Synopsys adds photonics to its cloud EDA service ...

Jun 13, 2023

The browser-based Synopsys Cloud 4.0 adds the Photonics Instance and RSoft Photonic Device Tools alongside more flexible, fast license management through the new e-commerce feature. The cloud is also integrated with the Synopsys ZeBu Cloud emulation flows with scalable, unlimited compute capacity for compiling chip designs.

The EDA tools and hardware resources can be used to create a wide range of silicon, from monolithic systems on chips (SoCs) to complex multi-die systems.

The unified electronic and photonic design platform supports an end-to-end flow for designing photonic integrated circuits (ICs) with ready-to-use process design kits (PDKs) at foundries. Deigners can create schematics using OptoCompiler unified electronic and photonic design platform and oo-simulate electronic/optical interfaces for photonic devices, circuits, and systems with the OptSim graphical user interface and measurement instruments. Curvy photonic layouts can be physically verified with the IC Validator high-performance signoff tools

The RSoft Photonic Device Tools include the most comprehensive suite of rigorous optical solvers to design passive and active photonic devices and systems, including lasers and VCSELs. No single optical simulation algorithm meets the needs of all applications, and making the right choice is necessary to optimize simulation time and accuracy.

The RSoft Photonic Device Tools address this challenge by incorporating a wide range of algorithms that share a common design file and CAD interface, allowing users to toggle between multiple RSoft tools without importing designs or parameters.

Heterogenous clusters in Cloud 4.0 enable chip designers to easily select the virtual machines that best match application requirements in a standardized cluster and process a wide range of EDA workloads simultaneously. Heterogeneous clusters with EDA-optimized hardware are further augmented by dynamically scaling compute resources which automatically adjusts the number of active nodes in a cluster based on changing workloads to ensure jobs are completed as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Both features are available on the Synopsys Cloud Portal, where designated users can select private or shared clusters, define the heterogenous cluster and its limit, and enable dynamic clustering to deliver performance at an optimized cost.

The cloud includes pre-optimized hardware platforms and unlimited, on-demand access to EDA software licenses. This FlexEDA pay-per-use model allows chip designers to scale by paying per hour, or per minute, for EDA tools. Flexible EDA Tool Licensing Options

The portal helps chip designers find, compare, and select pre-defined term-based Cloud Subscription Licenses (CSLs) for EDA tools, compute resources, and storage options. Through the e-commerce feature the Cloud CSLs can be immediately activated and upgraded or extended without paperwork or long-term commitments. This scalable, self-service model lowers the price of entry to cloud-based EDA by eliminating lengthy contract negotiations, associated legal costs, and wait times.

The additional Pay-Per-Use (PPU) model means designers don’t need to acquire licenses upfront and can let their flow scripts define how many licenses a specific job should access. PPU licenses are automatically enabled on-demand at run time and are only charged for the duration for which the license is checked out for.

The Synopsys ZeBu emulation systems are used on-premises or in the cloud to rapidly verify advanced monolithic SoCs and complex multi-die system designs. ZeBu Cloud allows semiconductor companies to leverage high-performance servers hosted in Synopsys data centres for the entire ZeBu flow, from compilation and virtual solutions to system-level debug. The integration enables ZeBu Cloud compile bursts to Synopsys Cloud SaaS and provides access to unlimited cloud infrastructure capacity for compilation, while addressing output data transfer challenges with Active Storage Sync​.

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