Klayout 25d View [NEWEST]
In the world of semiconductor design, visualization is just as critical as routing. For decades, chip designers have relied on flat, top-down 2D views to inspect masks and layers. However, as process nodes shrink (28nm, 16nm, 5nm) and vertical stacking (3D-ICs, FinFETs) becomes standard, the traditional planar view often falls short.
layout_view.update_3d_view
(often called the "3D preview" or "perspective view" in older versions) works by taking the flat polygons on your mask layers and assigning them a height (Z-value) and a color . When you tilt the camera, you see "walls" rising from the substrate. klayout 25d view
height = 0 if name.include?("metal2") height = 60 elsif name.include?("metal1") height = 30 elsif name.include?("poly") height = 10 elsif name.include?("via") height = 20 end layer_info.fill_3d = true layer_info.height_3d = height lv.set_layer(layer_index, layer_info) end In the world of semiconductor design, visualization is
But what exactly is "2.5D"? It isn't true 3D rendering (like you’d see in Cadence Virtuoso 3D or Siemens Calibre 3DSTACK). Instead, the 2.5D view in KLayout gives you a pseudo-3D perspective where 2D polygons are extruded vertically based on layer information. This article dives deep into how to activate, configure, and leverage the KLayout 2.5D view to debug your designs faster than ever before. Before clicking buttons, let’s clarify the terminology. A true 3D view requires volume rendering (height, width, depth). KLayout does not natively do this because it is a layout tool, not a mechanical CAD tool. layout_view
# This script sets heights based on layer name keywords layout_view = RBA::Application.instance.main_window.current_view lv = layout_view.active_layerview for layer_index in lv.each_layer do layer_info = lv.layer(layer_index) name = layer_info.name.to_s.lower
