Free photomask layout software in the browser
Photomask layout software draws the geometry a mask is written from: polygons on numbered layers, grouped into cells, saved as a GDSII file the mask shop reads. Glyph is a free mask layout editor that does this in a browser tab, with nothing to install. This page says what it covers for a photomask, what it leaves out, and when a desktop tool is the better choice.
What Glyph does for a photomask
- Draws the mask geometry. Boxes, polygons, paths, circles and text labels on numbered
(layer, datatype)pairs, with grid and object snapping and exact sizes typed in the Properties panel. A saved GDS file stores whole database units, 1 nm each by default. The first-photomask guide walks this from a blank document to a saved.gds. - Keeps the hierarchy. Repeated features become cells, placed as single instances (SREF) or arrays (AREF), so a 100 × 100 grid of test structures is one array record, not 10 000 copies.
- Ships a component library. Parametric alignment crosses, test structures, photonic, microfluidic, MEMS and diffractive components, placed and then edited by their parameters. See Component library.
- Checks the design. Verify → Design rules… runs per-layer minimum width, spacing, notch, area and on-grid checks, layer-pair rules (enclosure, pair spacing, overlap) and a windowed density rule, with one-click floors for laser, e-beam and BEAM writers. See Run a DRC before you expose a mask.
- Lays out the wafer. Arrange → Wafer layout… steps a die across a wafer with dicing lanes and edge exclusion, and Verify → Place alignment marks… puts one mark type at a list of coordinates on several mask layers at once. See Wafer layout and alignment marks.
- Previews a mask's tone. A layer marked dark field can be previewed the way the mask will look: chrome everywhere except your features.
- Fills empty space. Arrange → Fill empty regions… tiles a fill cell across open area with a keep-out halo, optionally aiming at a target density. See Fill and dummy density.
- Exports what a shop takes. GDSII, OASIS, DXF and CIF, one GDSII file per layer, and SVG, EPS or PNG figures. See Which format does your mask vendor want?.
- Opens what you already have. GDSII, OASIS, CIF (including CleWin's dialect), DXF, DWG and SVG, so an outline drawn in a CAD tool can become a mask layer.
What it does not do
- No scripting language. There is no Ruby or Python API. Repeated jobs run as saved recipes, a fixed list of built-in actions.
- No LVS and no full sign-off deck. The design-rule check is geometric. It can import the simple width, spacing, notch, enclosure and area rules of a KLayout deck, but it does not run rule scripts.
- No fracturing. Glyph does not write mask-writer formats such as MEBES. It hands the shop GDSII or OASIS, and the shop fractures it.
- No 3D view. It is a 2D layout editor.
- Not built for production-scale databases. Glyph's heavy paths are measured on cells of up to about 500 000 shapes. A full-reticle database of many millions of polygons belongs in a desktop tool.
Glyph and the desktop tools
| Tool | Where it runs | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Glyph | Any modern browser, no install | Drawing, checking and exporting a mask on whatever machine you are at; teaching; quick edits and conversions. Free. |
| KLayout | Desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) | Free and open source, with Ruby and Python scripting, full DRC and LVS decks and very large files. See the comparison. |
| CleWin | Windows desktop | A mask editor with a mature symbol library and a CIF-based script system. Glyph opens its CIF files. See the comparison. |
| LayoutEditor | Desktop | A general layout editor; see layouteditor.com for its editions and licensing. |
Start a mask
Open Glyph and press B to draw a box, or drag an existing layout onto the window to open it. The first-photomask guide takes about ten minutes. If a file needs to change format first, the file converter does that on its own page.
KLayout, CleWin and LayoutEditor 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 photomask layout software that needs no install?
Yes. Glyph is a free mask layout editor that runs in a browser tab. Open nanyte.com/glyph/app/, draw or open a layout, and save it as GDSII. Nothing is downloaded or installed, and your file is read and written in the tab rather than uploaded.
Which file does a mask shop want from photomask layout software?
Most mask shops and direct-write tools take GDSII, and many also take OASIS. Glyph saves GDSII and exports OASIS, DXF and CIF, plus one GDSII file per layer for a shop that wants each mask level separately. Ask your shop first; the guide on mask vendor formats lists what each kind of shop usually asks for.
Can Glyph check a photomask design before I send it?
Yes, for geometric rules. Verify → Design rules… checks minimum width, spacing, notch and area and on-grid placement per layer, layer-pair rules such as enclosure, and a windowed density rule, and steps you through each finding. It is not a full sign-off deck, and it has no LVS.
What does Glyph not do that desktop mask software does?
It has no scripting language, no 3D view and no LVS, and it is not built for multi-million-shape production databases. It does not fracture a layout into mask-writer formats such as MEBES; it hands the shop GDSII or OASIS, which the shop fractures itself.