Synopsys acquires RSoft Design Group to tap the optics mkt

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Synopsys, an EDA and IP vendor has acquired RSoft Design Group, a photonics design and simulation software provider, headquartered in Ossining, New York. The size of the deal has not been disclosed.

Through this acquisition, California based Synopsys, would now be able to expand the company’s platform by providing a complete set of optical solutions to current customers and support new technologies, applications and markets. The company will now include Rsoft’s products to its line of design products.

Synopsys had acquired Optical Research Associates in 2010 and this acquisition could be viewed as an additional way to strengthen its stand in the optics market. Howard Ko, senior vice president and general manager of Synopsys' Silicon Engineering Group, said "Synopsys'' strategy is two-fold: continued leadership in EDA while expanding our total addressable market into adjacent technologies, including optical design.''

According to Ko, RSoft's products would expand Synopsys' product line in both the optical and adjacent photonic markets. RSoft was established in 1990 and its software is used to design and optimize optical telecommunications components, as well as in the design and simulation of complete optical telecommunication systems and networks. Its software is also used in semiconductor manufacturing for designing and optimizing nanolithography components to enable faster and lower-power processors.

"RSoft's products also complement our TCAD Sentaurus portfolio by providing a number of capabilities that allow us to extend our offering into other photonic areas such as optical waveguide modelling. This and many other capabilities will create strong synergies with Synopsys technology that will help us enable new opportunities with key customers,'' Ko said.