Synopsys deepens Atomera tie to add GaN device modelling and simulation
- Synopsys and Atomera expanded their collaboration to add gallium nitride device modelling to Atomera’s MSTcad flow, extending work on Synopsys Sentaurus beyond silicon transistor optimization and into power and radio-frequency devices. - The tie-up centers on gallium nitride on silicon, where Atomera says its Mears Silicon Technology can cut leakage and raise breakdown voltage, and where Sentaurus models electrical, thermal and optical behavior. - The move fits Synopsys’ wider push into multiphysics and materials simulation after its Ansys tie-in and Atomera’s broader gallium nitride work with Incize and Sandia. (synopsys.com)
Gallium nitride is a chip material used in power electronics and radio-frequency hardware, and Synopsys and Atomera are expanding their collaboration to model it inside Synopsys simulation tools. (synopsys.com) (atomera.com) The companies’ link is built around Atomera’s MSTcad, a mathematical model for Synopsys’ Sentaurus Device platform that Atomera says simulates the physical and electrical effects of its Mears Silicon Technology. (atomera.com) (businesswire.com) Sentaurus Device is Synopsys’ multidimensional simulator for electrical, thermal and optical characteristics in silicon and compound semiconductors, which puts gallium nitride work inside a tool already used for device design and process tuning. (synopsys.com 1) (synopsys.com 2) Atomera has been pushing gallium nitride on silicon as a way to pair gallium nitride performance with silicon manufacturing scale and cost, especially for power and radio-frequency devices. (businesswire.com) (atomera.com) In Atomera’s description of its gallium nitride work, the company says Mears Silicon Technology grown on silicon substrates is being explored as a virtual substrate to improve material quality, reduce leakage current and support higher breakdown voltage. (businesswire.com 1) (businesswire.com 2) That matters because thick gallium nitride layers on silicon can crack or warp wafers, which Atomera has identified as a manufacturing limit for commercial GaN-on-Si power devices around the 650-volt class. (businesswire.com) Atomera has also been widening its gallium nitride network outside Synopsys. In July 2025 it announced a collaboration with Belgium-based Incize on GaN-on-Si characterization and modelling, and in January 2026 it said a PowerAmerica concept paper had advanced to proposal phase. (businesswire.com 1) (businesswire.com 2) Synopsys, for its part, has been leaning harder into simulation that spans more than digital chip design. At its March 11, 2026 Converge event, the company said it was launching Multiphysics Fusion technology and the first major Ansys product release since the acquisition. (synopsys.com) (synopsys.com) The Atomera tie-up slots into that broader direction: more materials models, more device physics, and more work earlier in the process before a chip reaches circuit design. (synopsys.com) (synopsys.com) For chipmakers trying to move gallium nitride from lab results into production, the pitch is simple: test the material in software first, then spend less time on wafer runs that miss the target. (atomera.com) (atomera.com)
