Adding Images

For some applications it is necessary to show flat pixel data together with the layout. That can either be a SEM image taken or some output of a simulation tool. KLayout provides a way to add images to the display and show them below the drawn layout.

Currently, images can be read from any commonly used image format available in Qt (i.e. PNG, JPG, TIF ...). Color and monochrome images are supported. Internally an image is stored as a matrix of float values and it is possible to write custom importers using RBA.

To add an image, use the "Add Image" function from the "Edit" menu. An image property dialog will appear where the image can be specified. Choose an image using the "Browse" button next to the file name box.

An image has a variety of properties which mainly affect the way it is displayed:

Pixel size: The size of one pixel in micron units. This affects the total size of the image.
Center: This is the point where the center of the image is placed (in micron units).
Rotation: An arbitrary angle by which the image is rotated.
Shear/Perspective Tilt: shear and perspective tilt angles. Although it is possible to specify these angles explicitly it is far easiert to use the landmark adjustment feature to align an image with a layout.
Mirror flag: If this option is checked, the image is mirrored at the bottom edge before it is rotated.
Pixel value range: The pixel value corresponding to minimum and maximum. For normal 8 bit image formats, these values are 0 and 255. They can be adjusted which allows brighten or darken images. For float images (i.e. simulation data), this value should reflect the bounds of the output values, i.e. 0.0 and 1.0 for normalized data.
Color mapping: For monochrome images, the values are converted to colors with a mapping function. The image properties page contains a tab for specifying an arbitrary mapping of data values to colors. This is achieved by placing color sample points on the data range axis and assigning colors to them. Double click at the axis to set new points, click on them to select them and adjust their color with the color box. Select and press "Del" to delete a sample point.
Brightness, Contrast and Gamma: Three sliders for changing these values are provided on the respective tab.
RGB channel gains: Additionally, each color channel can be weighted with a given factor on the respective tab.

Once an image is placed, it can be moved and resized using the "Move" function. The images properties can be adjusted using the "Properties" function from the Edit menu or double-clicking at the image.

With KLayout 0.22, it is possible to define landmarks which can be set at arbitrary positions in the image and aligned with corresponding layout features by dragging them to the desired target location. See Using Landmarks To Align Images for details.

An arbitrary number of images can be placed on the layout view. To store the setup, save the session using the "File/Save Session" function.