{{about, the specification for representing a circuit, the CAD data file format, AutoCAD DXF
Design Exchange Format (DEF) is an open specification for representing
physical layout
Integrated circuit layout, also known IC layout, IC mask layout, or mask design, is the representation of an integrated circuit in terms of planar geometric shapes which correspond to the patterns of metal, oxide, or semiconductor layers that make ...
of an
integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
in an ASCII format. It represents the netlist and circuit layout. DEF is used in conjunction with
Library Exchange Format Library Exchange Format (LEF) is a specification for representing the physical layout of an integrated circuit in an ASCII format. It includes design rules and abstract information about the standard cells.
LEF only has the basic information requ ...
(LEF) to represent complete
physical layout
Integrated circuit layout, also known IC layout, IC mask layout, or mask design, is the representation of an integrated circuit in terms of planar geometric shapes which correspond to the patterns of metal, oxide, or semiconductor layers that make ...
of an
integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...
while it is being designed.
DEF was developed by
Cadence Design Systems
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (stylized as cādence), headquartered in San Jose, California, is an American multinational corporation, multinational computational software company, founded in 1988 by the merger of SDA Systems and ECAD, Inc. The co ...
.
DEF files are usually generated by place and route (P&R) tools and are used as an input for post analysis tools, such as extraction tools or power analysis tools.