Luceda’s EDA platform spurs progress in integrated photonics

If you’re the kind of software engineer who likes to put on noise-canceling headphones and churn out code for hours on end, Luceda Photonics might not be your ideal workplace. At the Ghent-based developer of electronic design automation (EDA) software for integrated photonics, team members need to interact a lot with customers and partners. “Our industry isn’t yet consolidated, nor standardized. Collaboration is necessary to move forward,” says the firm’s chief commercial officer Pierre Wahl. “I think this goes to the core of our company.”

Luceda’s story began with Ghent University’s pioneering multi-project wafer (MPW) service, which lowered R&D costs by combining designs from multiple research groups and companies on the same wafer. “At the time, there was no software available to easily share designs. An open-source tool called IPKISS was developed at the university, and we thought it was worth turning into a company.” The “we” refers to six founders: five academics plus a seasoned manager who was brought in to run the business.

In those early days, Luceda competed primarily with Phoenix Software from the Netherlands. Both companies did well. Phoenix was eventually acquired by EDA giant Synopsys, while Luceda has continued to expand in terms of revenue, staff, product lines and markets. “We were cashflow positive in year two,” Wahl says. “That’s quite an achievement in an industry still largely running on investments.”

Bridge the gap

Outside of optical transceivers used in data and telecom, integrated photonics technology resides on the early side of the maturity curve. Yet, few doubt its tremendous potential for automotive and biomedical sensing, quantum computing and more. The Photondelta ecosystem alone has produced over twenty companies looking to commercialize integrated photonics technology in a range of end markets, along with firms offering design, manufacturing and packaging services.

As an EDA provider, Luceda works with both ends of the value chain, ie fabless companies and (packaging) foundries, endeavoring to speed up the journey from idea to product. Conversely, it feeds off Photondelta’s creative and commercial energy. Wahl: “Luceda Photonics is excited to be part of the Photondelta ecosystem. Photondelta is truly an accelerator for the European integrated-photonics value chain both in terms of collaboration and worldwide promotion.”

“Our customers are on the clock,” notes Wahl. “They need to prove the value of their products quickly or risk going under. They require partnerships and streamlined workflows. It’s crucial not to waste time on mistakes that can be prevented. For example, not considering assembly and testing requirements during the design phase can produce nasty surprises. That’s where EDA software can make a difference. The ultimate goal is first-time-right design.”

So, is Luceda selling services rather than software? “That would be too strong a statement,” replies Wahl. “I’d say we sell well-supported software. The purchase order says software, but we do consider it our job to bridge the gap between an idea in the real world and the digital domain by translating requirements and constraints. Software alone can’t do that. You need people to do that.”

This article was written in close collaboration with Photondelta.