Shining A Spotlight On......Shane Duggan

The second of our 'Shining a Spotlight on...' blogs introduces Dr Shane Duggan, Pilot's Principal PIC Design Engineer

Where's home to you?

I'm from beautiful County Cork, in the south of Ireland, and University College Cork is where I received my PhD in Physics.

When did you join Pilot?

I joined Pilot in 2020, expanding the company's base in Cork.

What projects do you work on at Pilot, and where does your work fit in to the company's operations?

My main work focus is the design of the photonic integrated circuits (PIC) on which Pilot's comb and tunable lasers are based, and on the fabrication layout.  I prepare test plans aimed at ensuring the chips meet spec and once they return from the foundry, I analyse the characterization results collected by my colleagues,  using the data for continuous improvement of  the design. I’m also involved in the design of the hermetic packages for the PICs, ensuring they meet the customer's requirements and operate reliably.

I also work on other live projects in Pilot, including the EU projects 'COCOPOP' and 'ADOPTION' which develop co-packaged optics for AI datacentres. As with the tunable laser and comb, I design the photonic integrated circuits used in the projects and determine how they will be configured with the other components.  

What does a typical day look like for you?

My typical day starts with the organisation of that day's design work and addressing any questions posed by stakeholders and customers. This is often followed by reviewing the latest literature or products related to tunable lasers or Pilot’s other product developments. There are meetings during the day, ranging from the discussion of developing designs within the team,  to progressing projects with our partners, or providing solutions for our customers.

Many programs will be open simultaneously on my computer: I write my own code to model photonic integrated circuits and lasers, and to analyse experimental results to extract informative and useful parameters from the data, and I combine these proprietary models with some commercial software tools for detailed simulations. I convey realistic parameters and push the simulation tools to the limit to generate as much detailed design data as possible. As simulation run times can be long, I'll often write another program while waiting for a simulation to complete. I use and write software to lay out the resulting optimum designs on a photomask which is used to pattern semiconductor wafers in fabrication of the devices. I follow quite an ordered, scripted approach to the layout, which means that, as I revisit the mask layout each day, the updates are applied efficiently. My typical day ends with documenting the results of the day’s design simulations and layouts, and noting the actions to be taken the following morning. By documenting the design results, such as describing the expected behaviour of the devices arriving in the lab imminently, the information can be passed on to the other teams in Pilot and used in validation.  

What excites you about what we do at Pilot?

Pilot’s innovation excites me: we are developing new technologies and products for imminent needs, and I could be one of the few people in the world considering a particular corner of physics, learning new things every day about how technology and the universe works. 

What does a successful day look like?

A successful day will have the endorphin hit of seeing one of our recent design improvements materialised in reality and delivering the predicted outcome, after the many hours of effort being poured into it. A very successful day might also feature a meeting with one of our suppliers or customers where we achieve a milestone in our projects and are energized to press on to the next challenge. 

What challenges/frustrations do you experience?

The biggest frustration is the rare occasion when connectivity to our design server is lost mid-simulation! Thankfully, most files these days auto-save so not too much time and effort is lost. 

Time is always of the essence in product development, but there are inevitable roadblocks and bottlenecks as we try to merge our technology with other technologies and standards arriving to the market, but this is all just part of being at the forefront of innovation. 

What do you particularly enjoy about being part of the Pilot team?

The Pilot team are all extremely competent people, which is a major advantage as everyone is fully cognisant of, and able to perform, the highly detailed and complex tasks required in photonics. Even more importantly, all on the team are willing to contribute, which is instrumental in enabling us to push our projects on at a fast pace and in line with our targets. 

On a personal level, it's great to work with such a group of really nice people, as it engenders a very supportive and collaborative environment in which to excel. 

How do you enjoy your time when you're not at work?

As I spend so much of my day focused on my computer screen, outside of work I revel in the fresh air and exercise. I love rambling walks in the natural beauty of the Cork countryside where I live. Sport provides great entertainment; in particular the highly successful Munster rugby team, and recently I’ve explored sports like cycling and baseball. I could be considered a film-buff, and I’ve been enjoying reading older novels over the past few years, while listening to indie-country music. 

Shane's work on the PIC design has been invaluable in moving key projects forward. His organisation, systematic approach and analytical rigour have been instrumental in enabling us to reach customer testing stage with our tunable laser. He's a great team player, but has also demonstrated excellent team and project management skills in leading this project through to customer testing.