DRC - Design Rule Check
In the world of
integrated circuit design,
DRC stands for
Design Rule
Check. The 'design rules' are used to check that the physical representation of the
design to be manufactured, (the
layout), is, indeed, manufacturable and will not suffer from
reliability problems.
The rules check the
dimensions, shapes and spacings of the
polygons representing the various layers of
materials used in
semiconductor technology to
fabricate an
IC.
A simple example of a DRC rule would be 'metal width': A given semiconductor
process will have a minimum width of metal track which can be reliably defined and etch
ed - a track with a width less than this runs the risk of becoming open-circuit.