Ciena’s analog designers work from supplied models, and as geometries shrink, those models drift from reality: quantum effects take hold that classical simulators miss. So the team began building its own. Victory Atomistic handled the first requirements, since it solves Poisson and Schrödinger self-consistently, and joint work with Silvaco extended it from there. Fabrication detail on Ciena’s 5nm devices was limited, yet the simulated trends follow room-temperature lab data well, if not point for point. The next target is qubit work, using simulation in place of costly cryogenic measurements. The solver still needs work to converge reliably at the coldest temperatures and lowest bias.