GSCAN - GDSII Scan File Utility

The gscan utility scans a GDSII file and reports on the list of structures, hierarchy, data with layers, extents of each structure and number of elements in each structure. The results from gscan can be used for a variety of purposes.

GSCAN Command Line Syntax

To see the gscan command line syntax you can execute gscan with the -h option:

$  gscan -h

GDSII Scanning Utility Version 1.47 (Oct 11,2002)
(C) 1993-2001 Artwork Conversion Software, Inc.
 
gscan [input_gdsii_file_name] [options]
 
options
 
 -o:output_file_name   name/path of the output file. If not specified goes to stdout

 -sh                   output structure hierarchy

 -sea                  output structure extents for all structures

 -byarea               output structure extents sorted by area

 -se:structure_name    output structure extents for this structure only

 -job                  output job file only

 -job:job_filename     output job file to job_filename only

 -job!                 output job file

 -job!job_filename     output job file to job_filename

 -dtp                  include datatype info on output

 -max:N                expect at most N structures. ( default 2048 )

 -magic                enable magic compatibility.

 -elmcnt               output element counts for each structure.

GSCAN OUTPUT

GSCAN outputs ASCII data about a file. Examples of the various options are shown below. Because of the large amount of data the example output is "clipped."

Basic Header Information

GSCAN always writes out some basic information obtained from the header data in the GDSII file.

FILENAME
DEMO5.GDS

HEADER
Release           :3.00                         release version
Last Modify Time  :Sep 9, 93 at 0:00:00
Last Access Time  :Sep 9, 93 at 0:00:00
Resolution        :1000                         ticks per user unit
User Units        :UM                         

Reference Library
1) 
2) 

Text Font Definition Files
0) GDSII:CALMAFONT.TX                           font path - not really helpful
1) GDSII:CALMAFONT.TX
2) GDSII:CALMAFONT.TX
3) GDSII:CALMAFONT.TX

Layers with Data

GSCAN also produces a list of the layers in the GDSII file that contain data.

LAYERS_CONTAINING_DATA

0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10

Structure Hierachy

gscan demo5.gds -o:test.txt -sh

In addition to basic header information you also get a list of structures and then the hierarchy.

STRUCTURE_LIST
1) HVLS
2) CONT
3) PTAP2
4) POLYHD1
5) POLYHD3
6) CMP2
7) NTAP
8) PTAP
9) POLYHD2
10) HVPD
11) SVCMPIN
12) TGX1
.
.

HIERARCHY of INDEPENDENT STRUCTURES


1988

TOP
  |
  |__ INPROT3
  |     |
  |     |__ CONT
  |     |
  |     |__ PAD
  |
  |__ INGATE2
  |     |
  |     |__ PTAP2
  |     |
  |     |__ CONT
  |     |
  |     |__ POLYHD3
  |     |     |
  |     |     |__ CONT
  |     |
  |     |__ POLYHD1