Where photonics moves from design to silicon.
Spark Photonics provides PIC design services and ready-to-run PIC Kits for defense, commercial, government, and academic institutions across the United States.
End-to-end PIC design, from concept to chip.
Two core offerings, scoped to where you are in development and what your foundry platform requires.
PIC Design Services
Full-stack photonic integrated circuit design tailored to your application. We cover architecture, component selection, layout, DRC, and fab handoff across silicon photonics, SiN, and InP platforms. Prototyping to production.
Start a project →PIC Kits
Pre-validated, ready-to-order photonic component kits that accelerate your development timeline. Each kit ships with full documentation, layout files, and process design kit (PDK) compatibility notes for immediate integration.
Browse kits →Design Consulting
Bring us in at any phase. Whether you need a design review, a second opinion on topology, or a partner to pick up a stalled effort, our team works alongside yours without displacing your IP or process knowledge.
Talk to an engineer →Every kit validated on a real foundry PDK.
Spark PIC Kits give engineering teams a fast, reliable starting point. Pick the platform, order the kit, and get to characterization without rebuilding component libraries from scratch.
Request a kit datasheet →EWD PIC Starter Kit
The foundational kit for engineers working on the EWD platform. Includes optimized edge couplers, waveguide bends, splitters, and terminations, fully DRC-clean and ready for tape-out.
EWD Modulator Kit
Electro-optic modulator building blocks for high-speed applications. Includes Mach-Zehnder structures, phase shifter segments, and RF electrode layouts with co-simulation support files.
Photodetector Kit
Germanium and silicon photodetector building blocks for on-chip detection. Covers butt-coupled and evanescent configurations with integrated bias pads and layout rules for heterogeneous integration.
MMI & Coupler Kit
Optimized MMI splitters and directional couplers designed for flat spectral response and broad-band operation. Includes 1x2, 2x2, and asymmetric variants with tolerance analysis data.
Grating Coupler Kit
Focused grating coupler library for vertical fiber-to-chip coupling. Standard, apodized, and dual-polarization variants. Includes simulation results and coupling efficiency measurements from test chips.
Complete PIC Dev Kit
Everything needed to build a functional PIC from scratch: edge couplers, passive routing, modulators, detectors, and MMIs in a single validated bundle. Ideal for first-time tape-outs or platform evaluation.
"Integrated photonics moves fast. The teams that win are the ones who spend their time on application problems, not rebuilding foundry component libraries. That is what our kits are for."Spark Photonics — Waltham, MA
From spec sheet to foundry submission in four steps.
A structured engagement keeps scope clear, iteration fast, and tape-out predictable.
Requirements
We gather your performance targets, foundry preference, timeline, and IP requirements. A kickoff call is usually enough to scope the work and identify any platform constraints up front.
Architecture & Simulation
Component selection, circuit topology, and full optical simulation before a single layout cell is drawn. We flag risk early and tune to your insertion loss and bandwidth targets.
Layout & DRC
Full GDS layout against the foundry PDK, DRC-clean and verified. We handle design rule constraints, fill strategies, and the documentation the fab needs for a clean submission.
Handoff & Support
You receive the complete design package: GDS, schematics, simulation data, and a handoff report. We stay available through the first fab run and assist with characterization interpretation.
Designed for engineers who need answers, not a vendor pitch.
We are a small, technical team. There is no account management layer between you and the engineers doing the design work. When you ask a question, a photonics engineer responds.
- Direct access to the engineers who designed your components
- Platform-specific PDK knowledge across leading silicon photonics fabs
- Realistic timelines and honest scoping, no padding for buffer
- Full IP ownership transferred on project completion
- Post-fab support through first characterization
A US-based PIC design firm built around application depth.
Spark Photonics is a photonic integrated circuit design services and software company. We work with defense agencies, commercial technology companies, government programs, and research institutions on the full range of silicon photonics design challenges.
The firm is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Our work spans sensing, communications, LiDAR, quantum, and defense photonics. We are not a reseller or broker. Every design that leaves here was built by our team.
Tell us what you are trying to build.
Send the application, the platform, and a rough timeline. We will come back with a clear scoping proposal and any questions we need answered to get started.