Data Conversion

Most photomask manufacturers expect your data to be in the industry standard GDSII format. However, most designs are created using many different applications with different output formats. Translation programs exist, but because of the difference in drawing entities, your converted data may have missing or incorrect polygons. CAD data exchange is a data exchange method used to convert data between different computer-aided design CAD authoring systems or between CAD and other downstream CAx systems.

Alfa Chemistry provides the most complete data conversion service in the industry. We accept a variety of data formats in order to provide you with better services.

About Alfa Chemistry's Data Conversion Service

One of the most critical elements in data conversion is to generate data that accurately represents the original design ideas, with 100% accuracy. Alfa Chemistry has successfully converted thousands of files between many different formats. We have customized written post-processing procedures to check the data for typical integrity failures to ensure that the data is ready for photomasks. When sending data to the photomask manufacturer, we will send jobdeck and Mebes data to avoid any possible translation errors in the photomask workshop.

Accepted input data formats:

Alfa Chemistry will convert any of the above formats to meet all your requirements for photomasks.

Data conversion requirements 

• Although it is possible to use ready-made programs to perform data conversion, the data must be drawn in a different way to achieve high reliability.
• Over the years, the GDSII standard has changed, such as the number of layers, the number of coordinates allowed per polygon, the characters allowed in the structure name, and how to define the array have all changed. Before submitting to Alfa Chemistry, even the GDSII data must be checked for compatibility.

Typical Problems

Typical problems include:

• Negative arrays
• Data drawn using open lines
• Data drawn primarily using hatch commands
• Inconsistent definition of light or dark areas
• Lines with width used to create circles or donuts
• Polygons with too many points or sides
• Block-names that do not conform to standards
• Designer expects that holes will appear in the data
• Designer expects text to appear on the photomask
• Data created on layer 0 and referenced on a different layer
• Designer has drawn inside a shape using lines that cross each other