Synopsys announces latest RSoft Photonic System Design Suite release

The release expands the software's extensive application design libraries to help engineers quickly build optical communication systems for a variety of applications, including high-speed optical networks, data centre interconnects, silicon photonics and automotive fibre-optic links. The new project design files and application notes reflect emerging trends and innovations in the industry.

Enhanced PIC design with PhoeniX Software's OptoDesigner

Synopsys OptSim Circuit interface, part of the RSoft Photonic System Design Suite, is used to design, optimise and simulate next-gen PICs. OptSim Circuit delivers a new interface with PhoeniX Software's OptoDesigner that supports a comprehensive PIC design flow from simulation to fabrication. In OptSim Circuit, users can load foundry Process Design Kits (PDKs), create a PIC schematic from PDK building blocks and simulate and optimise the PIC. Users can then export netlist information to OptoDesigner to synthesise PIC mask layouts for fabrication. The interface uses an API compliant with PDAFlow standards for interoperability with a wide range of foundry PDKs to enhance PIC design reliability.

"Transitioning from ideas to fabrication is a multi-stage process in the photonic integration ecosystem," said Twan Korthorst, CEO, PhoeniX Software. "The new PDAFlow-compliant interface between OptSim Circuit and PhoeniX Software's OptoDesigner provides designers with the ability to create manufacturable mask layouts from OptSim Circuit schematics. Together, these tools provide a path to support the industry in leveraging photonic PDK libraries and bring PICs into a wide variety of application areas."

"The OptSim Circuit interface with PhoeniX Software's OptoDesigner helps RSoft product customers accelerate the design and fabrication of PICs," said George Bayz, Vice President and General Manager, Optical Solutions Group, Synopsys. "The development of manufacturable PICs is important for supporting faster, energy-efficient fibre optic networks, more effective bandwidth utilisation and ever-increasing network traffic growth."

Expanded libraries of application examples

Version 2016.06 adds new project design files and application notes to the Photonic System Design Suite's extensive pre-supplied design libraries to help customers quickly build and simulate fibre-optic systems and PICs. The application notes provide pre-built design files for a number of emerging areas of research and industry innovations, including silicon photonics and photonic integration, spectrally efficient data centre networks, high-speed optical interconnects and automotive large-core fibre links.

OptSim library enhancements:

• Updated n-PAM DSP library functions, including a more accurate analytical BER calculation, improved automatic threshold calculation and support for nonlinear level spacing for systems using Mach-Zehnder modulators.
• New application notes analysing and estimating penalties from total jitter, crosstalk, ground noise pickup, multipath interference and intermodulation distortions. The notes are useful for designers of Ethernet systems, data centre links, high-speed optical interconnects, analogue radio-over-fibre systems and optical networks.

OptSim Circuit library enhancements:

• New application notes for designers of silicon photonics, PICs, photonic sensors and transceiver chips.

ModeSYS library enhancements:

• New application notes for designers of multimode fibre-optic communication systems, Large-Core, Step-Index (LC-SI) fibre-based automotive links and interconnects.

The RSoft Photonic System Design Suite version 2016.06 is available now. Customers with a current maintenance agreement can download the software from the Synopsys website using their SolvNet account.