Frequently asked questions

Short, grounded answers to the questions people ask most often about Qfactr — what it is, how it relates to Lunima, what it can do today, and how to get access.

This page collects the questions that come up most often when people first encounter Qfactr. Answers are deliberately brief; each links out to the page that covers the topic in depth.

If your question is not here, the best starting points are What is Qfactr? for the overview and Core concepts for the mental model behind the workspace.

Qfactr is a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design workspace and representation layer — a visual, editable, physically grounded environment for building, exploring, and communicating photonic systems. Components live at real coordinates in micrometers (µm), waveguides are routed as real geometry between real pins, and transmission and loss derive from the actual layout. Qfactr is an early-stage company building physics-informed generative ML for photonic layout, with the broader mission of making photonic chip design accessible to more teams.

How does Qfactr relate to Lunima?

Lunima is the open-source engine; Qfactr is the company and product built on top of it. Lunima provides the foundation — physical layout, PDK-aware components, explicit waveguide routing, simulation-aware loss, hierarchy, and exports. Qfactr builds on that open core and adds the physics-informed generative ML direction. You can read more on the Lunima page.

Is it open source?

The underlying engine, Lunima, is open source — its repository is on GitHub at aignermax/Lunima. Qfactr is the product and company built on top of that open foundation. If you want to understand the split between the open engine and the product, see Lunima — the open engine.

Using the workspace

Do I need to be a photonics expert to use it?

No. Qfactr is designed to lower the barrier to photonic design, including for engineers moving over from electronics. That said, photonics has real physics that the tool surfaces rather than hides — for example, bends and crossings cost optical power, so layout geometry directly affects loss. If you are new to the field, Photonic integrated circuits 101 and Waveguides & routing cover the fundamentals, and the Glossary defines the terms you will see throughout the workspace.

What PDKs or foundries are supported?

Qfactr ships with a starter Demo-PDK so you can begin designing immediately. Components from a PDK carry physical pin positions and S-matrix (S-parameter) data, so parts behave like the devices they represent rather than as abstract symbols. PDKs are tied to specific fabrication processes; see Process design kits (PDKs) for what a PDK contains and why it matters for manufacturability.

Does it run simulations?

There are two layers. In the workspace, transmission and loss are derived directly from the actual path geometry: running the Simulate action animates a power-flow gradient along the waveguides (teal → green → yellow → red) and shows a loss readout in the status bar. This is fast, design-time loss awareness — not a replacement for full electromagnetic or circuit simulation. For deeper analysis you export your design to dedicated simulators. See Simulation-aware design for the in-canvas behavior and Export formats for the downstream tools.

Can it automatically place and route for me?

Today you place components and route waveguides yourself: you place parts at real micron coordinates, switch to Connect mode, and route pin to pin as real S-bend and Manhattan paths (watch pins go red when unconnected, green when connected). See Placing components and Routing waveguides for how this works.

Export and access

What formats can I export?

One design hands off to several downstream tools, so you can plug into the flow your team already runs:

Nazca (Python) + GDS — fabrication and mask layout.
SAX / Simphony — circuit (frequency-domain, S-parameter) simulation.
PhotonTorch — time-domain, GPU simulation.
Verilog-A / SPICE — co-simulation with electronics.

GDS is the universal mask handoff; for analysis you choose a circuit simulator versus a time-domain simulator based on what you need to study. See Exporting your design for the workflow and Export formats for a reference on each target.

How do I get access?

Email [hello@qfactr.com](mailto:hello@qfactr.com) to request access. If you are evaluating whether Qfactr fits your workflow, the What is Qfactr? overview and Your first layout walkthrough are the fastest way to see what the workspace does.

Next steps

What is Qfactr?The overview — what the workspace is, who it is for, and how the documentation is organized.Exporting your designHow one design hands off to fabrication, circuit, time-domain, and electronics co-simulation flows.Generative placementThe physics-informed, routing-aware placement direction — in development, not yet available.Lunima — the open engineThe open-source core that Qfactr is built on, and how the two relate.