Belgian firm, Luceda Photonics, has received €340,000 to commercialise its photonics integrated circuit design software. Luceda Photonics was founded in June 2014 as a spin-off from Ghent University (UGent), the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Imec. Its IPKISS design framework covers the complete photonic IC design flow from component design and simulation through circuit definition and layout, to tape-out and testing.
The IPKISS framework was originally developed by UGent’s Photonics Research Group and Imec’s associated lab at UGent. Other highlights of the IPKISS environment include CAPHE, a circuit simulation tool for complex optical circuits and B-CALM, a GPU accelerated FDTD simulator.
Transferring information optically via photonic integrated circuits is much more efficient than via electrical circuitry. IBM and Intel, for instance, are developing photonic ICs for use in data centres and supercomputers.
Erwin De Baetselier, CEO of Luceda Photonics, commented: ‘We want photonic IC designers to enjoy the same first-time-right design experience as electronics IC designers. IPKISS is a state of the art environment that makes the design flow for photonic ICs robust and will save our customers considerable design time. The open nature of the IPKISS toolset permits the seamless integration of various third party or even in-house tools and measurement capabilities. The photonics designers will gain insight, repeatability and accuracy of their entire design process.’
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