Patent ID: 11900041
Assignee: ARM LIMITED
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 10:
11. A method comprising:
identifying prospective zones for placement of one or more vertical interconnect access pads (via) in a cell, wherein each of the prospective zones comprises one or more poly pitches;
assigning a first color for a particular poly pitch of a first identified zone of the identified prospective zones or assigning a first color sequence for one or more sections of the first identified zone based on the first identified zone having a color interaction with a second identified zone;
determining if a first zone-to-zone distance comprises the color interaction, wherein the color interaction corresponds to a distance less than a same-mask distance, wherein the first zone-to-zone distance is a distance between the first identified zone and the second identified zone; and
in response to a determination of the color interaction, assigning a second color for a corresponding poly pitch of the second identified zone with respect to the first poly pitch or assigning a second color sequence for one or more sections of the second identified prospective zone for placement, wherein the second color sequence is configured to shift the first color sequence of the first identified zone by one color placement.