Only simple expressions are allowed as parameters on both the PDK component definitions and on the element usage inside OptSim Circuit. OptSim Circuit and OptoDesigner both have to be able to evaluate the expressions, thus expressions such as mcsGetWidth() are not supported as they only work in OptoDesigner.
Troubleshooting
If you have any questions please contact us at photonics_support@synopsys.com.
The following steps can be taken to help solve common problems in porting designs between OptSim Circuit and OptoDesigner.
1. OptoDesigner does not load the .moml from OptSim Circuit
Problem: You get an error message when you open a moml file in OptoDesigner.
Possible causes:
- The foundryName property in OptSim circuit is not set. To solve this, open the .moml file in OptSim circuit. Right-click in the design area and select: Properties to set the global Properties of the circuit. Set the parameter foundryName to the name of your PDK. See the complementary documentation of the PDK for the exact spelling of the foundry name.
- The PDK is not loaded in OptoDesigner. To load the PDK, go to the PDAconfig.ini file, and add the PDK as described in Chapter 1.2 Configuration file.
- The .moml file contains one or more elements that are not in the PDK in OptoDesigner. Check the PDK complementary documentation to see which PDK elements are supported.
2. Errors opening a .moml from OptoDesigner into OptSim Circuit
Problem: You get error messages when you open a .moml that has been exported from OptoDesigner in OptSim Circuit. Possible causes:
- The .moml file contains one or more elements that are not in the PDK in OptSim Circuit. Check the PDK complementary documentation to see which PDK elements are supported.
- In OptoDesigner, elements have been connected to global input or output ports. As a result, ports are duplicately defined in OptSim circuit. To solve this, go back to OptoDesigner to make sure that no elements are connected to global ports.
3. When re-opening a .moml in OptSim Circuit, all elements are on top of each other
Problem: You open a moml file that has been exported from OptoDesigner in OptSim circuit. All elements are shown on top of each other, but the connections are preserved. The original locations of the elements are lost. Possible causes:
- If the circuit was saved as a .spt file and then exported as a .moml file, .spt files do not contain information about the positions of elements in OptSim circuit, so this information got lost when the design was saved as .spt.
- To prevent information loss in OptoDesigner, it is recommended to first save your design as moml and then as spt.