Editing Design rule checking (section)

{{Short description|Verification of geometric constraints on electronic designs}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2022}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
In [[electronic design automation]], a '''design rule''' is a geometric constraint imposed on [[circuit board]], [[semiconductor device]], and [[integrated circuit]] (IC) designers to ensure their designs function properly, reliably, and can be produced with acceptable yield. Design rules for production are developed by process engineers based on the capability of their processes to realize design intent. [[Electronic design automation]] is used extensively to ensure that designers do not violate design rules; a process called '''design rule checking''' ('''DRC'''). DRC is a major step during [[physical verification]] [[signoff (EDA)|signoff]] on the design, which also involves LVS ([[layout versus schematic]]) checks, XOR checks, ERC ([[electrical rule check]]), and antenna checks. The importance of design rules and DRC is greatest for ICs, which have micro- or nano-scale geometries; for advanced processes, some fabs also insist upon the use of more [[Restrictive design rules|restricted rules]] to improve yield.