GDSFactory 9.45.0#
GDSFactory is a Python library for designing chips (Photonics, Analog, Quantum, MEMS), PCBs, and 3D-printable objects. We aim to make hardware design accessible, intuitive, and fun—empowering everyone to build the future.
As input you write python code, as an output GDSFactory creates CAD files (GDS, OASIS, STL, GERBER).
Quick Start#
Here’s a simple example to get you started:
pip install gdsfactory
If you prefer a faster setup, you can use the installer package:
pip install gdsfactory_install
gfi install
import gdsfactory as gf
# Create a new component
c = gf.Component()
# Add a rectangle
r = gf.components.rectangle(size=(10, 10), layer=(1, 0))
rect = c.add_ref(r)
# Add text elements
t1 = gf.components.text("Hello", size=10, layer=(2, 0))
t2 = gf.components.text("world", size=10, layer=(2, 0))
text1 = c.add_ref(t1)
text2 = c.add_ref(t2)
# Position elements
text1.xmin = rect.xmax + 5
text2.xmin = text1.xmax + 2
text2.rotate(30)
# Show the result
c.show()
4M+ downloads · 116+ contributors · 42+ PDKs
GDSFactory provides a comprehensive end-to-end design flow:
Design (Layout, Simulation, Optimization) — Define parametric cell functions in Python to generate components. Test component settings, ports, and geometry to avoid unwanted regressions, and capture design intent in a schematic.
Verify (DRC, DFM, LVS) — Run simulations directly from the layout using our simulation interfaces, removing the need to redraw your components in simulation tools. Conduct component and circuit simulations, study design for manufacturing. Ensure complex layouts match their design intent through Layout Versus Schematic verification (LVS) and are DRC clean.
Validate — Define layout and test protocols simultaneously for automated chip analysis post-fabrication. Extract essential component parameters and build data pipelines from raw data to structured data to monitor chip performance.
Input: Python or YAML. Output: GDSII, OASIS, STL, or GERBER files for fabrication, plus component settings and netlists in YAML.
GDSFactory integrates with Ansys, Lumerical, Tidy3d, MEEP, DEVSIM, SAX, MEOW, SPICE, and more.
Open-Source PDKs (No NDA Required)#
These PDKs are publicly available and do not require an NDA:
Photonics#
Quantum#
RF / AMS / Digital / Analog#
Foundry PDKs (NDA Required)#
Access PDKs under NDA require a GDSFactory+ subscription. To sign up, visit GDSFactory.com. See list of available PDKs under NDA here.
GDSFactory+#
GDSFactory+ offers Graphical User Interface for chip design, built on top of GDSFactory and VSCode. It provides you:
Foundry PDK access
Schematic capture
Device and circuit Simulations
Design verification (DRC, LVS)
Data analytics
Getting Started#
See announcements on GitHub, google-groups or LinkedIn
Online course UBCx: Silicon Photonics Design, Fabrication and Data Analysis, where students can use GDSFactory to create a design, have it fabricated, and tested.
Who is using GDSFactory?#
Hundreds of organisations are using GDSFactory. Some companies and organizations around the world using GDSFactory include:
“I’ve used GDSFactory since 2017 for all my chip tapeouts. I love that it is fast, easy to use, and easy to extend. It’s the only tool that allows us to have an end-to-end chip design flow (design, verification and validation).”
“I’ve relied on GDSFactory for several tapeouts over the years. It’s the only tool I’ve found that gives me the flexibility and scalability I need for a variety of projects.”
“The best photonics layout tool I’ve used so far and it is leaps and bounds ahead of any commercial alternatives out there. Feels like GDSFactory is freeing photonics.”
“As an academic working on large scale silicon photonics at CMOS foundries I’ve used GDSFactory to go from nothing to full-reticle layouts rapidly (in a few days). I particularly appreciate the full-system approach to photonics, with my layout being connected to circuit simulators which are then connected to device simulators. Moving from legacy tools such as gdspy and phidl to GDSFactory has sped up my workflow at least an order of magnitude.”
“I use GDSFactory for all of my photonic tape-outs. The Python interface makes it easy to version control individual photonic components as well as entire layouts, while integrating seamlessly with KLayout and most standard photonic simulation tools, both open-source and commercial.”
Why Use GDSFactory?#
Fast, extensible, and easy to use – designed for efficiency and flexibility.
Free and open-source – no licensing fees, giving you the freedom to modify and extend it.
A thriving ecosystem – the most popular EDA tool with a growing community of users, developers, and integrations with other tools.
Built on the open-source advantage – just like the best machine learning libraries, GDSFactory benefits from continuous contributions, transparency, and innovation.
GDSFactory is really fast thanks to KLayout C++ library for manipulating GDS objects. You will notice this when reading/writing big GDS files or doing large boolean operations.
Benchmark |
gdspy |
GDSFactory |
Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
10k_rectangles |
80.2 ms |
4.87 ms |
16.5 |
boolean-offset |
187 μs |
44.7 μs |
4.19 |
bounding_box |
36.7 ms |
170 μs |
216 |
flatten |
465 μs |
8.17 μs |
56.9 |
read_gds |
2.68 ms |
94 μs |
28.5 |
Contributors#
A huge thanks to all the contributors who make this project possible!
We welcome all contributions—whether you’re adding new features, improving documentation, or even fixing a small typo. Every contribution helps make GDSFactory better!
Join us and be part of the community. 🚀
LLM-Friendly Documentation#
GDSFactory provides machine-readable documentation optimized for LLM agents and AI-assisted development:
llms.txt — concise overview with links to all documentation sections
llms-full.txt — complete API reference and usage guide in a single document
These follow the llms.txt standard for making documentation easily ingestable by large language models.
Community#
Join our growing community: