# Getting Started

This section explains how to load the Luceda PDK for ALUVIA and basics of how to use it.

If you are unfamiliar with Luceda IPKISS, please have a look at the IPKISS documentation and samples. The documentation and samples are available from the IPKISS Control Center.

The latest IPKISS documentation is also available online at http://docs.lucedaphotonics.com.

## Extracting the PDK

The PDK is distributed as a zip file, which you can extract with the unzip utility of your choice (unzip, WinZip, 7-zip, …).

For the purpose of this manual, we assume you have unzipped “aluvia.x.x_buildnr.zip” as C:\designs\pdks\aluvia.

You can inspect the directory structure of the PDK:

- docs/html/: Contains this file

- docs/examples/: Example IPKISS python scripts

- ipkiss/: IPKISS technology, cells and functions (Python)

- ipkiss/aluvia/aluvia.iclib: Symbol library for the PDK (IPKISS Canvas)

- openaccess/: Design libraries

- openaccess/aluvia/: OpenAccess database for the PDK (L-Edit)

- techfiles/: Tech files (layers, display) for various tools

- techfiles/klayout/: Layer settings for KLayout GDSII visualization

## Using the PDK with IPKISS

Setting up the editor environment

You can follow the instructions given in our documentation http://docs.lucedaphotonics.com/tutorials/environment_setup/create_project_pdk.html.

Examples

The PDK comes bundled with a series of examples for use in IPKISS, in the <path_to_pdk>\docs\examples. These are executable Python files. The examples are a good starting point to learn how to design with this PDK. Below is a summary of the shipped examples:

Example name | Description
--- | ---
example_bondpad.py | Visualize all the bondpads that are available in the ALUVIA technology.
example_heater.py | Visualize heater Pcell that is available in the ALUVIA technology.
example_layers.py | Visualize all the layers that are available in the ALUVIA technology.
example_passives.py | Visualize all the Passive devices that are available in the ALUVIA technology.
example_vfab.py | Visualize the Virtual Fabrication available in the PDK.
example_waveguide.py | Visualize the waveguides and transitions that are available in the PDK.