Design for manufacturability - or the meaning of 'subtle'

Abstract

It used to be that DfM meant simple recipes such as spreading wires equally across all available space or to double vias where possible. Today, wire spreading is competing with strict density rules and tiling requirements, via doubling is competing with the added stress caused by the additional holes. Still, these simple cases of DfM need nothing more than detailed understanding of process mechanics and a seamless implementation in automated layout tools – the latter could arguably use some more attention!