Copying from one layout to another layout

rruchi6

Hello,

I am using KLayout 0.24.9 editor to draw structures as small as 5 micron for photo lithography masks. I am facing problems in copying structures from one layout to another layout.

I have two different layouts with different "database units" (Layout 1=0.01 micron and Layout 2=5 micron). When I try to copy the structure from Layout 1 to Layout 2 the structure gets 500 times larger. (For example, 15 micron structure copied from Layout 1 is 7500 micron in Layout 2) So I tried to reduce the scale of the structure by 0.002 to match the original dimensions. In this case, the structural details gets distorted.

Can someone please suggest, how can I overcome this issue?

I know that I can draw the structure in the same layout but these structures take long time (which I don't have) to prepare. So I would like to know if someone has simple solution.

Thanking you in advance.

Matthias

Hi,

I'd suggest to save Layout 2 in 0.01 micron database unit. Use "Save As" and on the "Save Layout Options" page enter a database unit of 0.01 micrometers (leave scale factor as 1.0). After that, you can safely copy & paste between both layouts.

You can usually go to a smaller database unit without change of your drawing if the new DBU is a integer fraction of the original one. Picking a too small DBU only results in a limited layout area. The limit is imposed by the 32 bit nature of the (integer) coordinates. A practical limit is roughly -1E9 to 1E9 database units in each direction. With 0.01 micron, the usable area is 20 x 20m - that's a fairly big mask.

If you are using the database unit to enforce your layout on a certain grid - the smarter option is to use grid snapping (File/Setup -> Application/Grid and Application/Default Grids).

Regards,

Matthias

rruchi6

Thank you so much Matthias for the simplest solution and the explanation.

Saving Layout 2 with "save as" worked perfectly for me. :)