Placing Elements

There are two ways to insert an Element into the layout:

  1. dragging from Libraries toolbox

  2. using “instance” tool from the toolbar

Either of these will generate the corresponding PCell and allows you to place an Instance of the PCell in If the corresponding PCell instance does not yet exist, corresponding code from the KQC library is evoked.

Here is an animation demonstrating dragging from the Libraries toolbox

../../_images/placing_pcell.gif

Modifying Element parameters

If an Element is in the layout, one can change its parameters by double clicking the Element which brings up the Object properties window. In the window there is a PCell parameters tab, where parameters can be changed.

../../_images/modifying_pcell.gif

Note that there are a few situations where the Object properties window doesn’t appear when double clicking:

  • The Element is inside another PCell. One can only change parameters of the top level Element. If one desires to change parameters of the sub-elements, the top level element should be turned static before by selecting the top level element and clicking Edit -> Selection -> Convert To Static Cell. Then, the cell can be set as new top in the Cells toolbox.

  • Once an Element is converted to a static cell, the parameters can no longer be changed.

  • Some elements have guiding shapes such as boxes or paths, which take priority in selection. To avoid selecting these by accident, one can disable each type under Edit -> Select.