Design rules In electronic design automation, a design rule is a geometric constraint imposed on circuit board, semiconductor device, and integrated circuit (IC) designers to ensure their designs function properly, reliably, and can be produced with accepta ...

are maintained and released by a

semiconductor foundry In the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant (commonly called a fab; sometimes foundry) is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured. Fabs require many expensive devices to function. Estimates ...

for its customers (layout designers of integrated circuits) to follow. Restrictive design rules (RDRs) curtail some of the "freedom" layout designers have traditionally had with regular design rules in less advanced process technologies. To achieve and maintain an acceptable

return on investment Return on investment (ROI) or return on costs (ROC) is a ratio between net income (over a period) and investment (costs resulting from an investment of some resources at a point in time). A high ROI means the investment's gains compare favourably ...

for its customers and by extension for itself, a foundry may be compelled, for technological reasons, to adopt RDRs to better ensure the completed layout design of an integrated circuit is manufacturable with a desired yield in more advanced process technologies.

External links

Gartner's Smith calls for 'restrictive design rules' at 32-nm

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Semiconductor device fabrication {{Tech-stub