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KFactory 3.0.0rc2

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KFactory is a Python framework for photonic and electronic chip layout, built on KLayout's C++ geometry engine. It provides parametric cells with caching, optical and electrical routing, enclosures via Minkowski sums, and schematic-driven design with LVS.

Key Features

  • Cell caching — the @kf.cell decorator deduplicates identical components automatically
  • Routing — optical and electrical bundle routing, Manhattan primitives, all-angle routing, and path-length matching
  • Cross-sections & enclosures — define waveguide profiles and automatic boolean cladding layers via Minkowski sums
  • Schematics — place-and-connect workflow with netlist extraction and layout-vs-schematic verification
  • Virtual cells — hierarchical logical containers for schematic-driven design
  • Dual coordinate systems — KCell (integer DBU) and DKCell (float µm) work side by side
  • KLayout integration — full access to kdb.Region, kdb.Polygon, DRC, and GDS/OASIS I/O
  • Jupyter & KLive — live preview in KLayout while editing notebooks
  • PDK system — bundle layers, factories, cross-sections, and technology into reusable packages

Getting Started

Installation

KFactory is available on PyPI and requires Python 3.12+.

uv add kfactory

# or with pip
pip install kfactory

Development

just dev

This installs the development environment and sets up pre-commit hooks.

Ecosystem

Package Description
gdsfactory Full-featured chip design framework — KFactory is its layout backend
kfnetlist Standalone netlist extraction and generation

Documentation

Full documentation is available at gdsfactory.github.io/kfactory.

Upgrading from an earlier version? See the migration guide.

License

MIT

  • Getting Started

    Install kfactory and build your first component in under 5 minutes.

    Installation  ·  Quickstart

  • Core Concepts

    Understand KCells, layers, ports, instances, and the DBU ↔ µm coordinate systems.

    KCell  ·  Layers  ·  Ports

  • Routing

    Optical and electrical bundle routing, Manhattan primitives, all-angle, and path-length matching.

    Overview  ·  Optical  ·  All-Angle

  • Components

    Straight waveguides, euler/circular bends, tapers, Bezier S-bends, and the factory pattern.

    Overview  ·  PCells  ·  Factories

  • Enclosures

    Layer enclosures via Minkowski sums, cross-sections, and KCell-level cladding.

    Cross-Sections  ·  Layer Enclosure

  • Utilities

    Grid layout, packing, DRC fixing, fill, and regression testing.

    Grid  ·  DRC Fix  ·  Fill

  • PDK

    Bundle layers, factories, cross-sections, and technology into a reusable PDK.

    Creating a PDK  ·  Layer Stack

  • Schematics

    Schematic-driven layout, netlist extraction, LVS, and YAML/JSON round-trips.

    Overview  ·  Netlist & I/O

  • How-To Guides

    Common patterns, best practices, and a comprehensive FAQ.

    Best Practices  ·  FAQ