Patent ID: 8136067

Claim:
A computer-implemented design for manufacturing system (DFM), comprising: DFM advisories stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium; a DFM data kit stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and DFM utilities stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable on the computer, the DFM utilities utilizing the DFM data kit (DDK) and the DFM advisories for enhancing integrated circuit (IC) designing; wherein the data comprising the DFM data kit is presented in a DFM unified format (DUF), the DUF comprising at least one data structure selected from a group consisting of lithography process control data, chemical mechanical polishing data, and critical area analysis data, the DUF further comprising a unified format for presenting IC design and manufacturing data among a design tool vendor, an IC manufacturer, and a customer; and wherein the DFM system further comprises a mechanism to unify qualification criteria to qualify a DFM compliant IC design tool.