OpenLight and Tower expand PH18DA photonics ecosystem to accelerate photonic IC development
OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor said OpenLight’s photonic process design kit (PDK) is now available in Cadence EDA tools for Tower’s PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics platform. The PDK supports design of advanced photonic integrated circuits using OpenLight IP, with fabrication on PH18DA. The companies cite faster development toward production for laser-integrated PICs for 400G and 1.6T systems.
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
By integrating photonic design kits into widely used IC EDA workflows, the companies aim to streamline development of laser-integrated photonic ICs (including 400G and 1.6T) and improve co-optimized electro-optical design paths toward production.
Market read
Ecosystem enablement news for photonic IC development, potentially supportive for adoption but lacking disclosed financial impact.
What to watch
Traders may want to watch for follow-on signals such as new design-win announcements, qualification milestones, or volume production orders tied to PH18DA and OpenLight’s IP.
Background
OpenLight and Tower collaborate on the PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics platform; this update adds OpenLight’s photonics PDK into Cadence EDA tools for customer design.
Ticker impact
Tower Semiconductor expands the PH18DA ecosystem by enabling OpenLight’s PDK in Cadence tools, supporting design of 400G and 1.6T laser-integrated PICs on its InP-on-silicon platform.
Slight positive read-through, but likely not a major catalyst without disclosed volume production orders or financial terms.
The article highlights ecosystem integration and design enablement; it does not provide new financial guidance, order quantities, or contract values.
Market effects
Supports the broader photonic IC and co-packaged optics push by lowering design workflow barriers via EDA integration.
Israel-based Tower Semiconductor strengthens its positioning in InP-on-silicon photonics ecosystem partnerships.
Cadence EDA integration can accelerate adoption among global IC design teams working on optical interconnects, AI infrastructure, and sensing.
Counterpoint
Ecosystem PDK availability may not translate into near-term revenue; without disclosed customer commitments, the market may treat it as incremental marketing/enablement.
Key entities
- companyOpenLight
Photonic PASIC chip designer and manufacturer providing the photonics PDK for PH18DA ecosystem integration.
- companyTower Semiconductor
Specialty analog foundry providing PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics process and manufacturing expertise.
- technologyCadence
EDA platform provider where the PH18DA PDK is now available to support photonic IC design workflows.
