Path and CrossSection#

You can create a Path in gdsfactory and extrude it with an arbitrary CrossSection.

Lets create a path:

  • Create a blank Path.

  • Append points to the Path either using the built-in functions (arc(), straight(), euler() …) or by providing your own lists of points

  • Specify CrossSection with layers and offsets.

  • Extrude Path with a CrossSection to create a Component with the path polygons in it.

from functools import partial

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np

import gdsfactory as gf
from gdsfactory.cross_section import Section

Path#

The first step is to generate the list of points we want the path to follow. Let’s start out by creating a blank Path and using the built-in functions to make a few smooth turns.

p1 = gf.path.straight(length=5)
p2 = gf.path.euler(radius=5, angle=45, p=0.5, use_eff=False)
p = p1 + p2
f = p.plot()
../_images/0b3ef8fe3f1cf71ba1ea82de30cf9cf1ad30830d74292daa903393dc10fd23e1.png
p1 = gf.path.straight(length=5)
p2 = gf.path.euler(radius=5, angle=45, p=0.5, use_eff=False)
p = p2 + p1
f = p.plot()
../_images/e06919d0bec842126e30b8d1f832f458b70bc9cde31ac384549054c301b0bb74.png
P = gf.Path()
P += gf.path.arc(radius=10, angle=90)  # Circular arc
P += gf.path.straight(length=10)  # Straight section
P += gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=-90)  # Euler bend (aka "racetrack" curve)
P += gf.path.straight(length=40)
P += gf.path.arc(radius=8, angle=-45)
P += gf.path.straight(length=10)
P += gf.path.arc(radius=8, angle=45)
P += gf.path.straight(length=10)

f = P.plot()
../_images/58c5f8ed52ea8a9e9046f47d6812363fdeab92c1331564398f6b8edcfa04b2b2.png
p2 = P.copy().rotate()
f = p2.plot()
../_images/047759084341582aef79a54d5df27af4dc2ad85e0cdaad5c77796b5d75ebaacd.png
P.points - p2.points
array([[  0.        ,   0.        ],
       [  0.07775818,  -0.18109421],
       [  0.16015338,  -0.36012627],
       [  0.24713097,  -0.53697746],
       [  0.33863327,  -0.71153054],
       [  0.43459961,  -0.88366975],
       [  0.53496636,  -1.05328096],
       [  0.63966697,  -1.2202517 ],
       [  0.74863202,  -1.38447127],
       [  0.86178925,  -1.54583076],
       [  0.97906364,  -1.7042232 ],
       [  1.10037742,  -1.85954356],
       [  1.22565016,  -2.01168884],
       [  1.35479879,  -2.16055818],
       [  1.48773767,  -2.30605285],
       [  1.62437867,  -2.44807638],
       [  1.76463118,  -2.58653461],
       [  1.9084022 ,  -2.72133573],
       [  2.0555964 ,  -2.85239035],
       [  2.20611618,  -2.97961158],
       [  2.35986175,  -3.10291506],
       [  2.51673115,  -3.22221903],
       [  2.67662037,  -3.33744439],
       [  2.83942339,  -3.44851474],
       [  3.00503227,  -3.55535642],
       [  3.1733372 ,  -3.6578986 ],
       [  3.34422657,  -3.75607328],
       [  3.51758709,  -3.84981537],
       [  3.69330379,  -3.93906271],
       [  3.87126017,  -4.02375613],
       [  4.05133823,  -4.10383946],
       [  4.23341856,  -4.1792596 ],
       [  4.41738044,  -4.24996655],
       [  4.60310189,  -4.31591343],
       [  4.79045976,  -4.3770565 ],
       [  4.97932982,  -4.43335522],
       [  5.16958684,  -4.48477228],
       [  5.36110467,  -4.53127356],
       [  5.55375631,  -4.57282824],
       [  5.74741403,  -4.60940877],
       [  5.94194941,  -4.64099089],
       [  6.13723348,  -4.66755366],
       [  6.33313674,  -4.68907946],
       [  6.52952929,  -4.70555403],
       [  6.72628092,  -4.71696644],
       [  6.92326117,  -4.72330911],
       [  7.12033942,  -4.72457786],
       [  7.317385  ,  -4.72077183],
       [  7.51426725,  -4.71189355],
       [  7.71085564,  -4.69794891],
       [  7.90701981,  -4.67894715],
       [  8.10262968,  -4.65490087],
       [  8.29755556,  -4.62582602],
       [  8.4916682 ,  -4.59174187],
       [  8.6848389 ,  -4.55267103],
       [  8.87693955,  -4.50863939],
       [  9.0678428 ,  -4.45967617],
       [  9.25742205,  -4.40581381],
       [  9.44555161,  -4.34708805],
       [  9.63210673,  -4.28353781],
       [  9.81696372,  -4.21520523],
       [ 10.        ,  -4.14213562],
       [ 17.07106781,  -1.21320344],
       [ 17.22259744,  -1.15062977],
       [ 17.3745295 ,  -1.0890412 ],
       [ 17.52724719,  -1.02943054],
       [ 17.68109502,  -0.9728054 ],
       [ 17.83635884,  -0.92019408],
       [ 17.99324531,  -0.87264941],
       [ 18.15186066,  -0.83125013],
       [ 18.31218874,  -0.79709882],
       [ 18.47406876,  -0.77131591],
       [ 18.63717281,  -0.75502883],
       [ 18.80098407,  -0.74935572],
       [ 18.98113405,  -0.75643383],
       [ 19.16017334,  -0.77762453],
       [ 19.33699811,  -0.81279716],
       [ 19.51051817,  -0.86173488],
       [ 19.67966373,  -0.92413597],
       [ 19.84339193,  -0.9996157 ],
       [ 20.00069333,  -1.08770872],
       [ 20.15059814,  -1.18787191],
       [ 20.29218212,  -1.29948772],
       [ 20.42457237,  -1.42186801],
       [ 20.53639293,  -1.54171156],
       [ 20.6402082 ,  -1.66856024],
       [ 20.73644339,  -1.80125797],
       [ 20.82566384,  -1.93877567],
       [ 20.90854811,  -2.08020737],
       [ 20.98586445,  -2.22476202],
       [ 21.05845073,  -2.37175194],
       [ 21.12719755,  -2.5205788 ],
       [ 21.19303416,  -2.67071762],
       [ 21.25691665,  -2.82169951],
       [ 21.31981802,  -2.97309339],
       [ 33.03554677, -31.25736464],
       [ 33.1091836 , -31.44370627],
       [ 33.17668408, -31.63235747],
       [ 33.23797592, -31.82311621],
       [ 33.29299349, -32.01577822],
       [ 33.34167789, -32.21013721],
       [ 33.38397696, -32.40598505],
       [ 33.41984543, -32.60311201],
       [ 33.44924488, -32.80130701],
       [ 33.47214384, -33.00035782],
       [ 33.48851777, -33.20005129],
       [ 33.49834914, -33.40017358],
       [ 33.50162744, -33.60051039],
       [ 33.49834914, -33.80084721],
       [ 33.48851777, -34.0009695 ],
       [ 33.47214384, -34.20066296],
       [ 33.44924488, -34.39971377],
       [ 33.41984543, -34.59790877],
       [ 33.38397696, -34.79503574],
       [ 33.34167789, -34.99088357],
       [ 33.29299349, -35.18524256],
       [ 33.23797592, -35.37790458],
       [ 33.17668408, -35.56866332],
       [ 33.1091836 , -35.75731451],
       [ 33.03554677, -35.94365614],
       [ 30.10661458, -43.01472396],
       [ 30.03297776, -43.20106559],
       [ 29.96547728, -43.38971678],
       [ 29.90418544, -43.58047552],
       [ 29.84916786, -43.77313754],
       [ 29.80048347, -43.96749653],
       [ 29.75818439, -44.16334436],
       [ 29.72231592, -44.36047132],
       [ 29.69291647, -44.55866633],
       [ 29.67001752, -44.75771713],
       [ 29.65364359, -44.9574106 ],
       [ 29.64381221, -45.15753289],
       [ 29.64053392, -45.35786971],
       [ 29.64381221, -45.55820652],
       [ 29.65364359, -45.75832881],
       [ 29.67001752, -45.95802228],
       [ 29.69291647, -46.15707309],
       [ 29.72231592, -46.35526809],
       [ 29.75818439, -46.55239505],
       [ 29.80048347, -46.74824289],
       [ 29.84916786, -46.94260187],
       [ 29.90418544, -47.13526389],
       [ 29.96547728, -47.32602263],
       [ 30.03297776, -47.51467382],
       [ 30.10661458, -47.70101546],
       [ 33.03554677, -54.77208327]])

You can also modify our Path in the same ways as any other gdsfactory object:

  • Manipulation with move(), rotate(), mirror(), etc

  • Accessing properties like xmin, y, center, bbox, etc

P.movey(10)
P.xmin = 20
f = P.plot()
../_images/60e0b0a29bb717095047aa000550fcb275a8934003994c03e698af9dbeb4bf41.png

You can also check the length of the curve with the length() method:

P.length()
105.34098399267245

CrossSection#

Now that you’ve got your path defined, the next step is to define the cross-section of the path. To do this, you can create a blank CrossSection and add whatever cross-sections you want to it. You can then combine the Path and the CrossSection using the gf.path.extrude() function to generate a Component:

Option 1: Single layer and width cross-section#

The simplest option is to just set the cross-section to be a constant width by passing a number to extrude() like so:

# Extrude the Path and the CrossSection
c = gf.path.extrude(P, layer=(1, 0), width=1.5)
c.plot()
../_images/1fed6c7dc7e06af37c430abe1378e8e3450f96146af96f84bc7778728bd18b61.png

Option 2: Arbitrary Cross-section#

You can also extrude an arbitrary cross_section

Now, what if we want a more complicated straight? For instance, in some photonic applications it’s helpful to have a shallow etch that appears on either side of the straight (often called a trench or sleeve). Additionally, it might be nice to have a Port on either end of the center section so we can snap other geometries to it. Let’s try adding something like that in:

p = gf.path.straight()

# Add a few "sections" to the cross-section
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("in", "out"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=2, offset=2, layer=(2, 0))
s2 = gf.Section(width=2, offset=-2, layer=(2, 0))
x = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1, s2])

c = gf.path.extrude(p, cross_section=x)
c.plot()
../_images/8bb2f32d433a05106ecfcc5ecb66098ce7094fd8f47f11c04e145fdc16f61f7c.png
p = gf.path.arc()

# Combine the Path and the CrossSection
b = gf.path.extrude(p, cross_section=x)
b.plot()
../_images/861701624491336687628a9f47309dc66e7ffb85166cca61f366d87093c68caf.png

Option 3: CrossSection with ComponentAlongPath#

You can also place components along a path, which is useful for wiring vias.

import gdsfactory as gf
from gdsfactory.cross_section import ComponentAlongPath

# Create the path
p = gf.path.straight()
p += gf.path.arc(10)
p += gf.path.straight()

# Define a cross-section with a via
via = ComponentAlongPath(
    component=gf.c.rectangle(size=(1, 1), centered=True), spacing=5, padding=2
)
s = gf.Section(width=0.5, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("in", "out"))
x = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s], components_along_path=[via])

# Combine the path with the cross-section
c = gf.path.extrude(p, cross_section=x)
c.plot()
../_images/6591781a2461bd4008bba14d3277122111dcc2fd4503ccdecc04a5e37787da81.png
import gdsfactory as gf
from gdsfactory.cross_section import ComponentAlongPath

# Create the path
p = gf.path.straight()
p += gf.path.arc(10)
p += gf.path.straight()

# Define a cross-section with a via
via0 = ComponentAlongPath(component=gf.c.via1(), spacing=5, padding=2, offset=0)
viap = ComponentAlongPath(component=gf.c.via1(), spacing=5, padding=2, offset=+2)
vian = ComponentAlongPath(component=gf.c.via1(), spacing=5, padding=2, offset=-2)
x = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s], components_along_path=[via0, viap, vian])

# Combine the path with the cross-section
c = gf.path.extrude(p, cross_section=x)
c.plot()
../_images/3ca6a342f59d5c885ca76cc636fe74562fba37bc63f57563f522f7e8560c1a66.png

Path#

You can pass append() lists of path segments. This makes it easy to combine paths very quickly. Below we show 3 examples using this functionality:

Example 1: Assemble a complex path by making a list of Paths and passing it to append()

P = gf.Path()

# Create the basic Path components
left_turn = gf.path.euler(radius=4, angle=90)
right_turn = gf.path.euler(radius=4, angle=-90)
straight = gf.path.straight(length=10)

# Assemble a complex path by making list of Paths and passing it to `append()`
P.append(
    [
        straight,
        left_turn,
        straight,
        right_turn,
        straight,
        straight,
        right_turn,
        left_turn,
        straight,
    ]
)

f = P.plot()
../_images/16960c03810a7659fb7ce40d4e388e8ba8dd8d28e7fa164f6afa7363848942b2.png
P = (
    straight
    + left_turn
    + straight
    + right_turn
    + straight
    + straight
    + right_turn
    + left_turn
    + straight
)
f = P.plot()
../_images/6b2d54630dc89f65e09c22f351d72d3bb45b2c4116f67d61a63b3725826236ef.png

Example 2: Create an “S-turn” just by making a list of [left_turn, right_turn]

P = gf.Path()

# Create an "S-turn" just by making a list
s_turn = [left_turn, right_turn]

P.append(s_turn)
f = P.plot()
../_images/51ce70b33b1a6b51b298ea449c37272e8c63c523d615526eceb66632cf2b233a.png

Example 3: Repeat the S-turn 3 times by nesting our S-turn list in another list

P = gf.Path()

# Create an "S-turn" using a list
s_turn = [left_turn, right_turn]

# Repeat the S-turn 3 times by nesting our S-turn list 3x times in another list
triple_s_turn = [s_turn, s_turn, s_turn]

P.append(triple_s_turn)
f = P.plot()
../_images/966bc76530edbf31d30d92a891f5bd9c5e723b279031f0aab39ceabe9c6fbe85.png

Note you can also use the Path() constructor to immediately construct your Path:

P = gf.Path([straight, left_turn, straight, right_turn, straight])
f = P.plot()
../_images/7cda31677b8b8924309aab76dd0599a8b784ed269ee30ac34900f4e9fee4f5b8.png

Waypoint smooth paths#

You can also build smooth paths between waypoints with the smooth() function

points = np.array([(20, 10), (40, 10), (20, 40), (50, 40), (50, 20), (70, 20)])
plt.plot(points[:, 0], points[:, 1], ".-")
plt.axis("equal")
(17.5, 72.5, 8.5, 41.5)
../_images/c2452eed30ab947bada8196d1494095c1617e369350cc7ec03b39f6c4fa8e732.png
points = np.array([(20, 10), (40, 10), (20, 40), (50, 40), (50, 20), (70, 20)])

P = gf.path.smooth(
    points=points,
    radius=2,
    bend=gf.path.euler,  # Alternatively, use pp.arc
    use_eff=False,
)
f = P.plot()
../_images/df35336cf14663025838ab3de923a90a3e4f1ecc62a80231de33a808fa676342.png

Waypoint sharp paths#

It’s also possible to make more traditional angular paths (e.g. electrical wires) in a few different ways.

Example 1: Using a simple list of points

P = gf.Path([(20, 10), (30, 10), (40, 30), (50, 30), (50, 20), (70, 20)])
f = P.plot()
../_images/036ca006bf097315ac349395d0fb8be96494b14a85bcc1e9ef3ee6afb80e9fcb.png

Example 2: Using the “turn and move” method, where you manipulate the end angle of the Path so that when you append points to it, they’re in the correct direction. Note: It is crucial that the number of points per straight section is set to 2 (gf.path.straight(length, num_pts = 2)) otherwise the extrusion algorithm will show defects.

P = gf.Path()
P += gf.path.straight(length=10, npoints=2)
P.end_angle += 90  # "Turn" 90 deg (left)
P += gf.path.straight(length=10, npoints=2)  # "Walk" length of 10
P.end_angle += -135  # "Turn" -135 degrees (right)
P += gf.path.straight(length=15, npoints=2)  # "Walk" length of 10
P.end_angle = 0  # Force the direction to be 0 degrees
P += gf.path.straight(length=10, npoints=2)  # "Walk" length of 10
f = P.plot()
../_images/879a3cdbb97a6e5e8833a72d18799c53a2d8ab5b53039ecb4df6b720e143a34f.png
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0))
s1 = gf.Section(width=1.5, offset=2.5, layer=(2, 0))
s2 = gf.Section(width=1.5, offset=-2.5, layer=(3, 0))
X = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1, s2])
c = gf.path.extrude(P, X)
c.show()
c.plot()
2024-10-31 18:38:23.445 | WARNING  | gdsfactory.klive:show:49 - UserWarning: Could not connect to klive server. Is klayout open and klive plugin installed?
../_images/251a71dd2090cbe13c4f62243b473d9cec7ab96f6f713afa95052de70279ef7e.png

Custom curves#

Now let’s have some fun and try to make a loop-de-loop structure with parallel straights and several Ports.

To create a new type of curve we simply make a function that produces an array of points. The best way to do that is to create a function which allows you to specify a large number of points along that curve – in the case below, the looploop() function outputs 1000 points along a looping path. Later, if we want reduce the number of points in our geometry we can trivially simplify the path.

def looploop(num_pts=1000):
    """Simple limacon looping curve"""
    t = np.linspace(-np.pi, 0, num_pts)
    r = 20 + 25 * np.sin(t)
    x = r * np.cos(t)
    y = r * np.sin(t)
    return np.array((x, y)).T


# Create the path points
P = gf.Path()
P.append(gf.path.arc(radius=10, angle=90))
P.append(gf.path.straight())
P.append(gf.path.arc(radius=5, angle=-90))
P.append(looploop(num_pts=1000))
P.rotate(-45)

# Create the crosssection
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("in", "out"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=0.5, offset=2, layer=(2, 0))
s2 = gf.Section(width=0.5, offset=4, layer=(3, 0))
s3 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(4, 0))
X = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1, s2, s3])

c = gf.path.extrude(P, X)
c.plot()
../_images/c4aa597bd1fd61ad331638b2684783b452569cda669922bd93be7ef1fd714c91.png

You can create Paths from any array of points – just be sure that they form smooth curves! If we examine our path P we can see that all we’ve simply created a long list of points:

path_points = P.points  # Curve points are stored as a numpy array in P.points
print(np.shape(path_points))  # The shape of the array is Nx2
print(len(P))  # Equivalently, use len(P) to see how many points are inside
(1092, 2)
1092

Simplifying / reducing point usage#

One of the chief concerns of generating smooth curves is that too many points are generated, inflating file sizes and making boolean operations computationally expensive. Fortunately, PHIDL has a fast implementation of the Ramer-Douglas–Peucker algorithm that lets you reduce the number of points in a curve without changing its shape. All that needs to be done is when you made a component component() extruding the path with a cross_section, you specify the simplify argument.

If we specify simplify = 1e-3, the number of points in the line drops from 12,000 to 4,000, and the remaining points form a line that is identical to within 1e-3 distance from the original (for the default 1 micron unit size, this corresponds to 1 nanometer resolution):

# The remaining points form a identical line to within `1e-3` from the original
c = gf.path.extrude(p=P, cross_section=X, simplify=1e-3)
c.plot()
../_images/0d894ab109670ac673db5458cb14b62c649857c9ec4c7bc6cfa69500b4d45c30.png

Let’s say we need fewer points. We can increase the simplify tolerance by specifying simplify = 1e-1. This drops the number of points to ~400 points form a line that is identical to within 1e-1 distance from the original:

c = gf.path.extrude(P, cross_section=X, simplify=1e-1)
c.plot()
../_images/6aa6f32e347c368081cd59509c6ae1c14c32e126062eed38ef7cacdebd256973.png

Taken to absurdity, what happens if we set simplify = 0.3? Once again, the ~200 remaining points form a line that is within 0.3 units from the original – but that line looks pretty bad.

c = gf.path.extrude(P, cross_section=X, simplify=0.3)
c.plot()
../_images/25ce4cb3adf712e5402e342c5b8f67844bff57cc26811570954447994dc34c76.png

Curvature calculation#

The Path class has a curvature() method that computes the curvature K of your smooth path (K = 1/(radius of curvature)). This can be helpful for verifying that your curves transition smoothly such as in track-transition curves (also known as “Euler” bends in the photonics world). Euler bends have lower mode-mismatch loss as explained in this paper

Note this curvature is numerically computed so areas where the curvature jumps instantaneously (such as between an arc and a straight segment) will be slightly interpolated, and sudden changes in point density along the curve can cause discontinuities.

straight_points = 100

P = gf.Path()
P.append(
    [
        gf.path.straight(
            length=10, npoints=straight_points
        ),  # Should have a curvature of 0
        gf.path.euler(
            radius=3, angle=90, p=0.5, use_eff=False
        ),  # Euler straight-to-bend transition with min. bend radius of 3 (max curvature of 1/3)
        gf.path.straight(
            length=10, npoints=straight_points
        ),  # Should have a curvature of 0
        gf.path.arc(radius=10, angle=90),  # Should have a curvature of 1/10
        gf.path.arc(radius=5, angle=-90),  # Should have a curvature of -1/5
        gf.path.straight(
            length=2, npoints=straight_points
        ),  # Should have a curvature of 0
    ]
)

f = P.plot()
../_images/91f55175492ce6e5e8dee16f938e6b165e669a9adc8b196be61152e9f0c8a849.png

Arc paths are equivalent to bend_circular and euler paths are equivalent to bend_euler

s, K = P.curvature()
plt.plot(s, K, ".-")
plt.xlabel("Position along curve (arc length)")
plt.ylabel("Curvature")
Text(0, 0.5, 'Curvature')
../_images/703b5ccc9aa9c5b6b9bd92be6ab48d1f02e9f18412576493d060b9a7779c7700.png
P = gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=90, p=1.0, use_eff=False)
P.append(gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=90, p=0.2, use_eff=False))
P.append(gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=90, p=0.0, use_eff=False))
P.plot()
../_images/f53951ff3f93a7eb4ba6194c5cdab9241bb956ef139bdab629bcb8e1e88c5c1d.png ../_images/f53951ff3f93a7eb4ba6194c5cdab9241bb956ef139bdab629bcb8e1e88c5c1d.png
s, K = P.curvature()
plt.plot(s, K, ".-")
plt.xlabel("Position along curve (arc length)")
plt.ylabel("Curvature")
Text(0, 0.5, 'Curvature')
../_images/1e50aa98a00ccfb65db9477ae66a224fec9f7e084eaf3321c2d0cad09d647783.png

You can compare two 90 degrees euler bend with 180 euler bend.

A 180 euler bend is shorter, and has less loss than two 90 degrees euler bend.

straight_points = 100

P = gf.Path()
P.append(
    [
        gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=90, p=1, use_eff=False),
        gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=90, p=1, use_eff=False),
        gf.path.straight(length=6, npoints=100),
        gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=180, p=1, use_eff=False),
    ]
)

f = P.plot()
../_images/d762d927e53ac02a91efba05dbc67dde67a6dbbb71436a2ee63ba10008b12711.png
s, K = P.curvature()
plt.plot(s, K, ".-")
plt.xlabel("Position along curve (arc length)")
plt.ylabel("Curvature")
Text(0, 0.5, 'Curvature')
../_images/efa82f54464dd3030fd1e8e930d013a1c18ee53656ce371a85f0d2609caf6041.png

Transitioning between cross-sections#

Often a critical element of building paths is being able to transition between cross-sections. You can use the transition() function to do exactly this: you simply feed it two CrossSections and it will output a new CrossSection that smoothly transitions between the two.

Let’s start off by creating two cross-sections we want to transition between. Note we give all the cross-sectional elements names by specifying the name argument in the add() function – this is important because the transition function will try to match names between the two input cross-sections, and any names not present in both inputs will be skipped.

# Create our first CrossSection
import gdsfactory as gf

s0 = gf.Section(width=1.2, offset=0, layer=(2, 0), name="core", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=2.2, offset=0, layer=(3, 0), name="etch")
s2 = gf.Section(width=1.1, offset=3, layer=(1, 0), name="wg2")
X1 = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1, s2])

# Create the second CrossSection that we want to transition to
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(2, 0), name="core", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3.5, offset=0, layer=(3, 0), name="etch")
s2 = gf.Section(width=3, offset=5, layer=(1, 0), name="wg2")
X2 = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1, s2])

# To show the cross-sections, let's create two Paths and
# create Components by extruding them
P1 = gf.path.straight(length=5)
P2 = gf.path.straight(length=5)
wg1 = gf.path.extrude(P1, X1)
wg2 = gf.path.extrude(P2, X2)

# Place both cross-section Components and quickplot them
c = gf.Component("demo")
wg1ref = c << wg1
wg2ref = c << wg2
wg2ref.movex(7.5)

c.plot()
../_images/04ead85f47eeaa0964c1f91401f80c7fa3e1ccd3ac324b76a494151b4da3b87c.png

Now let’s create the transitional CrossSection by calling transition() with these two CrossSections as input. If we want the width to vary as a smooth sinusoid between the sections, we can set width_type to 'sine' (alternatively we could also use 'linear').

# Create the transitional CrossSection
Xtrans = gf.path.transition(cross_section1=X1, cross_section2=X2, width_type="sine")

# Create a Path for the transitional CrossSection to follow
P3 = gf.path.straight(length=15, npoints=100)

# Use the transitional CrossSection to create a Component
straight_transition = gf.path.extrude_transition(P3, Xtrans)
straight_transition.plot()
../_images/26b6840c112059abf8f9d0a718fc78cb6930267bc04e7e783796aae81a2af540.png

Now that we have all of our components, let’s connect() everything and see what it looks like

c = gf.Component("transition_demo")

wg1ref = c << wg1
wgtref = c << straight_transition
wg2ref = c << wg2

wgtref.connect("o1", wg1ref.ports["o2"])
wg2ref.connect("o1", wgtref.ports["o2"])

c.plot()
../_images/5d7666aff8f6d020cff466df2e6815999c542741e944b7fe17ed8e8f23ca25c5.png

Note that since transition() outputs a Transition, we can make the transition follow an arbitrary path:

# Transition along a curving Path
P4 = gf.path.euler(radius=25, angle=45, p=0.5, use_eff=False)
wg_trans = gf.path.extrude_transition(P4, Xtrans)

c = gf.Component("demo_transition")
wg1_ref = c << wg1  # First cross-section Component
wg2_ref = c << wg2
wgt_ref = c << wg_trans

wgt_ref.connect("o1", wg1_ref.ports["o2"])
wg2_ref.connect("o1", wgt_ref.ports["o2"])

c.plot()
2024-10-31 18:38:25.582 | WARNING  | gdsfactory.component:_write_library:1934 - UserWarning: Component demo_transition has invalid transformations. Try component.flatten_offgrid_references() first.
../_images/8401401175648904ce21739f8eafb492df297f34470170ef9ff2539a72bcb275.png

Since a Transition inherits from CrossSection you can also extrude an arbitrary Transition.

  1. Extruding a Path

w1 = 1
w2 = 5
x1 = gf.get_cross_section("xs_sc", width=w1)
x2 = gf.get_cross_section("xs_sc", width=w2)
transition = gf.path.transition(x1, x2)
p = gf.path.arc(radius=10)
c = gf.path.extrude(p, transition)
c.plot()
../_images/bd46033e4e96b796ed90c38a909de360f550a3862c600233dbef7f3d8d4c79fb.png
  1. Or as a CrossSection for a component

w1 = 1
w2 = 5
length = 10
x1 = gf.get_cross_section("xs_sc", width=w1)
x2 = gf.get_cross_section("xs_sc", width=w2)
transition = gf.path.transition(x1, x2)
c = gf.components.bend_euler(radius=10, cross_section=transition)
c.plot()
../_images/2ac1dcfef9fb73134e2d78f30997a202081aec0ecf39cd10e262d4be81189f50.png

Variable width / offset#

In some instances, you may want to vary the width or offset of the path’s cross- section as it travels. This can be accomplished by giving the CrossSection arguments that are functions or lists. Let’s say we wanted a width that varies sinusoidally along the length of the Path. To do this, we need to make a width function that is parameterized from 0 to 1: for an example function my_width_fun(t) where the width at t==0 is the width at the beginning of the Path and the width at t==1 is the width at the end.

import numpy as np
import gdsfactory as gf


def my_custom_width_fun(t):
    # Note: Custom width/offset functions MUST be vectorizable--you must be able
    # to call them with an array input like my_custom_width_fun([0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4])
    num_periods = 5
    return 3 + np.cos(2 * np.pi * t * num_periods)


# Create the Path
P = gf.path.straight(length=40, npoints=30)

# Create two cross-sections: one fixed width, one modulated by my_custom_offset_fun
s0 = gf.Section(width=3, offset=-6, layer=(2, 0))
s1 = gf.Section(width=0, width_function=my_custom_width_fun, offset=0, layer=(1, 0))
X = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1])

# Extrude the Path to create the Component
c = gf.path.extrude(P, cross_section=X)
c.plot()
../_images/ab4be30e025b5d94791ff17f7290fd9398bd6fb318dae48bdac7a06c6a923fef.png

We can do the same thing with the offset argument:

def my_custom_offset_fun(t):
    # Note: Custom width/offset functions MUST be vectorizable--you must be able
    # to call them with an array input like my_custom_offset_fun([0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4])
    num_periods = 3
    return 3 + np.cos(2 * np.pi * t * num_periods)


# Create the Path
P = gf.path.straight(length=40, npoints=30)

# Create two cross-sections: one fixed offset, one modulated by my_custom_offset_fun
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0))
s1 = gf.Section(
    width=1,
    offset_function=my_custom_offset_fun,
    layer=(2, 0),
    port_names=["clad1", "clad2"],
)
X = gf.CrossSection(sections=[s0, s1])

# Extrude the Path to create the Component
c = gf.path.extrude(P, cross_section=X)
c.plot()
../_images/d560f74d7bce71f051f660bf0906d6dcb4b3f56a6e5f537e163f2bad79f58331.png

Offsetting a Path#

Sometimes it’s convenient to start with a simple Path and offset the line it follows to suit your needs (without using a custom-offset CrossSection). Here, we start with two copies of simple straight Path and use the offset() function to directly modify each Path.

def my_custom_offset_fun(t):
    # Note: Custom width/offset functions MUST be vectorizable--you must be able
    # to call them with an array input like my_custom_offset_fun([0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4])
    num_periods = 3
    return 2 + np.cos(2 * np.pi * t * num_periods)


P1 = gf.path.straight(npoints=101)
P1.offset(offset=my_custom_offset_fun)
f = P1.plot()
../_images/601c9454dc3a212ae0690f96bb513460a14f11ab16ba25f197b1f1eac32ba992.png
P2 = P1.copy()  # Make a copy of the Path
P2.mirror((1, 0))  # reflect across X-axis
f2 = P2.plot()
../_images/58619701cc822591293521b61c12257da5d29724f13135d686dd4c52e80cb652.png
# Create the Path
P = gf.path.arc(radius=10, angle=45)

# Create two cross-sections: one fixed width, one modulated by my_custom_offset_fun
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=3, layer=(2, 0), name="waveguide")
s1 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), name="heater", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
X = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))
c = gf.path.extrude(P, X)
c.plot()
../_images/d03856d27b93ab8b2ad998ba9b1f7cf514ce4d484f93edd942b635de8f2b9aef.png
P = gf.Path()
P.append(gf.path.arc(radius=10, angle=90))  # Circular arc
P.append(gf.path.straight(length=10))  # Straight section
P.append(gf.path.euler(radius=3, angle=-90))  # Euler bend (aka "racetrack" curve)
P.append(gf.path.straight(length=40))
P.append(gf.path.arc(radius=8, angle=-45))
P.append(gf.path.straight(length=10))
P.append(gf.path.arc(radius=8, angle=45))
P.append(gf.path.straight(length=10))

f = P.plot()
../_images/58c5f8ed52ea8a9e9046f47d6812363fdeab92c1331564398f6b8edcfa04b2b2.png
c = gf.path.extrude(P, width=1, layer=(2, 0))
c.plot()
../_images/b8d712c4f6fd5fbb573eb95076177018daae61342f7d1c65fb6f986038daad42.png
s0 = gf.Section(width=2, offset=0, layer=(2, 0))
xs = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0,))
c = gf.path.extrude(P, xs)
c.plot()
../_images/fbaf70415717576d24ea4d822a0c04db40377f8383134f8d27546356f24f6797.png
p = gf.path.straight(length=10, npoints=101)
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3, offset=0, layer=(3, 0))
x1 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))
c = gf.path.extrude(p, x1)
c.plot()
../_images/88d650c6fd5b8f6801d306a42653b1320b641aff7cc57d56541a97526e37443d.png
s0 = gf.Section(width=1 + 3, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3 + 3, offset=0, layer=(3, 0))
x2 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))
c2 = gf.path.extrude(p, x2)
c2.plot()
../_images/35a2429e94a322c96a1cac6458a9e84d36e6c24e2157bbea08fafef6f9e647af.png
t = gf.path.transition(x1, x2)
c3 = gf.path.extrude_transition(p, t)
c3.plot()
../_images/e46dc2bfa568864b137b565e52e80efc67874bcca737f27cdd9cf55aa2817c54.png
c4 = gf.Component("demo_transition2")
start_ref = c4 << c
trans_ref = c4 << c3
end_ref = c4 << c2

trans_ref.connect("o1", start_ref.ports["o2"])
end_ref.connect("o1", trans_ref.ports["o2"])
c4.plot()
../_images/6518f547a2ef6e6ba0130984f58458d9a5335fd618802c83ffa73bc1960f55b3.png

Creating new cross_sections#

You can create functions that return a cross_section in 2 ways:

  • Customize an existing cross-section for example gf.cross_section.strip

  • Define a function that returns a cross_section

  • Define a CrossSection object

What parameters do cross_section take?

help(gf.cross_section.cross_section)
Help on function cross_section in module gdsfactory.cross_section:

cross_section(width: 'float' = 0.5, offset: 'float' = 0, layer: 'LayerSpec | None' = 'WG', sections: 'tuple[Section, ...] | None' = None, port_names: 'tuple[str, str]' = ('o1', 'o2'), port_types: 'tuple[str, str]' = ('optical', 'optical'), bbox_layers: 'LayerSpecs | None' = None, bbox_offsets: 'Floats | None' = None, cladding_layers: 'LayerSpecs | None' = None, cladding_offsets: 'Floats | None' = None, cladding_simplify: 'Floats | None' = None, radius: 'float | None' = 10.0, radius_min: 'float | None' = None, main_section_name: 'str' = '_default', **kwargs) -> 'CrossSection'
    Return CrossSection.
    
    Args:
        width: main Section width (um).
        offset: main Section center offset (um).
        layer: main section layer.
        sections: list of Sections(width, offset, layer, ports).
        port_names: for input and output ('o1', 'o2').
        port_types: for input and output: electrical, optical, vertical_te ...
        bbox_layers: list of layers bounding boxes to extrude.
        bbox_offsets: list of offset from bounding box edge.
        cladding_layers: list of layers to extrude.
        cladding_offsets: list of offset from main Section edge.
        cladding_simplify: Optional Tolerance value for the simplification algorithm.                 All points that can be removed without changing the resulting.                 polygon by more than the value listed here will be removed.
        radius: routing bend radius (um).
        radius_min: min acceptable bend radius.
        main_section_name: name of the main section. Defaults to _default
    
    .. plot::
        :include-source:
    
        import gdsfactory as gf
    
        xs = gf.cross_section.cross_section(width=0.5, offset=0, layer='WG')
        p = gf.path.arc(radius=10, angle=45)
        c = p.extrude(xs)
        c.plot()
    
    .. code::
    
    
           ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
           │                                                            │
           │                                                            │
           │                   boox_layer                               │
           │                                                            │
           │         ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐           │
           │         │                            ▲         │bbox_offset│
           │         │                            │         ├──────────►│
           │         │           cladding_offset  │         │           │
           │         │                            │         │           │
           │         ├─────────────────────────▲──┴─────────┤           │
           │         │                         │            │           │
        ─ ─┤         │           core   width  │            │           ├─ ─ center
           │         │                         │            │           │
           │         ├─────────────────────────▼────────────┤           │
           │         │                                      │           │
           │         │                                      │           │
           │         │                                      │           │
           │         │                                      │           │
           │         └──────────────────────────────────────┘           │
           │                                                            │
           │                                                            │
           │                                                            │
           └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
from functools import partial
import gdsfactory as gf

pin = partial(
    gf.cross_section.strip,
    layer=(2, 0),
    sections=(
        gf.Section(layer=(21, 0), width=2, offset=+2),
        gf.Section(layer=(20, 0), width=2, offset=-2),
    ),
)
c = gf.components.straight(cross_section=pin)
c.plot()
../_images/849f452e21639737bbde28f98f3132e9a2078b040f2a06dca2ddb4592c26e6e7.png
pin5 = gf.components.straight(cross_section=pin, length=5)
pin5.plot()
../_images/b9a744596adbe4189e06a2fbdb08a59ac902249bdb564492b0efa8bff371ac85.png

finally, you can also pass most components Dict that define the cross-section

# Create our first CrossSection
s0 = gf.Section(width=0.5, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), name="wg", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=0.2, offset=0, layer=(3, 0), name="slab")
x1 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))

# Create the second CrossSection that we want to transition to
s0 = gf.Section(width=0.5, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), name="wg", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3.0, offset=0, layer=(3, 0), name="slab")
x2 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))

# To show the cross-sections, let's create two Paths and create Components by extruding them
p1 = gf.path.straight(length=5)
p2 = gf.path.straight(length=5)
wg1 = gf.path.extrude(p1, x1)
wg2 = gf.path.extrude(p2, x2)

# Place both cross-section Components and quickplot them
c = gf.Component()
wg1ref = c << wg1
wg2ref = c << wg2
wg2ref.movex(7.5)

# Create the transitional CrossSection
xtrans = gf.path.transition(cross_section1=x1, cross_section2=x2, width_type="linear")
# Create a Path for the transitional CrossSection to follow
p3 = gf.path.straight(length=15, npoints=100)

# Use the transitional CrossSection to create a Component
straight_transition = gf.path.extrude_transition(p3, xtrans)
straight_transition.plot()
../_images/b6eb86b26428f4bf579280fd6600478feb2cc31e8d2cfd648242e41450128ccb.png
# Create the transitional CrossSection
xtrans = gf.path.transition(
    cross_section1=x1, cross_section2=x2, width_type="parabolic"
)
# Create a Path for the transitional CrossSection to follow
p3 = gf.path.straight(length=15, npoints=100)

# Use the transitional CrossSection to create a Component
straight_transition = gf.path.extrude_transition(p3, xtrans)
straight_transition.plot()
../_images/8052f541b992f7c16f1ca754521e418b7b9408a83e994bab0364577af661c7a4.png
# Create the transitional CrossSection
xtrans = gf.path.transition(cross_section1=x1, cross_section2=x2, width_type="sine")
# Create a Path for the transitional CrossSection to follow
p3 = gf.path.straight(length=15, npoints=100)

# Use the transitional CrossSection to create a Component
straight_transition = gf.path.extrude_transition(p3, xtrans)
straight_transition.plot()
../_images/1ad78dbe17af8f55f36247d2f968594aafaffc333986144a566bd5b514cd9e91.png
s = straight_transition.to_3d()
s.show()

Waveguides with Shear Faces#

By default, an extruded path will end in a face orthogonal to the direction of the path. Sometimes you want to have a sheared face that tilts at a given angle from this orthogonal baseline. You can supply the parameters shear_angle_start and shear_angle_end to the extrude() function.

P = gf.path.straight(length=10)

s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3, offset=0, layer=(3, 0))
X1 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))
c = gf.path.extrude(P, X1, shear_angle_start=10, shear_angle_end=45)
c.plot()
../_images/f62bca2836806591de1a3aa2b1af064e2a47d9c3a1829f4f372774e478bc2bfc.png
c.pprint_ports()
┏━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ name  width  center       orientation  layer   port_type  shear_angle ┃
┡━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━━━━╇━━━━━━━━━━━━━┩
│ o1   │ 1.0   │ [0.0, 0.0]  │ 180         │ [1, 0] │ optical   │ 10          │
│ o2   │ 1.0   │ [10.0, 0.0] │ 0.0         │ [1, 0] │ optical   │ 45          │
└──────┴───────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴────────┴───────────┴─────────────┘

By default, the shear angle parameters are None, in which case shearing will not be applied to the face.

c = gf.path.extrude(P, X1, shear_angle_start=None, shear_angle_end=10)
c.plot()
../_images/f0345cae1cea31c79c2d4ae6efd0e5674d11e87210ee22954116e0a3ff26884a.png

Shearing should work on paths of arbitrary orientation, as long as their end segments are sufficiently long.

angle = 45
P = gf.path.straight(length=10).rotate(angle)
c = gf.path.extrude(P, X1, shear_angle_start=angle, shear_angle_end=angle)
c.plot()
../_images/32a087652909b41f6916fa368ba6a470da027f68b798c17156c01eacc3b27f35.png

For a non-linear path or width profile, the algorithm will intersect the path when sheared inwards and extrapolate linearly going outwards.

angle = 15
P = gf.path.euler()
c = gf.path.extrude(P, X1, shear_angle_start=angle, shear_angle_end=angle)
c.plot()
../_images/422f5c5c2c7997d50fe251fd74ba8ef0f739e81484baf174650277c845903d63.png

The port location, width and orientation remains the same for a sheared component. However, an additional property, shear_angle is set to the value of the shear angle. In general, shear ports can be safely connected together.

p1 = gf.path.straight(length=10)
p2 = gf.path.straight(length=0.5)
s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3, offset=0, layer=(3, 0))
xs = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))

c1 = gf.path.extrude(p1, xs, shear_angle_start=45, shear_angle_end=45)
c2 = gf.path.extrude(p2, xs, shear_angle_start=45, shear_angle_end=45)

c = gf.Component("shear_sample")
ref1 = c << c1
ref2 = c << c2
ref3 = c << c1


ref1.connect(port="o1", destination=ref2.ports["o1"])
ref3.connect(port="o1", destination=ref2.ports["o2"])
c.plot()
../_images/12553e24026e84afe33b7494cafb608c737d31ced2ea149ed2b02791b3ed3f57.png

Transitions with Shear faces#

You can also create a transition with a shear face

P = gf.path.straight(length=10)

s0 = gf.Section(width=1, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), name="core", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s1 = gf.Section(width=3, offset=0, layer=(3, 0), name="slab")
X1 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s0, s1))

s2 = gf.Section(width=0.5, offset=0, layer=(1, 0), name="core", port_names=("o1", "o2"))
s3 = gf.Section(width=2.0, offset=0, layer=(3, 0), name="slab")
X2 = gf.CrossSection(sections=(s2, s3))
t = gf.path.transition(X1, X2, width_type="linear")
c = gf.path.extrude_transition(P, t, shear_angle_start=10, shear_angle_end=45)
c.plot()
../_images/addb0c2c286791ee9ea7241a96c120de49808a5ae91360e0d693b59702baa6e4.png

This will also work with curves and non-linear width profiles. Keep in mind that points outside the original geometry will be extrapolated linearly.

angle = 15
P = gf.path.euler()
c = gf.path.extrude_transition(P, t, shear_angle_start=angle, shear_angle_end=angle)
c.plot()
../_images/5dd1b6a245fdcad0ef5dce519418453e07bac978d698d8d72bcda99c49dfcaf0.png

bbox_layers vs cladding_layers#

For extruding waveguides you have two options:

  1. bbox_layers for squared bounding box

  2. cladding_layers for extruding a layer that follows the shape of the path.

xs_bbox = gf.cross_section.cross_section(bbox_layers=[(3, 0)], bbox_offsets=[3])
w1 = gf.components.bend_euler(cross_section=xs_bbox)
w1.plot()
../_images/e269e0417dab73a1bbe5e3343d5fdbea5c2e41b93708825eab1a740f07a51d0f.png
xs_clad = gf.cross_section.cross_section(cladding_layers=[(3, 0)], cladding_offsets=[3])
w2 = gf.components.bend_euler(cross_section=xs_clad)
w2.plot()
../_images/0796ee9d7811e925d9f2a82620fa43217e464ae090637d601a53045fc6648291.png

Insets#

It’s handy to be able to extrude a CrossSection along a Path, while each Section may have a particular inset relative to the main Section. An example of this is a waveguide with a heater.

import gdsfactory as gf


def xs_waveguide_heater() -> gf.CrossSection:
    return gf.cross_section.cross_section(
        layer="WG",
        width=0.5,
        sections=(
            gf.cross_section.Section(
                name="heater",
                width=1,
                layer="HEATER",
                insets=(1, 2),
            ),
        ),
    )


c = gf.components.straight(cross_section=xs_waveguide_heater)
c.plot()
../_images/edbe55534a903a4a47e76debb1e7327abf3e5d5a7ae2177be5799cb9914efaf7.png
def xs_waveguide_heater_with_ports() -> gf.CrossSection:
    return gf.cross_section.cross_section(
        layer="WG",
        width=0.5,
        sections=(
            gf.cross_section.Section(
                name="heater",
                width=1,
                layer="HEATER",
                insets=(1, 2),
                port_names=("e1", "e2"),
                port_types=("electrical", "electrical"),
            ),
        ),
    )


c = gf.components.straight(cross_section=xs_waveguide_heater_with_ports)
c.plot()
../_images/b38f3924a4f750995edaeaa1f8d979a95fdfaeebe5013787bb17ce37310c5343.png