Fileformat DEF

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DEF (Design Exchange Format)

Design Exchange Format (DEF) is an open specification for representing physical layout of an integrated circuit in an ASCII format. It represents a netlist, component placements and routing information. But it does not contain any information on the used components. For these information it is normaly used in conjunction with LEF. Connecting a huge amount of components is the main focus of the design of the DEF file format. Therefore it is less suitable for non standard integrated circuits like Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMIC) where placement, surrounding components and connecting shape and length are most importent design tasks.

Using DEF in the LayoutEditor

The DEF file format is strong connected with the LEF file format. So both files are needed for a correct display of a physical design. To display please open the corresponding LEF file first and then import or attach the DEF file. A direct opening of a DEF file may result in a incorrect placement of cells. The netlist is loaded anyway. The LayoutEditor is limited in importing DEF files, an export is not possible.

DEF: Handling of layernames

The DEF file format only knows layernames. By opening a DEF file the LayoutEditor analysed the used layers. If a used layername already exist in the current setup, this layer is used. Otherwise the first unused layer is renamed.

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