and validate photonic integrated circuits without unnecessary tool-switching. Photonic Designer provides a single, unified platform that integrates physics-based simulations, PDK customization, and compliance verification, ensuring high-fidelity results from concept to manufacturing.”
Conclusion
Keysight’s Photonic Designer marks a significant step forward in the field of photonics design, providing engineers with a powerful, accurate, and efficient tool to streamline the design process. By combining physics-based simulation, PDK customization, and compliance validation, this solution enables the creation of robust, high-performance photonic circuits with minimal iteration and faster time-to-market.
For more information, check out Keysight’s additional resources:
- Application Note: Optimizing Photodetector Model to a Silicon Photonics Foundry Process
- Product Page: Photonic Designer
- Video: Photonic Designer
- Video: How to Use the Optical Mode Solver from Keysight Photonic Designer
More Information: Attend the Keysight Booth at OFC 2025
Visit the Keysight booth #1301 at the OFC 2025 conference to learn more about Photonic Designer and its capabilities.
About Keysight Technologies
At Keysight, we inspire and empower innovators to bring world-changing technologies to life. As an S&P 500 company, we’re delivering market-leading design, emulation, and test solutions to help engineers develop and deploy faster, with less risk, throughout the entire product life cycle. We’re a global innovation partner enabling customers in communications, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, automotive, semiconductor, and general electronics markets to accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Learn more at Keysight Newsroom and www.keysight.com.
