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Lukas Chrostowski edited this page Jan 26, 2018 · 60 revisions

SiEPIC-EBeam-PDK Installation

Using the KLayout 0.25 Package Manager

The Tools are distributed using KLayout's Package Manager, which was introduced in version 0.25.

Install KLayout version 0.25 or greater

There is a beta version of 0.25.1 (minor bug fixes from 0.25):

Open KLayout, then menu item Tools | Manage Packages

  • Install the 'SiEPIC-Tools' package

  • Install the 'SiEPIC-EBeam-PDK' package

  • [Windows only:] Install the 'Windows_Python_Packages_for_KLayout' package: this includes some packages that are missing in the Python distribution included in KLayout, such as numpy (math package), which is useful for making complex PCells and required for integration with Lumerical INTERCONNECT and FDTD Solutions tools.

  • Restart KLayout

  • You should see a new menu item, "SiEPIC" with the version number

  • Check back periodically in the Package Manager for updates

Old instructions

Download:

Download the latest release of the EBeam PDK: Source code latest release (zip) of the SiEPIC_EBeam_PDK, or the latest development version (master).

Download the latest release of SiEPIC-Tools: Source code latest release (zip), or the latest development version (master).

Installation instructions:

Installation consists of two parts: a) installing the SiEPIC-Tools and EBeam-PDK within KLayout, b) installing the PDK within Lumerical INTERCONNECT. Finally, test the installation and integration.

Installation instructions – for KLayout:

  • Make sure you have KLayout version 0.24.10 or higher installed. Check that it runs.
  • Unzip the installation ZIP files
  • Copy the files from the klayout_dot_config folder (from the zip file) into your KLayout configuration folder:
    • On Linux and OSX, this is $HOME/.klayout
    • On OSX, open the program Terminal.App. Assuming you downloaded the master.zip, type in: cp -r $HOME/Downloads/SiEPIC_EBeam_PDK-master/klayout_dot_config/* $HOME/.klayout/
    • On windows systems, the KLayout configuration folder can be found under C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\KLayout. Note: this should place the files in what KLayout's Macro editor calls [Local]; files should not go in [Global], which on Windows is the application's installation path, i.e., don't put them in C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Roaming\KLayout (64bit)
  • Start KLayout
  • You should:
    • get a message (default layer properties file is not configured).
    • see a top-level menu called “SiEPIC”
    • If you don’t see these, the SiEPIC klayout files are not correctly installed. Go back to the KLayout configuration installation above.
  • File – Setup (Windows) or KLayout – Preferences (OSX)
    • Application – Editing Mode. turn on “Use editing mode by default”
    • Ok
  • Menu SiEPIC – SiEPIC initialization (configures the shortcut keys as per other popular layout tools). Check the message at the bottom of the screen which confirms if it was successful.
  • Quit and restart KLayout

Installation instructions – for Lumerical INTERCONNECT:

  • To take advantage of the circuit simulations from layout capability, you need Lumerical INTERCONNECT (version R2018a or later) and then need to install the Compact Model Libraries (CML) provided here.
  • There are two libraries:
    • a) ebeam_YYYY_MM_DD.cml (Electron Beam Lithography technology library),
    • b) GSiP_YYYY_MM_DD.cml (Generic Silicon Photonics technology library).
  • Install the latest version of the CML libraries found in the folder "klayout_dot_config/tech/EBeam/":
    • Open the INTERCONNECT program, and find the “Element Library” window.
    • Right-click on the “Design kits” folder (at the bottom of the “Elements”) and select “Install”.
    • Select the E-beam CML file for the “Compact Model Library Package” (the CML file from the ZIP archive provided here)
    • Set the “Destination Folder” (any folder on your computer), and then click “OK”.
    • Now the elements should be available in a new “ebeam_v” folder in “Design kits”.
    • To use the E-beam elements, simply drag and drop the elements into the schematic editor.
    • Similar for GSiP components.
    • Make sure to exit INTERCONNECT so that the Library definitions are saved to the configuration file.
  • (optional) More info on CMLs can be found on Lumerical's CML page and Lumerical's CML installation page. For more information about how to use INTERCONNECT, please visit the Lumerical Knowledge Base.

Installation instructions – verify the KLayout + INTERCONNECT integration:

To test the KLayout + INTERCONNECT integration:

  • open KLayout, and load the layout "Examples/RingResonator.gds"
  • click the INTERCONNECT icon, ok
  • INTERCONNECT should open, and you should see a simulation of an optical spectrum within one minute.

Installation videos for KLayout:

Windows:

PDK installation in Windows

OSX:

PDK installation in OSX

Trouble-shooting:

Errors in INTERCONNECT ::MC_

The following errors appear in INTERCONNECT when using this PDK. Please ignore these. They are warnings and do not affect the simulations. image

Launch INTERCONNECT simulation doesn't work:

The icon in the Toolbar, or the menu item SiEPIC > INTERCONNECT, doesn't do anything...

image

Possible cause is that the path to INTERCONNECT in KLayout does not match where it is installed. Check this in the script:

  1. Tools > Macro Development (F5)

image

image

  1. In the Macro Development window, click on "Python", and "[Local]",

image

  1. then find "INTERCONNECT - Launch Lumerical INTERCONNECT". Scroll down to the bottom where the application paths are defined: image

  2. Find your platform (win = Windows, darwin = OSX, linux = Linux). Check if this is correct. If not, edit the path according to where INTERCONNECT is installed. Note the "\\" for windows should be there.

Layers are missing, or other SiEPIC-PDK errors

Double-check that the PDK is installed in the correct folder, called [Local].

On windows, this is C:\Users\USERNAME\KLayout

This shows up in KLayout as a [Local]

Perhaps you installed it somewhere else, e.g., [Global]? More info on folder locations: http://www.klayout.de/doc/about/macro_editor.html

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