After a decade-long hiatus, CMC Microsystems is proud to bring back the CMOS for Photonics Workshop.
Held in partnership with the SiEPIC Program, and leading professors from UBC, Concordia, and Carleton University, along with FABrIC — a project funded by the Government of Canada and managed by CMC Microsystems, this in-person workshop is collocated with the IEEE Silicon Photonics Conference (Ottawa, April 13-15, 2026).
What You Will Learn
Participants will master the design of CMOS devices tailored to power Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). The curriculum focuses on how these components interface and provides advanced training in creating Verilog-A models—a critical skill for system optimization.
Participants will be able to design their own chips and submit designs to fabrication through CMC to TSMC, GlobalFoundries 45SPCLO and others.
Pre-Requisites
No prerequisite is required for this training. For the hands-on part, basic knowledge of working with Cadence Virtuoso tools is recommended.
Schedule
| Time | Thursday April 16, 2026 | Friday April 17, 2026 | Saturday April 18, 2026 |
| 09:00 |
| MRM Driver Circuits (80 min) | MZM Driver Circuits (80 min) |
| 10:30 | Break | Break | Break |
| 11:00 | Basic of MOSFETs, a simple cascode amplifier, Diff. amps & Inverters (80 min) |
|
|
| 12:30 | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 13:30 | Hands-on Simulating Photonic devices in Cadence Verilog-A (80 min) | Hands-on Simulating an MRM TX in Cadence (80 min) | Hands-on simulating an entire link with MZM TX in Cadence (80 min) |
| 15:00 | 30 min Break | 30 min Break | 30 min Break |
| 15:30 | Hands on: Simulating a differential amplifier in Cadence (80 min) | Hands on Simulating a PD+TIA RX in Cadence (80 min) | Trends and Research Opportunities (80 min) |
| 17:00 | Optional: Carleton Lab tours (60 min) | Optional: Fireside chat with local companies (60 min) |
Cadence Tools and License
Attendees will receive 7-day access to Cadence tools for hands-on exercises and additional practice after the workshop. This access will be provided through the CMC Compute Cloud. Participants can connect to and launch these tools from any computer with a stable internet connection. Detailed instructions on accessing and using these tools will be shared with all registered attendees.
If you are coming to Canada to attend the IEEE conference:
- You can register for the course if you have your own Cadence license and use it for the hands-on sessions.
- If you do not have access to Cadence licenses, please contact training@cmc.ca before registering for the course.
Canadian academic and industry users
Use is subject to the Academic Use Software Terms and Conditions from Cadence. You may be required to sign related documents before completion of registration.
International users
Limitations due to possible export and sanctions laws and regulations contained within the Cadence terms can be found at https://www.cadence.com/content/dam/cadence-www/global/en_US/documents/terms-and-conditions/Cadence-tbl-2025Jun.pdf
Speakers
| Name | Title | Webpage |
| Sudip Shekhar | Professor, ECE Department, University of British Columbia | Sudip Shekhar Home Page |
| Glenn Cowan | Professor, ECE Department, Concordia University | Glenn Cowan – Concordia University |
| Masum Hossain | Associate Professor, ECE Department, Carlton University | Masum Hossain – Faculty of Engineering and Design |
| Ahmed Abumazwed | Staff Scientist, Photonics at CMC Microsystems | Ahmed Abumazwed | LinkedIn |