OpenLight and DoplayDo Expand Silicon Photonics Ecosystem with GDSFactory Support

The collaboration will drive broad adoption and accelerate the integration of silicon photonics chips for datacom, AI, sensing, LiDAR technologies, quantum computing and consumer applications markets.  

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OpenLight, the world leader in custom Photonic ASIC chip design and manufacturing, today announced a strategic partnership with DoplayDo, the creators of the popular open-source tool GDSFactory, to establish support for the PH18DA process in GDSFactory+, a cutting-edge platform designed for seamless, end-to-end chip design. By integrating UI tools, advanced verification capabilities and professional support, GDSFactory+ builds on GDSFactory's success in lowering the barriers to photonic integrated circuit design, further simplifying access to and adoption of OpenLight's innovative PH18DA technology. 

Over the years, silicon photonics has emerged as a cornerstone technology in areas that require ultrahigh-bandwidth, energy-efficient solutions that can be manufactured at industrial scale. The partnership will focus on enabling broader adoption of heterogeneously integrated InP-based silicon photonics chips, with applications spanning data communications (datacom), artificial intelligence (AI), sensing, LiDAR technologies, quantum computing and consumer applications.  

The collaboration will enable engineers to use GDSFactory to create designs using OpenLight's photonic process design kit (PDK) to support the fabrication of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) using Tower Semiconductor's PH18DA fabrication process. OpenLight's PDK will be one of the first fully supported PDKs on DoplayDo's new platform, GDSFactory+. 

Under the partnership, companies will be able to develop their designs with a suite of streamlined end-to-end design workflows, including Design Rule Check (DRC), Layout vs. Schematic (LVS) and simulations — all critical processes to ensure PIC designs are manufacturable, functional and optimized for performance before fabrication.  

"Yole Group forecasted that the silicon photonics market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 45% from 2023 to at least $863M by 2029. As AI models increase in size and complexity, the need for faster data processing and transfer becomes essential. Our collaboration with DoplayDo/GDS Factory represents a major milestone in addressing the unique challenges of photonic circuit design," said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. "By providing a comprehensive platform for the design, prototyping and manufacturing of PICs, we're expanding the silicon photonics ecosystem by streamlining and reducing design process time, improving accuracy and ensuring devices meet performance and manufacturability requirements that are transformative."  

"We are thrilled to collaborate with OpenLight and support the growing need for advanced silicon photonics with integrated light sources. OpenLight's unique technology platform provides a strong foundation for the next generation of high-performance, energy-efficient devices," said DoplayDo's CEO Troy Tamas. "Our design kit and advanced tooling will enable companies to more easily get started building with it, with the confidence of first-pass success. The GDSFactory team, together with OpenLight, is enabling companies to design with confidence and accelerate their time to market in this rapidly evolving field."  

About OpenLight 

OpenLight is the world leader in custom PASIC design. OpenLight's PASIC technology integrates all the components of silicon photonics devices, both active and passive components, into one chip. Our executive and engineering teams deliver the world's first open silicon photonics platform with integrated lasers to improve the performance, power efficiency and reliability of designs for telecom, datacom, LiDAR, healthcare, HPC, AI and optical computing applications. With over 200 patents, OpenLight is bringing optical solutions to places it has never been before and enabling technologies and innovation that weren't previously possible. The company is headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with offices in Silicon Valley. Read more at www.openlightphotonics.com. 

About DoplayDo/GDSFactory 

GDSFactory is one of the world's most widely used open source chip design frameworks, with over 2 million downloads and 75 contributors worldwide. Leveraging more than 40 years of combined experience developing innovative photonic integrated circuits, tools and workflows at companies such as Google, Intel, PsiQuantum, Rockley Photonics and Juniper Networks, the creators and maintainers of GDSFactory founded DoPlayDo, Inc., with the mission to further accelerate the development of silicon photonics, quantum computing and other advanced chip technologies across the globe. With their groundbreaking GDSFactory+ platform, engineers can seamlessly design, verify, and validate chips all from one tool, and keep track of all the data along the way. Learn more at www.gdsfactory.com. 

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SOURCE OpenLight