GDS Reticle - Frame Layout Placer     Why spend half a day on manual reticle assembly when you can get better results automatically in a few minutes? Used in fabs around the world, GDS Reticle answers the daily concerns of mask shop coordinators. Guaranteeing correct, predictable and reusable results, GDS Reticle supports a unique closed-loop flow for frame creation, including test structures placement within user-specified scribe lines, in which the placement constraints file provided by the user is iteratively modified by the powerful algorithm, with possible user tweaking, until the perfect placement solution is found.   Key Features Generate ideal placements through automatic optimized design placement aligned to user-defined grid Guarantee secure,reproducible and reusable results User selectable algorithms for optimizing area and/or scribe line utilization User-directed or fully automatic placement of mandatory/optional preplaced or dynamic user test patterns within scribe lines Design pass-through to output frame with total hierarchy and structure preservation Support for rarely used GDSII constructs such as absolute scale, absolute rotation, non-manhattan rotations Natively read GDSII or gzipped GDSII libraries – without a time consuming stream in/out phase – of greater than 2Gb Internal and external scribe-line parameterization Support for GDSII unit size parameterization Based on the rock-solid SoC GDS processing engine and database, GDS Reticle inherits a vast range of capabilities, including GDSII validation, support for all GDSII constructs and OpenAccess support. Each release of GDS Reticle is run through an extensive battery of compatibility, regression and functional tests as well as an in-place beta-testing program before being made generally available.     Rather than requiring continual reconstruction and maintenance of command files for each new frame, capture your intent with respect to the reticle floorplan definitions and process details using the symbolic placement language. GDS Reticle supports a unique closed-loop flow in which the symbolic placement constraints file are iteratively modified by the tool, with possible user tweaking, then reused by successive iterations until the optimal placement solution is found such that circuit specific implementation becomes fast, automated and error free.     The constraint file for optimal placement can be reused as a starting point for similar frames, to guarantee that similar reticles will be quickly and reliably regenerated. The Placement Constraint File uses a proprietary language to specify absolute and relative placements, scales and rotations – along with weighted priorities – for test patterns. The language permits environment variable expansion and conditional execution within a rigorously verifiable – and automatically verified – placement description environment, ensuring error free reticle generation. Coupling the pattern placement priority management system with automatic space-filling functionality guarantees maximum flexibility. Output may include wafer layouts, reticle designs optimized for stepper throughput and/or wafer utilization, as well as paperwork documents for the mask-shop and wafer fab. GDS Reticle’s optimized database handles huge designs and an unlimited number of pattern cells. Beyond the standard interactive graphical user interface for visualization of intermediate placements during iteration to solution, the integrated Tcl/Tk interpreter provides a powerful mechanism for user customization.