Keysight Launches Comprehensive Solution for Accurate and Seamless Photonic Circuit Design

Rhea-AI Summary

Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS) has launched Photonic Designer, a new photonic design automation (PDA) software solution within its Advanced Design System (ADS) suite. This comprehensive tool addresses key challenges in photonic integrated circuit design by providing:

- A unified platform for seamless workflow from concept to manufacturing
- Physics-driven simulation environment for accurate performance prediction
- Direct integration of real-world measurement data
- Compatibility with foundry Process Design Kits (PDKs)

The software enables engineers to verify designs against industry standards pre-fabrication, optimize photonic models for foundry processes, and accelerate design verification. CompoundTek, a photonics foundry services provider, is offering a Photonic Designer PDK for Keysight ADS users, facilitating the development of PICs with foundry-verified components.

Positive

• Launch of new comprehensive software solution expanding product portfolio
• Strategic partnership with CompoundTek for PDK integration
• Product addresses efficiency gaps in current market solutions
• Potential for reduced time-to-market for customers

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Analyst

Keysight's launch of Photonic Designer represents a strategic expansion in the high-growth photonics design market. This software addresses critical industry pain points including fragmented workflows and simulation inconsistencies that currently plague photonic integrated circuit (PIC) designers.

The product strengthens Keysight's position in the electronic design automation (EDA) space by extending capabilities into photonics—a important technology for next-generation computing, telecommunications, and data transmission applications. By integrating this solution into their existing Advanced Design System suite, Keysight creates valuable cross-selling opportunities across their customer base.

Particularly significant is the collaboration with CompoundTek, which adds foundry verification to the offering. This partnership model could prove scalable if Keysight secures additional foundry relationships, potentially creating a network effect that increases the software's value proposition.

The timing aligns with growing industry demand for more efficient photonic design tools as companies seek to overcome limitations of traditional electronic circuits. While financial projections aren't provided, this launch represents Keysight executing on its core strategy of addressing high-value technical challenges with software-centric solutions that complement their test and measurement hardware portfolio.

Technology Expert

Keysight's Photonic Designer addresses a significant technical gap in the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) development ecosystem. Current PIC designers typically juggle multiple disconnected tools across the design-to-manufacturing pipeline, creating inefficiencies and accuracy issues that this solution directly targets.

The physics-driven simulation approach is particularly valuable as it integrates real-world measurement data into workflows—a critical advancement for a field where theoretical models often diverge from manufacturing realities. This capability to verify designs against industry modulation standards before fabrication represents substantial time and cost savings potential.

CompoundTek's PDK integration is technically significant as it bridges the design-to-fabrication gap. Silicon photonics has faced adoption challenges partly due to the complexity of transitioning designs to manufacturing-ready specifications, and this collaboration demonstrates progress in standardizing these workflows.

Most impressive is the software's ability to handle combined electrical-optical-electrical workflows, recognizing that photonic systems rarely exist in isolation from electronics. This holistic approach positions the tool for applications in data centers, telecommunications, and quantum computing—all fields requiring integrated photonic-electronic solutions. The technical capabilities suggest Keysight is targeting the full spectrum of photonic design challenges rather than merely incremental improvements to existing processes.

• Optimizes photonic integrated circuit performance with advanced physics-based simulation
• Eliminates fragmented workflows and improves design accuracy with a holistic photonic design automation tool
• Ensures compliance and manufacturing readiness with process design kit customization and real-world data integration

SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) announces the launch of Photonic Designer, an innovative photonic design automation (PDA) software solution engineered to provide unparalleled accuracy and compliance-driven design validation. Designed for photonics design engineers, this solution enables streamlined workflows from concept to simulation, emulation, and manufacturing, addressing the challenges of fragmented tools, inconsistent simulation precision, and increasing compliance demands.

From concept to validation—Photonic Designer streamlines the entire photonic design process with a comprehensive automation solution.

Photonics design engineers often face challenges with scattered tool chains and simulation discrepancies that hinder efficiency and precision. Traditional workflows require engineers to switch between multiple software platforms, making it challenging to ensure design consistency. Keysight’s Photonic Designer, part of the Advanced Design System (ADS) suite of tools, eliminates these inefficiencies by offering a comprehensive, physics-driven simulation environment that accurately predicts real-world circuit performance. Keysight tools also support an open, interoperable workflow ecosystem for maximum flexibility.

Photonic Designer integrates real-world measurement data directly into the simulation workflow, to optimize models and streamline compliance and validation. This allows engineers to:

• Verify designs against industry modulation standards before fabrication.
• Use models with best-in-class simulators to ensure accurate, confident, robust designs.
• Ensure seamless compatibility with foundry PDKs to avoid costly iterations.
• Optimize photonic model variables to match foundry processes to align with manufacturing conditions.
• Automate and accelerate design verification, reducing go-to-market time.

The software is designed to streamline pure optical and combined electrical-optical-electrical workflows for circuit design, providing an intuitive interface for effortless circuit design and layout generation. Engineers can simulate, validate, and optimize photonic circuits while ensuring compliance with stringent design rules, guaranteeing precision and reliability.

To further enhance the design process, CompoundTek, a leading provider of photonics foundry services, is offering a Photonic Designer PDK for Keysight ADS users, for their silicon photonics process. This collaboration enables engineers to develop PICs with foundry-verified components, ensuring seamless transition from design to fabrication.

S. Gunasagar, Chief Operating Officer at CompoundTek said: “We are excited to offer a highly accurate PDK for our silicon photonics process. This integration with Keysight’s ADS allows engineers to confidently design and validate photonic circuits with the assurance of manufacturing compatibility, ultimately accelerating time-to-market for innovative solutions.”

Nilesh Kamdar, EDA Design & Verification General Manager at Keysight, said: “Engineers need a reliable and precise environment to design and validate photonic integrated circuits without unnecessary tool-switching. Photonic Designer provides a single, unified platform that integrates physics-based simulations, PDK customization, and compliance verification, ensuring high-fidelity results from concept to manufacturing.”

Resources

• Application Note: Optimizing Photodetector Model to a Silicon Photonics Foundry Process
• Product Page: Photonic Designer
• Video: Photonic Designer
• Video: How to use the Optical Mode Solver from Keysight Photonic Designer

More Information: Attend the Keysight Booth at OFC 2025

Visit the Keysight booth #1301 at the OFC 2025 conference to learn more about Photonic Designer and its capabilities.

About Keysight Technologies

At Keysight (NYSE: KEYS), we inspire and empower innovators to bring world-changing technologies to life. As an S&P 500 company, we’re delivering market-leading design, emulation, and test solutions to help engineers develop and deploy faster, with less risk, throughout the entire product life cycle. We’re a global innovation partner enabling customers in communications, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, automotive, semiconductor, and general electronics markets to accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Learn more at Keysight Newsroom and www.keysight.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250319611958/en/

Keysight Media Contacts

North America PR Team

pdl-americas-keysight@keysight.com

Fusako Dohi

Asia

+81 42 660-2162

fusako_dohi@keysight.com

Jenny Gallacher

Europe

+44 118 927 4003

jenny.gallacher@keysight.com

Source: Keysight Technologies, Inc.

FAQ

What are the key features of Keysight's new Photonic Designer software?

Photonic Designer offers physics-based simulation, PDK customization, real-world data integration, and unified workflow from concept to manufacturing, all within a single platform.

How does KEYS Photonic Designer improve the circuit design process?

It eliminates fragmented workflows, improves design accuracy, enables pre-fabrication verification, and ensures compliance with manufacturing standards through foundry PDK integration.

What partnership has Keysight (KEYS) announced with CompoundTek?

CompoundTek is offering a Photonic Designer PDK for Keysight ADS users, enabling development of PICs with foundry-verified components for their silicon photonics process.

What manufacturing benefits does the new KEYS Photonic Designer software provide?

It allows optimization of photonic models to match foundry processes, ensures seamless compatibility with foundry PDKs, and reduces costly iterations in the manufacturing process.