Patent ID: 7823106

Claim:
A method of designing a circuit using design for manufacturability (DFM) tools, comprising: generating a diagram of a circuit designing using predetermined ground rules used to determine placement of a plurality of components in the circuit design, wherein the predetermined ground rules include at least one performance-based rule and at least one DFM-based rule, wherein the at least one DFM-based rule is associated with a DFM recommended value; storing the diagram of the circuit design within a storage device; applying a variable performance ranking parameter to said diagram of the circuit design by assigning to a component of the circuit design a criticality value selected from a plurality of criticality values ranging from a performance critical value to a non-critical value and generating a grading using the criticality value assigned to the component of said circuit design; and modifying placement of a first component assigned the performance critical value based on said grading when two or more of the predetermined ground rules are in conflict to improve yield during manufacturing without degrading performance, wherein the DFM recommended value is applied to a second component assigned the non-critical value.