Stage 11 of 13 · Back end

Routing

Draw the actual wires connecting every block, stacked across many layers of metal.

Global routing plans paths through a coarse grid, then detailed routing draws exact wires and vias that obey the foundry's design rules.

Track assignment, timing- and crosstalk-driven routing, via optimization, DRC convergence, antenna fixing, and multi-patterning-aware routing at advanced nodes.

Builds The metal stack