File Extension Library


.GDSII File Extension

  • Category: 3d graphics, CAD-CAM-CAE Files

What are .GDSII files and how to open them?

Can't open .GDSII file? Are you wondering what it contains? On our site we will explain to you what this file is, what it is used for and what software opens the .GDSII file.

What is a .GDSII file extension?

.GDSII file extension has been classified as 3d graphics, CAD-CAM-CAE Files.

.GDSII is VLSI cad layout format (for integrated circuits)

The gdsii file extension is associated with GDSII, which is the standard file format for transferring / archiving 2D graphical design data. It contains a hierarchy of structures, each structure containing elements situated on layers. It is a binary format that is platform independent, because it uses internally defined formats for its data types.

The pattern data is considered to be contained in a library of cells. Cells may contain geometrical objects such as polygons (boundaries), paths, and other cells. Objects in the cell are assigned to layers of the design. Different layers typically represent different processing steps for exposure on separate mask plates. Geometrical objects may also be tagged with datatypes, which can be used for any purpose, but are most commonly used to group together similarly sized objects for compensation of the proximity effect.

The GDSII format specification limits the number of vertices per polygon (boundary) and wire (path) to not more than 200 pairs of coordinates. However, many packages, including LinkCAD, can read up to the technical maximum of 32,766 coordinate pairs. By default, when exporting to GDSII, LinkCAD will not write more than 200 vertices and larger polygons and wires are split into fragments. You may remove this limitation in the GDSII export options.

.GDSII file format is deprecated and this file format is no longer supported.

Currently, .GDSII file type is not actively used and is obsolete. This usually happens with system files in older operating systems, files from long-discontinued software, or with previous versions of some file types (documents, projects, images, etc.) that were replaced in later versions of the original programs.


How to open:

Use compatible tools to work with *.gdsii files.

How to convert:

Possibly can be converted to other formats.

How to fix problems with .GDSII files

  1. You need to update the application that you normally use to open .GDSII files. Only the latest version of the software supports the current .GDSII file format
  2. You need to check the .GDSII file for viruses. To do this, you need to scan it with a popular antivirus (Norton, Nod32, Kaspersky, Dr.Web, etc.)