View a GDS Layout#

Open a saved GDS file, choose a structure, and inspect its layers in Digital Design Studio.

Overview#

Use the GDS layout viewer to inspect a structure’s geometry and show or hide individual layers. This guide describes the viewer in Digital Design Studio 1.0.39 for Windows. It requires a desktop project with protected local tools enabled. Cloud does not currently execute GDS inspection or projection.

See Digital Design Studio for opening a project and Downloads for package availability.

Prepare the File#

Save a .gds file inside your project directory, for example layout/chip.gds. The viewer accepts a path relative to the project root; it does not accept a website URL or an absolute path.

The file must already be saved on disk. Use your operating system’s file manager to place it in the project. The GDS viewer does not add binary import or double-click opening to Explorer.

Files can be up to 4 MiB. The viewer reads GDSII boundary polygons, positive-width paths, and supported cell and array references. The panel reports unsupported records and drawing failures. Review geometry diagnostics for any omitted elements.

Open a Structure#

  1. Open Flow Navigator → Viewers → GDS layout viewer.

  2. Enter layout/chip.gds in Workspace-relative GDS file, using the path of your own saved file.

  3. Click Inspect GDS. The panel shows the file size, GDS header version, and the structures found in the file.

  4. Choose a Structure, then click Project structure.

  5. Review the geometry, layer list, and any diagnostics shown by the panel.

Inspection records the identity of the file. If you change the file before projection, inspect it again so that the selected structure and displayed geometry come from the same saved content.

Move Around and Select Layers#

Action

Control

Rotate the view

Drag with the left mouse button

Move the view

Drag with the right mouse button

Zoom in or out

Scroll

Return to the whole layout

Click Fit view

Show or hide geometry

Toggle a layer/datatype in Layers / datatypes

Stop an active operation

Click Cancel

The layer list identifies each GDS layer and datatype and shows its polygon and path counts. The panel also displays the database unit and vertex count.

Layer heights use visualization defaults to make the layers distinguishable. They do not represent the fabrication process’s physical thicknesses or stackup. Text labels and properties are counted but are not drawn; the panel shows how many were omitted.

Return to the View#

The viewer does not modify the GDS file. Closing the tab releases its geometry. The tab may reopen with the workspace, but its file selection and projected scene are not saved. Inspect and project the file again to restore the view.

Troubleshooting#

What you see

What to do

Cloud execution is not supported

Open the file in a supported desktop workspace.

File cannot be read

Check that the relative .gds path exists inside the open project and that another program is not holding the file for writing.

Input changed

Click Inspect GDS again, then select and project the structure.

No displayable geometry

Select a structure containing supported polygons or paths. A structure containing only text has no geometry to draw.

A size, geometry, or resource limit is reached

Export a smaller layout from the source tool and inspect it again.

The renderer cannot start

Check that WebGL is available, then reopen the view.

The current viewer supports up to 256 layer/datatype pairs and one million projected vertices, with additional limits on expanded display geometry. OASIS, layout editing and export, DRC, LVS, and manufacturing signoff are not part of this viewer.