Tower and Juniper Networks Collaborate to Develop and Open-Source Silicon Photonics Foundry Process

Tower Semiconductor's photonics platforms support different optoelectronic developments such as telecommunications and data centers as well as artificial intelligence and LiDAR.

Israel-based foundry Tower is offering the world’s first open silicon photonics (SiPho) foundry process, which integrates III-V lasers, amplifiers, modulators and detectors.

The platform was developed in partnership with copper networking giant Juniper Networks for optical connectivity in data centers and telecom networks, as well as emerging applications in artificial intelligence (AI), LiDAR and other sensors for autonomous vehicles.

The platform integrates III-V lasers, semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), electro-absorption modulators (EAMs) and photodetectors with silicon photonics on a single chip. This enables smaller, higher-channel-count and more energy-efficient optical architectures and solutions. The availability of foundry processes will enable a wide range of product developers to create highly integrated photonic integrated circuits for different markets.

The process design kit (PDK) is expected to be available by the end of the year, and the first open multi-project wafer (MPW) run is expected to be available early next year. The first samples of the complete 400Gb/s and 800Gb/s PIC reference designs with integrated lasers are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2022.

The market for silicon photonic transceivers for data centers is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 40% to reach more than $5 billion by 2025, according to market research firm Yole.

“We have worked with Tower to develop and validate the foundry potential of silicon photonics technology,” said Rami Rahim, CEO of Juniper Networks. “By making this capability available to the industry, Juniper Networks is radically reducing the cost of optics and lowering the barrier to entry for customers.”

“Our collaboration with Juniper Networks on silicon photonics is creating a paradigm shift in product development for the entire industry,” said Russell Ellwanger, CEO of Tower. “It is now possible to combine the strengths of III-V semiconductors with high-volume silicon photonics manufacturing. As the only open-market, integrated laser silicon photonics platform with a multi-year first-mover advantage over any potential foundry competitor, together we are creating breakthrough products with truly unique value for the industry and society at large.”

Juniper Networks is using Synopsys' OptoCompiler platform, including OptSim and PrimeSim HSPICE simulation tools, to accelerate the development of photonic chips. Juniper Networks plans to use Synopsys solutions to design and optimize its hybrid silicon and InP optical platform, enabling its customers to solve optical connectivity problems in data centers and telecommunications networks.

The OptoCompiler design platform is the industry's first unified electronic and photonic design platform that combines proven application-specific photonic technologies with custom tools to enable engineers to quickly and accurately produce and verify complex silicon photonic IC designs.

"Synopsys offers a unique, unified photonic and electronic design suite that accelerates customer design cycles and time to market," said Tom Mader, head of Silicon Photonics at Juniper Networks. "This will enable Juniper Silicon Photonics to bring our revolutionary hybrid integrated laser platform to a broader range of customers, potentially reducing costs and eliminating product barriers to entry."

The interactive design of the OptoCompiler platform helps shorten development cycles and reduce the risk of human error. It provides a schematic-driven layout flow with photonic-aware layout synthesis and automation features such as assisted waveguide routing and automatic alignment of photonic circuits.

The OptSim solution combines Synopsys' photonic system and circuit simulation capabilities and provides electro-optical (E/O) co-simulation with the Synopsys PrimeSim HSPICE simulator, the industry's "gold standard" for accurate circuit simulation and the Synopsys PrimeSim Continuum solution. It also integrates the Synopsys PrimeWave design environment, the simulation and analysis environment of the OptoCompiler platform. The OptSim solution comes with an extensive photonic model library and is suitable for a variety of photonic IC foundries.

"The demand for higher bandwidth in communications within the data center is driving companies like Juniper Networks to accelerate the deployment of silicon photonic solutions to achieve higher levels of performance," said Aveek Sarkar, vice president of Analog Mixed-Signal/Custom and Photonics Accounts at Synopsys.