US-backed consortium AIM Photonics gains Mentor as newest tier-1 member

The Rochester, NY-based consortium AIM Photonics (American Institute for Manufacturing Photonics), an industry-driven public-private partnership advancing the USA’s photonics manufacturing capabilities, has announced electronic design automation (EDA) software provider Mentor (a Siemens Business) as its newest tier-1 member. Mentor brings its expertise in electronic photonics design automation (EPDA), a critical design technology enabler for AIM Photonics’ process design kit (PDK) and multi-project wafer (MPW).

Mentor’s software and hardware design solutions enable companies to develop electronic products more quickly and cost-effectively. They will help engineers in AIM Photonics and member companies overcome design challenges for increasingly complex board and chip designs, especially regarding integrated silicon photonics.

“AIM Photonics has built an integrated photonics design solution package that is second to none, mainly due to the membership of global electronic design leaders like Mentor,” says AIM Photonics’ CEO Dr Michael Liehr. “Their expertise in functional verification, design for test, and PCB design are a plus for our new Test, Assembly, and Packaging (TAP) facility now under construction,” he adds.

“Mentor’s goal in joining AIM is to unify the electronic and photonic design processes so that custom IC designers can be successful with their photonic IC designs,” says Robert Hum, vice president, Deep Sub Micron Division at Mentor. “We are enhancing our Pyxis-based custom design flow to achieve this goal. The photonic design flow also includes Eldo, Questa ADMS and Calibre for verification.”

Since fall 2016 AIM Photonics has released a number of versions and updates to its PDK, in support of its MPW program and third call for proposals. Mentor also recently presented on PIC design for AIM MPW at the AIM Photonics Proposer event in Rochester. Since then, numerous commercial, government and university organizations have signed up to participate in the PDK and MPW programs.

Mentor recently provided details on a new integration with PhoeniX Software B.V. of Enschede, The Netherlands (also an AIM Photonics EPDA member) that reduces tape-out time for integrated photonics designers by enabling faster iterations between final sign-off verification and the design tool. Designers using the new integration will be able to more quickly identify and correct layout issues to ensure that their designs comply with manufacturing requirements.

“The exceptional response to our PDK and MPW offerings is a testament to what Mentor brings to AIM Photonics’ EPDA program,” comments Brett Attaway, AIM Photonics’ EPDA executive director. “The fantastic synergy between AIM’s EPDA members has been instrumental in bringing new integrated photonic design solutions to the market quickly,” he adds.