Patent ID: 7506289

Claim:
A volatile or non-volatile computer-readable medium carrying a set of one or more instructions for automatically routing an integrated circuit, the set of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of: receiving integrated circuit layout data that defines a set of two or more integrated circuit devices to be included in the integrated circuit; receiving integrated circuit connection data that specifies one or more electrical connections to be made between the integrated circuit devices; determining, based upon the integrated circuit layout data and the integrated circuit connection data, a set of two or more join points that are to be electrically connected, wherein each join point from the set of two or more join points has an associated set of join point-specific design criteria that control attachment of routing paths thereto; determining, based upon the integrated circuit layout data and the set of two or more join points, one or more routing paths to connect the set of two or more join points, wherein the one or more routing paths satisfy the join point-specific design criteria associated with the set of two or more join points; and updating the integrated circuit layout data to generate updated integrated circuit layout data that reflects the one or more routing paths.