Juliacon 2024

Computer-Aided Design of Quantum Integrated Circuits

We present Layout.jl, a package for computer-aided design (CAD) of superconducting quantum integrated circuits. The package supports schematic-driven layout, 2D geometry rendering, and the construction and meshing of 3D models. It also provides an interface to Palace, an open-source 3D finite element solver for computational electromagnetics.


Layout.jl is a package developed at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing for computer-aided design (CAD) of quantum hardware—specifically, for superconducting integrated circuits operating at microwave frequency. The package supports the generation of 2D layouts and 3D models of complex devices using a low-level geometry interface together with a high-level schematic-driven workflow. At the geometry level, the user writes code to draw 2D geometric entities like polygons and paths, optionally using units with Unitful.jl; position and orient these entities with coordinate transformations; organize them into a hierarchy of local coordinate systems and references; apply operations like rounding, offsetting, or geometric Booleans; and assign each entity metadata that can be used in different ways by different backends. In the schematic-driven workflow, the user defines components and the connectivity between them, followed by automated placement and routing with the schematic API to construct a layout. The results can be rendered with various backends, including for output in the GDSII format; used to construct and mesh a 3D model; and interfaced with other tools like the open-source electromagnetics solver Palace. Finally, we leverage the Julia package manager for process design kit (PDK) management, allowing users to maintain a library of versioned process technologies and components for portable, reproducible layout scripts.

The speaker's profile picture
Greg Peairs

Research scientist working on the design and simulation of quantum hardware at the AWS Center for Quantum Computing.