Silicon Photonics Circuit Design: Methods, Tools and Challenges
Open accessAbstract
Silicon Photonics technology is rapidly maturing as a platform for larger‐scale photonic circuits. As a result, the associated design methodologies are also evolving from component‐oriented design to a more circuit‐oriented design flow, that makes abstraction from the very detailed geometry and enables design on a larger scale. In this paper, the state of this emerging photonic circuit design flow and its synergies with electronic design automation (EDA) are reviewed. The design flow from schematic capture, circuit simulation, layout and verification is covered. The similarities and the differences between photonic and electronic design, and the challenges and opportunities that present themselves in the new photonic design landscape, such as variability analysis, photonic‐electronic co‐simulation and compact model definition are discussed.
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Additional factors at the process, design, and packaging level account for the yield difference, including fabrication and thermal sensitivity, lack of robust PDK components and variation-and-mismatch aware models, missing design flow methodologies, custom process modifications, challenges with epitaxial growth, Ge integration, laser integration, laser FIT, and fiber connectivity.
“Additional factors at the process, design, and packaging level account for the difference: fabrication127,128 and thermal sensitivity, lack of robust PDK components and variation-and-mismatch aware models127,128, design flow methodologies still missing hierarchical simulations, schematic driven layout and layout-versus-schematic verification127, custom process modifications for specific components”
From Roadmapping the next generation of silicon photonics (2024) · cites this paper as [127]
The option to integrate the PIC with the EIC has been around since the first commercially successful silicon photonic product.
“The option to integrate the PIC with the EIC has been around since the first commercially successful silicon photonic product1,127,129.”
From Roadmapping the next generation of silicon photonics (2024) · cites this paper as [127]
Cites
Why I am optimistic about the silicon-photonic route to quantum computing
Rudolph, T. (2017) · APL Photonics · doi:10.1063/1.4976737 · Cited by 350 · see citing works
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Roadmapping the next generation of silicon photonics
Shekhar, S., Bogaerts, W., Chrostowski, L., Bowers, J. E., Hochberg, M., Soref, R., & Shastri, B. J. (2024) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/s41467-024-44750-0 · Cited by 878 · see citing works
Self-citationUltralow-loss compact silicon photonic waveguide spirals and delay lines
Hong, S., Zhang, L., Wang, Y., Zhang, M., Xie, Y., & Dai, D. (2022) · Photonics Research · doi:10.1364/prj.437726 · Cited by 131 · see citing works
Realization of alignment-tolerant grating couplers for z-cut thin-film lithium niobate
Kar, A., Bahadori, M., Gong, S., & Goddard, L. L. (2019) · Optics Express · doi:10.1364/oe.27.015856 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bogaerts, W., & Chrostowski, L.
- Affiliations
- Ghent University (BE)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Bogaerts, Wim
- Venue
- Laser & Photonics Reviews
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-03-12
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 4
- ISSN
- 1863-8880 (ISSN-L)
- 1863-8899
- OpenAlex
- W2789555118
- Cited by
- 604
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 87 · 2024: 80 · 2023: 88 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 75 · 2020: 52 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 8
- FWCI
- 17.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2025-09-01)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Laser & Photonics Review (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (G013815N)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Photonic and Optical Devices
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › VLSI and FPGA Design Techniques
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Advanced Optical Network Technologies
- Keywords
- silicon photonics, photonic circuit design, electronic design automation, schematic capture, circuit simulation, variability analysis, compact modeling, photonic integrated circuits
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