Chapter 6

Microvia Routing Strategy

With the Microvia design option, you have control over the via spans the router uses and which
layers are to be targeted. If a via range partially overlaps the via range of another via or, if a via
range starts on the same layer another via ends on, and the via range is not fully included in the
other via range, then the via is considered a microvia.

In the Net Classes and Clearances dialog box, you can specify that certain via spans are
not to be used for that Net Class by choosing "(None)" for the span.
When setting up the routing passes, you can disable certain layers on a per pass basis,
thus restricting which via spans are used by the router.
When using microvias, the routing algorithms are affected by the settings on the Vias tab in
Setup Parameters and the use of the Auto Route Schemes. The router looks at the layer type
settings (either Buildup or Laminate) for each layer and uses special algorithms dependent on
the setting. The setup of the auto router for microvia designs is also different.

Fanout with Micro and Blind/Buried Vias

The following are the rules used to determine how a single user-defined Auto Route "fanout"
pass will be rationalized into multiple fanout passes. A via fanout pass from 1-6 will be broken
down (rationalized) into the available via spans, for example, 1-2, 2-3 & 3-6.

Laminate Designs
A laminate design is defined as any design that does not have any buildup layers defined on
Setup Parameters - Vias tab. The following rules apply to Laminate designs:

Laminate Rule 1
This first rule describes the behavior of a fanout when layers 1-k are enabled during the fanout
pass and layer k is not the bottom layer.

When the laminate design has no defined via span that goes directly from layer 1 to layer
k, a single user-defined fanout pass will be rationalized into multiple fanout passes, each
using a via span that allows the vias to be staggered or stacked until layer k is reached.
Therefore, if 1-k are the enabled layers and there is no existing via that spans 1-k within
the design, multiple fanout passes will be run with each pass using a via span allowing
these vias to staggered or stacked until layer k is reached. For plane nets, the vias will
stagger or stack until the plane layer is reached as long as the layer is less than k.

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Buildup Designs

When the design has a via span defined spanning 1-k, a single fanout pass will be run
using the 1-k via. This will allow fanout to use one via span 1-k to fanout directly to the
target layer k.

Laminate Rule 2
This second rule describes the behavior of a single fanout pass with all layers enabled and the
top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top options are NOT selected.

When the Auto Route fanout pass is run with all layers enabled, a single fanout pass will
be run using the shortest via span, starting from the top. For plane nets a via span starting
from the top that connects directly to plane layer will be used if available.

Laminate Rule 3
The third rule describes the behavior of a single fanout pass with the top-to-bottom or bottom-
to-top Auto Route layers option selected.

When the design has no through via defined, a single user-defined fanout pass will be
rationalized into multiple fanout passes, each using a span that will allow vias to stagger
or stack until the target layer (top or bottom) is reached. If the vias spans within the
design are not defined so the top or bottom layers can be reached by staggering or
stacking spans, then it will fanout into the design as far as it can. For plane nets, the vias
will staggered or stacked until the plane layer is reached.
When the design has a through via, a single fanout pass will be run using the through
via.

Buildup Designs
A buildup design is any design that has one or more layers defined within the Setup Parameters
Vias tab as a buildup layer. The following rules apply to Buildup designs:

Buildup Rule 1
This first rule describes the behavior of a fanout when layers 1-k are enabled during the fanout
pass and layer k is not the bottom layer.

When the buildup design has no via span defined that goes directly from layer 1 to layer
k, a single user-defined fanout pass will be rationalized into multiple fanouts passes,
each using a via span that allows the vias to be staggered or stacked until layer k is
reached or the first laminate via span is placed. For plane nets, the vias will stagger or
stack until the plane layer is reached as long as the layer is less than k.

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Buildup Designs

When the design has a buildup via span defined that includes layers 1-k, a single fanout
pass will be run using this 1-k buildup via span. This will allow fanout to use one via
span 1-k to fanout directly to the target layer k. However, if the via 1-k span defined is a
laminate via, the user-defined fanout pass will be rationalized into multiple fanouts
passes each using a via span that allows the vias to be staggered or stacked until layer k
is reached or the first laminate via span is placed.

Buildup Rule 2
This second rule describes the behavior of a single fanout pass with all layers enabled and the
top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top options are not selected.

When the design has all layer defined as buildup (very rare), a single fanout pass will be
run using shortest via span starting from the top or a via span starting from the top that
connects directly to plane layer.
When the design has buildup and laminate layers defined, a single user-defined fanout
pass will be rationalized into multiple fanouts passes, each using a via span that allows
the vias to be staggered or stacked until the bottom layer is reached or the first laminate
via span is placed.

Buildup Rule 3
The third rule describes the behavior of a single fanout pass with the top-to-bottom or bottom-
to-top Auto Route layers option selected.

When the design has no through via, a single user-defined fanout pass will be
rationalized into multiple fanouts passes each using a via span that allows the vias to be
staggered or stacked until the target layer, top to bottom, is reached. If the via spans
within the design are not defined so the top or bottom layers can be reached by
staggering or stacking spans, then it will stagger or stack the spans into the design as far
as it can. For plane nets, the vias will staggered or stacked until the plane layer is
reached.
When the design is a through via and all layers are defined as buildup (very rare), a
single fanout pass will be run using the through via span. However, if the through via
span is used in a design that has both buildup and laminate layers defined, the user-
defined single fanout pass will be rationalized into multiple fanouts passes each using a
via span that allows the vias to be staggered or stacked until the target layer, top to
bottom, is reached.

Note
These rules are not used if the route during fanout option is enabled or if "Simple fanout"
passes are run. Also, if a layer is disabled in Editor Control for routing, fanouts will
rationalize and stop at this disabled layer.

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Examples of Laminate and Buildup Fanouts

Examples of Laminate and Buildup Fanouts

Rationalizing a single fanout pass into multiple fanout passes allows vias to be staggered or
stacked based on the available via spans. The examples below are setup with a single user-
defined fanout pass that is automatically turned into multiple fanout passes during Auto Route.

Examples 1-3 are based on the via span and layer setup defined as seen below in Setup
Parameters. The design is setup to have 8 layers with via spans 1-2, 2-3, 6-7 and 7-8 defined as
buildup vias and via span 3-6 defined as a laminate via.

Figure 6-1. Setup Parameters Vias Tab Example 1

Example 1
If a single Auto Route fanout pass is defined with layers 1-4 enabled for routing and Setup
Parameters vias are defined as seen above, a single fanout pass would rationalize into:

Fanout 1-2
Fanout 2-3
Fanout 3-6
This method of rationalizing a fanout pass allows the router to stagger or stack vias until the
laminate via is placed. Figure B-1 shows these spans as they were staggered through the design
until the first laminate via was placed.

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Examples of Laminate and Buildup Fanouts

Figure 6-2. Stagger vias to target layer 4

Example 2
If a single Auto Route fanout pass is defined with All Layers enabled and Setup Parameters vias
are defined as seen above, a single fanout pass would rationalize into:

Fanout 1-2
Fanout 2-3
Fanout 3-6
This method of rationalizing a fanout pass allows the router to stagger vias so they reach the
first laminate layer. Figure B-1 shows these spans as they were staggered through the design
until the first laminate via was placed.

Example 3
If a single Auto Route fanout pass is defined with All Layers enabled and the Top-to-Bottom
option is selected, a single fanout pass would rationalize into:

Fanout 1-2
Fanout 2-3

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Examples of Laminate and Buildup Fanouts

Fanout 3-6
Fanout 6-7
Fanout 7-8
This method of rationalizing a fanout pass treats the bottom layers as if all nets had a target
plane shape on the bottom of the design. Therefore all nets, except plane nets, would stagger
vias until it reached the bottom layer of the design.

Figure 6-3. Stagger vias to target layer bottom

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Examples of Laminate and Buildup Fanouts

Example 4
For this example all layers are defined as laminate as seen in the setup defined below within
Setup Parameters.

Figure 6-4. Setup Parameters Vias Example 4

If a single Auto Route fanout pass is defined with layers 1-6 enabled and all layers are laminate,
a single fanout pass would rationalize into:

Fanout 1-2
Fanout 2-3
Fanout 3-6
This method of rationalizing a fanout pass simply staggers vias until it reaches the target layer
which is layer 6 as defined in the enabled layers for the Auto Route pass.

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Examples of Laminate and Buildup Fanouts

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