OpenLight And Tower Semiconductor Expand PH18DA Photonics Ecosystem To Accelerate Photonic IC Development
OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor said OpenLight’s photonic Process Design Kit is now available in Cadence EDA tools for Tower’s PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics platform. The PDK is intended to let customers design photonic integrated circuits using established IC workflows and support 400G and 1.6T laser-integrated PICs. Tower Semiconductor is publicly traded as TSEM.
How this was made
The 30-second read
Why it matters
By integrating the PDK into Cadence, the companies aim to reduce adoption friction and accelerate development of laser-integrated photonic ICs (targeting 400G and 1.6T) using a familiar electronic IC design workflow.
Market read
This is a photonics ecosystem enablement milestone that can improve adoption of Tower’s PH18DA platform and OpenLight’s PDK, but it does not include quantified commercial outcomes.
What to watch
Traders may want to watch for follow-on disclosures such as specific customer tape-outs, production ramp timelines, or any incremental capacity and pricing changes tied to PH18DA adoption.
Background
OpenLight and Tower Semiconductor are collaborating on photonic integration, with OpenLight providing a photonic PDK and Tower providing the PH18DA InP-on-silicon foundry platform, now supported in Cadence EDA tools.
Ticker impact
Tower Semiconductor announced availability of OpenLight’s photonic PDK for its PH18DA InP-on-silicon platform in Cadence EDA tools, expanding design-to-production enablement.
Near-term impact likely limited; any reaction would be sentiment-driven around photonics platform traction rather than immediate financials.
The article is a press-release style ecosystem update (PDK availability in Cadence) with no disclosed financial terms, volume commitments, or new customer contracts.
Market effects
Supports the broader shift toward co-optimized electro-optical design workflows and faster photonic IC development using standard EDA environments.
No clear regional demand signal beyond Israel-based foundry operations and US-based photonics ecosystem collaboration.
Relevant to global datacom and AI infrastructure supply chains where 400G to 1.6T laser-integrated PICs and NPO/CPO architectures are targeted.
Counterpoint
Ecosystem enablement (PDK availability) may not translate into near-term revenue; without design-win metrics, the market may discount the impact.
Key entities
- companyOpenLight
Heterogeneous III-V-on-silicon photonic integration provider offering a photonic PDK and PASIC technology.
- companyTower Semiconductor
Analog semiconductor foundry providing the PH18DA InP-on-silicon photonics platform and design enablement.
- technologyCadence
EDA vendor whose electronic design automation tools will support the PH18DA PDK for photonic IC design.
