Patent ID: 6870255

Claim:
An integrated circuit comprising: a plurality of metal layers comprising a plurality of conductors to interconnect components in said integrated circuit, said metal layers comprising: a first metal layer group comprising at least one metal layer, said metal layer in said first metal layer group comprising at least one pre-designed circuit block comprising conductors deposed in a preferred Manhattan direction, wherein a preferred direction defines a direction, relative to the integrated circuit boundaries, for at least fifty percent of conductors and said pre-designed circuit block comprising a routing of conductors developed independent from routing of conductors for circuits outside said pre-designed circuit block in said integrated circuit; and a second metal layer group comprising at least one metal layer, said metal layer in said second metal layer group comprising a plurality of conductors deposed in a preferred diagonal direction in a portion of said metal layer in said second metal layer group directly adjacent to said pre-designed circuit block, wherein at least one conductor along said preferred diagonal direction on the metal layer directly above said pre-designed circuit block traverses across the boundaries of said pre-designed circuit block, and wherein conductors for said second metal layer group are routed independent from routing of conductors for said pre-designed circuit block, wherein said preferred Manhattan direction conductors of said pre-designed circuit block within said first metal layer group do not electrically cross-couple with conductors of said second metal layer group regardless of whether said pre-designed circuit block conductors are deposed in either a horizontal or vertical direction; and wherein said pre-designed circuit block is a less than the entire area of said metal layer in said first metal layer group.