IPKISS Link for Siemens EDA
The IPKISS Link for Siemens EDA (formerly known as IPKISS.eda) plugs into the IPKISS Integrated Photonics Design Platform to allow you to export your parametric cells to L-Edit and L-Edit Photonics by Siemens EDA.
Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) designers enjoying the benefits of a professional EDA environment know that to create a leading edge, good control over the details of complex components is very important. The IPKISS Link for Siemens EDA integrates the Python-powered parametric cells scripted in IPKISS with your preferred GUI.
As a team, not only the bells and whistles of the front-end but also the reliability and scalability of the back-end design flow play an important role. Enjoy a design flow that provides access to more than 14 foundry PDKs, that integrates layout, circuit and physical simulations in one single place.
Enjoy all the advantages of software-driven design with regards to building and maintaining the team’s knowledge and easy re-use of proprietary libraries. IPKISS.eda helps you save time and improves the reliability of your team’s work.
The IPKISS Link for Siemens EDA is fully compatible with L-Edit and L-Edit Photonics, the easy-to-use and professional EDA environment from Siemens EDA. You will be able to import the IPKISS PDKs with the click of a button. The IPKISS Link for Siemens EDA is also compatible with the L-Edit PDKs and adds advanced routing and specialized components on top of them.
- Complete control of your design flow: A Python front-end for scripted parameterized components and advanced waveguide routing. A Python back-end to build a reliable and scalable design flow.
- Complete framework for the design and the design management of integrated photonics chips, including physical and circuit simulations, mask design, fabrication and measurement through the IPKISS Integrated Photonics Design Platform.
- Integration with Calibre® and Standard Verification within the Tanner EDA framework by Siemens Digital Industries Software.
- Deployable to 3rd party design flows using the OpenAccess standards.
The rich layout capabilities of L-Edit and L-Edit Photonics combined with the IPKISS library of parameterized photonic components and PDKs give users the ability to drag and drop the photonic components into their layouts and immediately connect them through waveguides, while having full control over cross-section shapes, bends and trajectories.
KEY FEATURES
User interface
- IPKISS integrated photonics design platform: Python parametric cells (pcells) and design flow automation
- Python front-end to the Siemens EDA framework (to be obtained through Siemens EDA) - Dragg-and-drop integration
- Python Notebooks: for simulation and quick-start training
Available technologies
- PDKs: 14+ IMEC iSiPP50G, IHP, AMF: Full overview
- Packaging Libraries: Tyndall
- Create custom technologies: layer stacks, visualization, fabrication process flows
Layout
- Drag & drop component placement
- Non-Manhattan connectors
- Inspect and modify pcell parameter values from the GUI
- Routed waveguide generation: intuitive, full routing path control and automatic manhatten routing
- Hierarchical component management
- Photonic waveguide definitions: flexible cross sections, parametric bend algorithms
- DRC by Calibre® and Standard Verification within the L-Edit framework
- GDSII import/export
Photonics components library
- Extended multilibrary support (IPKISS + PyCell libraries)
- Standard components library available from within the L-Edit GUI
- Parameterized components from IPKISS
- Predefined waveguide definitions: strip, rib, slot, multi-level
- Splitters, couplers, bends, crossings, apertures
- Fiber couplers: line grating coupler, curved grating coupler, inverted taper
- Filters: MMI, Mach–Zehnder interferometer, (multi-)ring resonator, in-line gratings
- Photonic crystals: 1D and 2D photonic crystals including photonic crystal cavities
- I/O: components for organizing structures towards input-output, automatically adding fiber couplers to them and stacking them vertically, automatic layouting
- Containers: Extend, fanout, reroute, terminate, autotransitioning ports
- Alignment markers, fiducials
Simulation
- CAPHE Circuit Simulation
- Compact/Behavioural-model based circuit simulation from the Python script UI
- Flexible and powerful definition of S parameter and time domain simulation models in python
- Virtual fabrication for interfacing to EM simulation tools. CAMFR built-in, optional integration with CST Studio Suite, Lumerical FDTD. Others available on request
Python based design framework
- IPKISS integrated photonics design platform
- Circuit simulations based on compact models
- Python: an easy, industry standard scripting language
- Define building blocks in one place: reduce copy/paste and translation between tools
- Extract different representations (“views”) from a single definition: layout, 3D model, compact circuit models, circuit connectivity, test procedure,…
- Exchange information between views
- Add optimization, post-processing calculations, visualizations using the numerous scientific Python libraries
Design flow automation
- Smart automation through Python scripting
- Interface to 3rd party tools
- Combine with software engineering tools such as Github
- OpenAccess database automation (OaScript)
The design of a 2x2 Optical Crossconnect.
An optical cross-connect (OXC) is a device used by telecommunications carriers to switch high-speed optical networks for broadcasting and multicasting.
In this example we develop a 2x2 switch. We show how easy it is to layout a photonics circuit, based on libraries of parameterized components. Controlling waveguide routes and shapes. Detecting crossings. Applying DRC.
The architecture of the 2x2 cross-connect
The architecture of the 2x2 cross-connect: We can see 4 grating couplers for the optical signals, 5 bond pads for the electrical steering signals and ground. The basic building block is 1x2 Thermo-optic MZI switch (see picture below)
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The 1x2 Thermo-optic MZI switch: A 1x2 splitter splits the optical signal into the 2 arms of the MZI. The heater in one of the arms is steered by the electrical signals. The signals in the two arms are coupled into a 2x2 combiner and fed into the next stage.
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The design flow in IPKISS.eda
- Parameterized components are dragged and dropped from the library (the imec PDK).
- Components like the thermo-optic MZI switch can be hierarchically constructed combining other basic building blocks such as the splitter, combiner, heater and waveguides.
- Connectivity between the different ports is generated using L-Edit functionality.
- Generate waveguides using IPKISS.eda
- Control shapes and bends
- Adjust the waveguide paths
- Detect and introduce crossings
- Add electrical bond pads and wire them using L-Edit.
