Fig 1: Virtual fabrication.

The source code for an advanced software platform used to design complex photonics circuits is being released on an open-source basis, in a move designed to speed the development of integrated photonics.

Ghent University and the semiconductor development institute IMEC, both based in Belgium, have been working on the “IPKISS” platform for a decade. Initially developed for silicon photonics, it is said to have a wide field of application in wafer-level photonics and beyond.

Fig 1: Virtual fabrication: IPKISS can be used to convert a photonic layout, such as this waveguide structure, into a two-dimensional geometry of material stacks. Credit: Pieter Dumon/University of Ghent/IMEC.

IPKISS (named after the Stanley Ipkiss character played by Jim Carrey in the film "The Mask"), is now available under three different source code licenses. The three licenses include a “community” version that allows anybody access to the platform free of charge (known as a 'GPLv2' license). Other options include a custom “developer” agreement that allows a licensee to develop plug-ins and add-ons for distribution, and a “custom commercial” version that is aimed at software developers looking to incorporate IPKISS into a product.

To read more: http://optics.org/news/3/4/24