This enables fast performance and avoids any unecessary conversion. Also the GDS II structure is used for internal data representation in the LayoutEditor. GDS II is the default file format for the LayoutEditor and fully supported in its all existing versions (version 3 to version 7). As of October 2004, many EDA software vendors have begun to support a new format, OASIS, which may replace GDS II. While these attributes were designed to correspond to the 'layers of material' used in manufacturing an integrated circuit, their meaning rapidly became more abstract to reflect the way that the physical layout is designed. Objects contained in a GDS II file are grouped by assigning numerical attributes to them including 'layer number', 'datatype' or 'texttype'. This moment was fittingly called 'tape out' though it is not the original root of the term. GDS II files were originally placed on magnetic tapes. GDS II files are usually the final output product of the IC design cycle and are given to silicon foundries for IC fabrication. Currently, the format is owned by Cadence Design Systems. The file format was originally developed by Calma for its layout design software, 'Graphic Data System' ('GDS') and 'GDS II'. Despite its limited set of features and low data density, it became the industry's default format for transfer of IC layout data between design tools of different vendors, all of which (at that time) operated with often incompatible and proprietary data formats. Initially, GDS II was designed as a format used to control integrated circuit photo mask plotting. The data can be used to reconstruct all or part of the artwork to be used in sharing layouts, transferring artwork between different tools, or creating photo masks. It is a binary file format representing planar geometric shapes, text labels, and other information about the layout in hierarchical form. GDS II is a database file format which is the de facto industry standard for data exchange of integrated circuit or IC layout artwork.

Gds file semiconductor