SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 23, 2024 — PASIC chip design and manufacturing company OpenLight today announced a partnership with Epiphany, a fabless photonic design house, aimed at advancing the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design ecosystem.
Through this partnership, Epiphany will gain access to OpenLight’s open heterogeneously integrated III-V-based PDK, providing more options and flexibility for mutual customers. By collaborating with Epiphany, OpenLight further broadens the scope of design possibilities, paving the way for more innovative and optimized PIC solutions across datacom, LiDAR, AI, healthcare and quantum computing applications.
According to market research firm IDTechEx, the overall PIC market is set to grow to over $22 billion by 2034, driven by key advancements in technology and applications. The integration of PICs is expected to enhance business processes across multiple sectors by improving energy efficiency, reducing operational costs and supporting faster and more reliable network connections.
“Unlike typical silicon-based semiconductors, there’s a significant shortage of talent capable of designing advanced PICs. Our goal is to make the transformative benefits of heterogeneously integrated silicon photonics PICs accessible to more users,” said Dr. Adam Carter, CEO of OpenLight. “By partnering with Epiphany, we’re bringing on PIC design experts who can immediately support customers to create unique, custom solutions using our technology. We’re not just bridging gaps — we’re paving a superhighway for innovation, accelerating development and lowering cost barriers.”
“The integrated photonics landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace, yet it remains a fragmented ecosystem with significant barricades,” said Jörn Epping, co-founder and CEO of Epiphany. “With OpenLight’s technology, we can leverage our expertise in integrated actives and passives to streamline design processes and address the lack of integration and accessibility while speeding up the adoption of integrated photonics technology across industries.”
The market for heterogeneously integrated PICs is still developing, with standardized processes and common optical test approaches yet to be established. OpenLight’s open PDK offers significant advantages with a comprehensive library of design components, supporting multiple platforms and technologies and facilitating collaboration between different players in the photonics ecosystem — from designers and manufacturers to end users.
With Epiphany’s expertise in integrating active and passive components in photonic designs and OpenLight’s advanced PDK technology, our PIC design services offer enhanced functionalities and customization to meet customer needs.
