Photonic Waveguide Port Representation in Hybrid Circuit Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software applications are inadequate for designing hybrid circuits that combine electrical and photonic components, particularly in managing and displaying port connections for waveguides, due to rigid grid-like structures and hierarchical limitations, which do not accommodate the curved nature of photonic waveguides and varying access directions.
Innovation Solution
The development of software and hardware components that generate and manipulate data attributes for objects in a design database to create interactive graphical user interfaces capable of representing ports and waveguides at any angle, supporting both electrical and photonic design components with additional photonic-specific data extensions and attributes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid grid-like structure is used to represent ports and wiring in the layout interface, then the design conforms to traditional EDA hierarchical structures and maintains structural regularity, but it cannot accommodate curved photonic waveguides and varying access directions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by representing waveguide ports with circular or arc-shaped geometries instead of rigid square shapes. The port representation includes a radius attribute that allows it to conform to curved waveguide paths, enabling the layout interface to accurately display photonic components that follow curved trajectories while maintaining proper hierarchical structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces dynamic attributes to port representations, including access direction indicators that can rotate and adjust based on the waveguide's orientation. The port geometry and orientation are not fixed but can adapt dynamically to match the curved path of photonic waveguides, allowing the same port type to represent different access configurations
2Ease of operation
If conventional EDA software represents all ports as square figures on hierarchical layers, then the design maintains consistency with electronic design conventions, but it fails to distinguish between different types of connections (electrical vs. optical)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by giving different visual characteristics to different port types based on their function. Electrical ports maintain the traditional square representation, while optical waveguide ports are represented with circular or arc-shaped geometries. The port representation adapts locally to reflect its specific type and connection nature, allowing designers to visually distinguish between electrical and photonic connections while maintaining overall design consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses color and visual attribute changes to differentiate port types. Different connection types (electrical, optical, waveguide) are represented with distinct visual characteristics including color coding, shape variations, and orientation indicators, enabling designers to quickly identify connection types without losing the hierarchical structure
3Stability of the object's composition
If the port representation is constrained to straight sections of waveguides, then the grid structure is maintained, but the port will protrude from the curvature of curved waveguides
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by making the port representation itself curved rather than straight. The port geometry includes radius attributes that allow it to follow the curvature of waveguides, ensuring the port remains properly positioned within the waveguide boundaries even when the waveguide follows a curved path, thereby maintaining both visual accuracy and geometric integrity
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are embodiments of an interactive design tool for designing electronic and photonic circuits, where features of the design may be displayed on the interactive layout GUIs as design objects. Design objects in a design database may include various types of design features, such as circuits, pins or ports, wires, and photonic waveguides. The design objects may be displayed on interactive layout GUIs according to the attribute data stored in the design database. The design objects may also be displayed according to a type of design feature represented by the design object. For example, the embodiments described herein may represent a “port” as having a shape and size that comports with the eccentricities of both electrical and photonic designs. A port may be a hierarchical connection element in the database allowing the logical and physical connection between an instance and the geometries in the corresponding instance master.