Free MEMS and microfluidic mask design software
A MEMS or microfluidics lab needs a mask for every layer it patterns: the structural layer of a comb drive, the channels of a PDMS mould, the control layer of a valve. Glyph is a free mask layout editor that draws those layers in a browser tab, with nothing to install, and saves them as the GDSII file a mask shop or a direct-write tool reads. This page lists what such a mask holds, which Glyph parts do each job, how a drawing made in AutoCAD gets in, and what Glyph does not do.
What a MEMS or microfluidic mask holds
- MEMS structures. Comb fingers and their suspension springs, proof masses with a lattice of release-etch holes, anchor pads, and test ladders of cantilevers or bridges whose lengths step from short to long.
- Microfluidic networks. Channels, inlet and outlet ports, reservoirs and chambers, junctions, mixers, filters and traps. A device with valves usually has two masks, one for the flow layer and one for the control layer.
- Marks and a frame on every layer. Alignment marks so each later layer lands on the first, a resolution target to check the exposure, a die outline, and labels. Many dies are then stepped across one wafer.
Which Glyph parts do each job
Every component below is a parametric part: you place it from View → Component library and then change its sizes in the Properties panel.
| Job | In Glyph |
|---|---|
| Actuators and springs | MEMS library: Comb-drive actuator, Folded-beam flexure, Perforated proof mass (its release holes are drawn as abutting bars, so the file holds no polygons with holes). |
| Stress and stiction tests | MEMS library: Cantilever array and Fixed-fixed beam array, each a ladder of swept beam lengths. The anchors can go on a layer of their own. |
| Surface-wave transducers | MEMS library: Interdigitated transducer (IDT). |
| Channels and fluidic parts | Microfluidics library: straight, serpentine and spiral channels, tapers, ports, reservoirs, chambers, T, Y and cross junctions, a flow resistor, serpentine, herringbone, Y, split-and-recombine and rotary mixers, pillar arrays, cell traps, droplet generators, Tesla and burst valves. |
| Two-layer valves | The Quake valve and the rotary mixer draw their control channels on a second layer, and the herringbone mixer can put its grooves on one. A Layers section in the Properties panel picks each layer before you place the part. |
| Routing between parts | Connect ports routes a channel from one part's port to another's. The channel stays attached when you move or edit either part. |
| Repeated features | Arrays (AREF): a grid of fingers, pillars or test structures is one array record, not thousands of copies. See Cells, instances and arrays. |
| Merging and sizing | Union (U) merges overlapping selected shapes into one outline. Arrange → Layer operations… combines or grows and shrinks whole layers. See Boolean and layer operations. |
| Alignment and resolution | Standard cells (alignment cross, vernier scale, box-in-box), Overlay & PCM (two-layer verniers and registration marks) and Metrology marks (USAF resolution bars, Siemens star). Verify → Place alignment marks… puts one mark at a list of points on several layers at once. |
| Checking the rules | Verify → Design rules… checks minimum width and spacing per layer. File → Setup → Technology presets… includes a Microfluidics (soft lithography) starter with Flow, Control and Vent layers and a 20 µm minimum feature. See Run a DRC before you expose a mask. |
| The wafer | Arrange → Wafer layout… steps a die across a wafer with dicing lanes and an edge exclusion. See Wafer layout and alignment marks. |
Mask tone. A mould master in a negative resist such as SU-8 keeps what was exposed, so its channels are usually clear openings in a dark mask. Set a layer's field tone to dark field and Preview as exposed shows the layer that way: the mask blank in the layer's colour with your shapes cut out of it. The preview changes nothing in the file.
The two device guides use these parts step by step: Lay out a MEMS comb-drive actuator and Design a microfluidic chip with Quake valves.
Bringing a drawing from AutoCAD
Many microfluidics labs draw their channels in AutoCAD or another general CAD program. Glyph opens that drawing as DXF, or as the DWG itself (AutoCAD R14 to R2018), and turns it into mask layers.
- Open the file. Use File → Open…, or drag the
.dxfor.dwgonto the window. - Check the unit. A DXF that sets
$INSUNITSis read in that unit. A DXF that sets none makes the editor ask which unit the drawing uses, with the resulting size beside each choice. The stand-alone DXF to GDS converter has no such question: it reads a unitless DXF as 1 unit = 1 µm and says so in a warning. - Check that outlines are closed. A channel drawn as separate lines and arcs that only touch encloses no area, and a mask writer exposes nothing for it. Close open contours is on by default. It joins touching segments on the same layer into filled outlines, with an endpoint tolerance of 0.1 % of the drawing's diagonal, kept between 100 nm and 10 µm. An outline that still does not close is named, layer by layer, in a warning; Arrange → Close open contours… runs the same pass again later.
- Check the layers. A CAD layer named with a plain number keeps that GDS layer number, a name in the
L1D4form keeps layer 1, datatype 4, and any other name gets the next free number. Imported layers show as outlines at first; pick a fill in the Layers panel. - Save as GDSII.
Ctrl+Swrites a.gdsfile.
The DXF to GDS and DWG to GDS converter pages list every entity type that is read.
What goes to the mask shop
A film or chrome mask shop, or a direct-write tool such as a laser writer, usually wants GDSII. Each Glyph layer is written as its own GDS layer number, so the shop can tell the flow layer from the control layer. File → Export ▸ Export per layer… writes one GDSII file per layer for a shop that wants each mask level separately. Ask your shop which layer numbers and which polarity it expects; the mask vendor format guide lists what each kind of shop usually asks for.
What Glyph does not do
- No simulation. There is no 3D view and no mechanical, electrostatic or flow simulation. The one physical number is the fluidic resistance estimate shown for a selected channel.
- No scripting language. Repeated jobs run as saved recipes, a fixed list of built-in actions, not as Python or Ruby code.
- No LVS and no full sign-off deck. The design-rule check is geometric.
- No fracturing. Glyph hands the shop GDSII or OASIS and does not write mask-writer formats such as MEBES.
- Not built for very large databases. Glyph's heavy paths are measured on cells of up to about 500 000 shapes.
Glyph and the desktop tools labs name
| Tool | Where it runs | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Glyph | Any modern browser, no install | Drawing, checking and exporting a MEMS or microfluidic mask on any machine, with the component libraries above. Free. |
| KLayout | Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) | Free and open source, with Ruby and Python scripting, DRC and LVS decks and very large files. See the comparison. |
| CleWin | Windows desktop | A mask editor with a mature symbol library. Glyph opens its CIF files. See the comparison. |
| LayoutEditor | Desktop | A general layout editor; see layouteditor.com for its editions and licensing. |
| AutoCAD or another CAD program | Desktop | Drawing outlines. Glyph opens the DXF or DWG it saves and turns it into mask layers, as above. |
For the same comparison from the photomask side, see Free photomask layout software in the browser.
KLayout, CleWin, LayoutEditor and AutoCAD are trademarks or marks of their respective owners. Glyph and NANYTE are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them. Comparison current as of the 'Updated' date above; corrections: [email protected].
Frequently asked questions
Is there free MEMS mask design software that needs no install?
Yes. Glyph is a free mask layout editor that runs in a browser tab, with MEMS and microfluidics component libraries built in. Open nanyte.com/glyph/app/, draw or open a layout, and save it as GDSII. Nothing is installed, and the file is read and written in the tab rather than uploaded.
Can I bring a mask I drew in AutoCAD?
Yes. Open the DXF, or the DWG itself, in Glyph. The scale comes from the file's $INSUNITS header, and when the file declares no unit the editor asks which one it uses. Lines and arcs that only touch end to end are closed into filled outlines by default, and any outline that stays open is named in a warning. Then save the result as GDSII.
What file does a mask shop want for a MEMS or microfluidic mask?
Most film and chrome mask shops, and most direct-write lithography tools, take GDSII, and many also take OASIS. Ask your shop which one it wants and on which layer numbers. Glyph saves GDSII, exports OASIS, DXF and CIF, and can write one GDSII file per layer.
Does Glyph simulate the device?
No. It draws and checks the 2D mask layout only. It has no 3D view and no mechanical, electrostatic or flow simulation. For a selected channel it shows a fluidic resistance estimate worked out from the channel's width and length and a height and viscosity you enter.