Patent ID: 7322018

Claim:
A method for computing feature density for a number of areas within a layout by moving a window across the layout, which allows the method to identify an area in the layout that violates a design rule, the method comprising: receiving a layout; placing the window at a first location in the layout; computing a first feature density value based on the features within the window at the first location; determining a second location in the layout as a function of the first location and the first feature density value; moving the window to the second location; computing a second feature density value based on the features within the window at the second location; wherein determining the second location in the layout based on the first feature density value instead of using a constant displacement from the first location allows the method to accurately identify an area that violates the design rule determining whether an area violates the design rule by comparing a feature density value with the density threshold; and flagging the area if the area violates the design rule.