The LayoutEditor
There is no special feature which makes the LayoutEditor unique. There are many small things which make the LayoutEditor different from other programs and make it to a unique versatile tool to edit layouts for IC, MEMS, MCM, PCB, COB, MMIC, LTCC, ... Be impressed!
User Interface
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A clever worked out user interface provides a outstanding usability on the one hand and a high productivity on the other hand. This virtual contrast is solved with an extensive use of shortcuts and mouse buttons/keys combination together with clear visibility of this combinations. The most important handling functions like zooming and scrolling are integrated in each feature and need not to be called separately. |
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Supported File Formats
The LayoutEditor does not need a own file format. The Calma GDSII file format is used as the primary file format. It also works natively with many other common and also some uncommon formats:
GDSII, OASIS, OpenAccess, CIF, DXF, Gerber, LEF, DEF, SVG, Lasi, SOURCE, CSV, PNG, JPG, Alliance, Electromask, PS, EPS, ODB++, EDIF, Qucs, Spice, ...
Performance
As designs can extend to several Gb in file size, perfomance is an important factor. All significant features of the LayoutEditor are optimized to handle huge designs. So for example multi Gb GDSII files can be loaded in less than 25s/Gb, if your hard disk has that throughput. Also the painting performance is excellent. Medium sized designs (up to several hundred MB to GDS file size, exact size may depend on the design) can be painted with all details in real time. With bigger designs a lack of performance is automatically detected and scarcely visible details are omitted. So even huge designs are painted with a acceptable performance.
Schematic Driven Layout
Creating a design from a schematic is a widespread task where layout software is used. The LayoutEditor includes a SchematicEditor and can also read common schematic/netlist formats. The schematic is linked with the layout. This will support the design without restricting a free custom design. A netlist can be extracted for a build-in or external layout versus schematic (lvs). |
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Macros
As a matter of course macros or scripts are possible with the LayoutEditor. It can be used for different applications. So, with the LayoutEditor it is possible to record macros from the user interface like some office programs can. This makes creating macros very simple and reduces the time to learn commands. Macros are written in the most common language C/C++ or in the common scripting language, python. Both types can be integrated in the menu structure. Via LayoutEditor python module a complete control of the graphical user interface and integration of other software tools is possible. A wide range of ready to use macros can be download at our macro market. |
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Design Rule Checker
Validating the design rules is an important point in the design flow. The LayoutEditor has a integrated Design Rule Checker with many different rules checks. The errors are not only display in a list, but directly visualized within the design. As a matter of course all design rule checks work on all angle elements. |
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Text Generation
Text labels are usually ignored during the tape out. A conversion to real polygons had to be done before. The LayoutEditor can do this with just one mouse click. No drawing of letters is required. Just use your favorite vector font. The LayoutEditor supports all common font formats like true type fonts (ttf files). |
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3D View
A two dimensional designing can sometimes be quit abstract. The LayoutEditor allows a fast three dimensional visualization for your design. The graphical setup can be done in few seconds. The 3D model/3D view can be exported and used for example for a FEM-analysis. |
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Background Images
A image at the background of the design can be useful for many tasks. e.g. checking fabrication problems or designing a device on an existing structure. The LayoutEditor has the feature to load, place and vectorize images and display it in the background. Any pixel graphic format can be used. Unlimited images can be loaded concurrently. |
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Barcodes and more
The LayoutEditor has many many more useful features like the barcode generator. Please consult the manual for a list of all features or just try it out and be impressed! |
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Still anything missing? No problem! New ideas to improve the LayoutEditor are always welcome! Please leave a note or contact: ideas@layouteditor.net |
