Wave Photonics Ltd

Dr. James Lee, Co-founder and CEO, Wave Photonics Ltd

Dr James Lee is Co-founder and CEO of Wave Photonics, a Cambridge, UK-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design company that develops computationally-optimised, fabrication-tolerant design libraries and process design kits (PDKs) for customers across quantum, sensing, telecoms and datacoms.

James undertook his PhD in Toshiba's Quantum Information Group at the University of Cambridge, where he developed photon sources for quantum computing. He holds a master's degree in Physics from the University of Oxford. Before founding Wave Photonics, worked as an equity derivatives quant at Credit Suisse, applying statistical and computational methods to financial derivatives.

James co-founded Wave Photonics in 2021, growing the company from an early-stage idea into a venture-backed team of 17 (11 with PhDs) serving customers building photonic products for quantum computing, sensing/LiDAR, defence and telecoms applications. The company's technology automates photonic component design, letting a complete PDK be adapted to a new fabrication process or wavelength in weeks rather than months, and integrates with industry-standard EDA tools including Latitude Design Systems, GDSFactory, Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens and Luceda.

 

Topic:

Photonic Chips Beyond the Data Centre: Rapid Multi-Material, Multi-Wavelength Design for Quantum and Emerging Technologies

 

Abstract:

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) underpin the next generation of quantum computing, sensing, LiDAR, defence and telecoms technologies - but designing them remains slow, manual and locked to a single fabrication process. Every new process or target wavelength has traditionally required a bespoke, hand-built process design kit (PDK), with multiple costly fabrication runs needed to converge on a working design.

Wave Photonics removes this bottleneck with a computational, fabrication-tolerant design technology that combines process characterisation, process modelling, FDTD simulation and optimisation to automate photonic component design. This technology creates or adapts a complete, production-ready PDK for a new fabrication process or wavelength in weeks rather than months, and lets individual components be re-optimised as a process evolves without redesigning the whole circuit.

This talk shows how multi-material, multi-wavelength PDK automation is unlocking photonic chip design beyond datacoms (where a handful of standard wavelengths dominate) into the emerging, high-growth markets of quantum computing, precision sensing and defence, which need many specific, non-standard wavelengths. We highlight SiNQ, the world's most expansive photonics PDK (1,056 components across 33 wavelengths), built on Cornerstone's 200nm silicon-nitride process for quantum and trapped-ion applications, and discuss how this approach integrates with industry-standard design tools including Synopsys, Latitude Design Systems, GDSFactory, Cadence, Siemens and Luceda.

 

Key Technologies Covered:

  • Computational, fabrication-tolerant PIC design automation
  • Process characterisation and process modelling
  • FDTD (finite-difference time-domain) simulation
  • Multi-wavelength, multi-material PDK generation
  • pdk.dev — photonic foundry enablement platform
  • SiNQ — silicon-nitride PDK for quantum & trapped-ion wavelengths (1,056 components, 33 wavelengths)
  • Wafer-scale characterisation and measurement-validated component design
  • EDA tool integrations: Synopsys, Latitude Design Systems, GDSFactory, Cadence, Siemens, Luceda (Keysight coming soon)
  • Assembly design kits (ADKs)
  • Applications across quantum computing, sensing/LiDAR, defence and telecoms