Method and apparatus for capturing and using design intent in an integrated circuit fabrication process

A business method for fabricating an integrated circuit comprising:

• creating a design rule for an integrated circuit processing tool;
• using the design rule to develop an integrated circuit that is defined by a design release;
• sending the design release to an integrated circuit manufacturing facility that uses the integrated circuit processing tool;
• fabricating an integrated circuit in accordance with the design release;
• adjusting the fabricating step as performed by the integrated circuit processing tool in response to a comparison between design intent and an attribute obtained from a portion of the integrated circuit being fabricated;
• and
• paying a royalty from the integrated circuit manufacturing facility to the integrated circuit equipment manufacturer for each integrated circuit that is fabricated using the design rule.

A method for improving integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing comprising:

• capturing manufacturability information for integrated circuit manufacturing equipment;
• incorporating the manufacturability information into a design rule for designing an integrated circuit IC;
• capturing design intent information of an integrated circuit designer with respect to a design release;
• including the manufacturability information as a portion of the design intent information;
• forwarding the design intent information and the design release to an integrated circuit manufacturing facility;
• and
• using the design intent information with the integrated circuit manufacturing equipment of the integrated circuit manufacturing facility to optimize the integrated circuit in accordance with the design release and the design intent.