Photonic Solutions Enewsletter

RSoft Photonic Component Design Suite Version 2017.09 Now Available

RSoft Photonic Component Design Suite Version 2017.09 Now Available

We are pleased to announce the availability of the RSoft™ Photonic Component Design Suite version 2017.09, which includes the following updates.

  • New S-Matrix/PDK Generation Utility, which automates a link between the RSoft component tools (BeamPROP™, FullWAVE™, and ModePROP™) and OptSim™ Circuit. The interface simplifies the creation of optical PDKs for applications such as silicon photonics and allows component performance to be studied within the context of an optical circuit or system.
  • Extension of Effective Index Method (EIM) to include BeamPROP, FullWAVE, ModePROP and DiffractMOD™. When applicable, this method provides increased simulation efficiency.
  • Improved FullWAVE pulsed/broadband simulation. This feature allows users to accurately simulate the spectral response of photonic devices over a wide wavelength, or spectral, range with just a single simulation.
  • Expanded documentation and examples that demonstrate the RSoft tools’ proprietary conformal meshing capabilities.

Please refer to the RSoft Photonic Component Design Suite 2017.09 Release Notes, available on our Customer Support Portal, for more details about these and other updates included in the release.

RSoft Photonic System Design Suite 2017.09 Now Available

RSoft Photonic System Design Suite 2017.09 Now Available

We are pleased to announce the availability of the RSoft Photonic System Design Suite (System Tools) version 2017.09, which includes the following updates.

In OptSim™:

  • Addition of Viterbi & Viterbi (V&V) M-th power Carrier Phase Estimation (CPE) algorithm in OptSim DSP Library for MATLAB. The V&V M-th power CPE algorithm helps designers with accurate estimation of carrier phase for QPSK and PM-QPSK modulation formats.
  • Application notes and design files to illustrate new features and industry trends.
  • In OptSim and OptSim Circuit:
  • Interface between the RSoft OptSim and OptSim Circuit tools and Synopsys’ HSPICE tool for seamless optoelectronic analysis. With over 25 years of successful design tapeouts, HSPICE is the industry's gold standard electrical circuit simulator and offers foundry-certified electrical MOS device models. The RSoft-HSPICE interface supports precise co-simulation of electronic components in photonic circuits in both on-chip and off-chip optical configurations. RSoft OptSim and OptSim Circuit are the only photonic simulation tools on the market that offer this capability.
  • Application notes and design files to illustrate new features and industry trends.
  • In OptSim Circuit:
  • Support for PhoeniX Software’s OptoDesigner elastic connectors. Constraints from packaging and design rule checks (DRC) can impose restrictive routing requirements on schematic-driven layouts. To help overcome these constraints, OptSim Circuit supports PhoeniX OptoDesigner elastic connectors, where the shape and dimensions of the connectors are determined through tight integration with layout generation, and equivalent compact models for these connectors are created and simulated in OptSim Circuit.
  • Support for the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) Process Design Kit (PDK) version 1.5b and new PDAFlow libraries.
  • Support for the imec Process Design Kit (PDK) version PDK ISIPP50G.
  • In OptSim, OptSim Circuit and ModeSYS™:
  • Ability to add comments/descriptions to component and user-defined variables. Adding comments and descriptions to user-defined and component variables not only aids collaboration, but also helps the original designer recollect the context and definition of the variables during design reviews.

Please refer to the RSoft Photonic System Design Suite 2017.09 Release Notes, available on our Customer Support Portal, for more details about these and other updates included in the release.

Software and License File Download Instructions

North America Customers

Customers in North America will obtain RSoft software and license key files from Beacon Concepts. Please contact Barbara Calt of Beacon Concepts at bcalt@beaconconcepts.net to obtain your software and license key files.

International Customers

International customers will obtain RSoft software and license key files from their local RSoft software distributor. See the Synopsys Optical Solutions Group Global Contacts page for contact information. If your country is not listed on the Distributors page referenced above, please contact us at rsoft_support@synopsys.com for instructions.

Register for RSoft Products Training

Register for RSoft Products Training

Join us for our Fall 2017 RSoft training sessions. Visit our website for more information and register today to reserve your spot.

RSoft Component Tools Topics

October 16-18, 2017

Ossining, NY

RSoft System Tools Topics

October 19-20, 2017

Ossining, NY

Silicon Photonics Workshop on October 24

Silicon Photonics Workshop on October 24

From Ideas to Wafer-Runs: Design Flow and Modeling Challenges in Photonic Integrated Circuits

 

Tuesday, 24th October 2017

9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Holiday Inn

1655 N Central Expy

Richardson, TX 75080

 

Presenters: Dr. Chenglin Xu and Jigesh Patel

Synopsys Optical Solutions Group

 

The Dallas IEEE Photonics Society is hosting a workshop on Silicon photonics and photonic integrated circuits. Live demonstration sessions will introduce participants to simulations of typical design flow for photonic integration from ideas to wafer-runs.

 

The workshop will have four parts:

  • Overview of silicon photonics building blocks and basic circuits
  • Design and optimization of passive and active photonic devices at the physical level
  • Schematic-driven design and layout of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) using a foundry-provided platform design kit (PDK) and user-designed devices
  • Mask layout of PIC designs, and procedures to export PICs to linked foundries for processing

 

The speakers will be available for discussions after the workshop.  This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments and lunch will be provided to pre-registered attendees.

Register online or by email to rsoft_support@synopsys.com by Friday, October 20th. Remote attendance via WebEx is also offered. Please contact us via email to obtain the link.

PIC Training Silicon Valley 2017

November 13-17, 2017

Tektronix

Santa Clara, CA

After two successful training events in 2015 and 2016 with very enthusiastic reactions, a third training is now organized in the week of Nov 13-17, 2017 at Tektronix in Santa Clara, California. The training is a one-stop-shop and covers all the essential topics for producing PICs - system aspects, component tutorial, simulations and chip layout, foundry services (all material systems - Si, InP, and dielectrics), packaging, test and measurement, and business/marketing essentials. It is supported by a broad consortium of over 20 PIC companies and is hands-on, in-depth and practical.

Please register below for more details