October 2009 - TOOL Corp. Announces New Release to Layout Visualization Platform, LAVIS

Tokyo, Japan - October 19, 2009 - TOOL Corporation (headquarters in Tokyo Japan, president Hideaki Hontao) announced the release of LAVIS Version 9.1, their layout visualization platform software. In this version, the drawing speeds in various formats have been further improved, the node tracing function has been expanded, and the simple edit functions have been enhanced. This makes it possible to perform early simple verification and data editing in a layout design flow more smoothly than ever before, thereby assisting in improving drawing speeds and in reducing design TAT.

In this version, a great variety of functions have been added and existing functions have been enhanced.

The main additions and enhancements are described below.

 (1)  Expansion of the node tracing function
       A function is added that detects the maximum and minimum widths of traced
       nodes, as well as the locations and number of the nodes. Detection results
       are output to a GDS file, and can be displayed by either synchronizing
       them with original data or overlaying them on it, depending on the use.
       For the function to check the number of vias per connection, the output
       form of check results has been improved so that they can be easily grasped
       as statistical quantities. These function expansions will facilitate the
       simple layout verification work in early design stages.

 (2)  Improvement of file opening and drawing speeds
       Display processing of small figures that may be displayed as if crushed
       in MEBES and JEOL52 pattern files has been optimized, and the speeds of
       drawing these files have been improved. For MEBES pattern files, their
       opening speeds have also been improved. In addition, for the drawing of
       MEBES jobdeck files, we have succeeded in improving the drawing speeds
       drastically by adopting new drawing technology.

 (3)  Bolstered simple edit functions (optional)
       In the optional "simple edit functions" of LAVIS, editing with an area
       specification is now possible. Also incorporated are a function to
       specify cell or figure to select as editing objects in advance, a function
       to mirror figures, and a function to retain an input value, which
       is useful in repeating similar edit operations. These function enhancements
       have made it possible to reduce edit time, thereby further improving the
       usability of LAVIS as an easy-to-use "simple editor."