Assign Track Patterns to Nets

You can route a net on specific tracks. The procedures are described below:

• Assigning track patterns to constraint groups
  After creating the track patterns, assign them as constraints to a constraint group for track-based routing, in the same way you use spacing and width constraints to define spacing and width characteristics.
  
  Only the named track patterns can be assigned to a constraint group.
  
  To assign track patterns to constraint groups:
• Use the Process Rule Editor from the Constraint Manager to add track pattern constraints to a constraint group.
  Example Assigning track patterns to a constraint group
  1. Follow the procedure Starting the Process Rule Editor.
  2. (Optional) Create a new constraint group.
  3. In the Browser, click the name of the constraint group.
     
     
  4. In the Create Process Rule field, choose Track Pattern from the drop-down list, then click the plus (+) button.
     
     
  5. With the track pattern selected in the Browser, click the Value tab at the bottom of the form.
  6. Choose the Layer for the tracks from the drop-down list.
  7. In the trackPattern field, specify the name of the track pattern.
     
     
  8. If more than one track pattern is needed for the layer (for example, when the layer has bidirectional tracks), all the track patterns must be specified in a single track pattern constraint. To do this, separate the track pattern names using a plus (+) with no added spaces (for example, M1_hor_1x+M1_ver_1x).
  9. Click Update.
  10. The Browser is updated with the layer name and track pattern.
      
      
• Applying constraint groups to nets
  After adding track patterns to a constraint group, you can now apply the constraint group to a net. The net will be routed on the specified tracks if you enable snapping to track patterns.
  Example: Applying a constraint group to a net
  1. In the Navigator assistant, select the net.
     
     
  2. In the Process Rule Editor Apply Constraint Group section, choose the constraint group with the track pattern from the drop-down list, then click the Apply button.
     
     
  The constraint group appears in the browser. Expand the constraint group to view the included constraints.
  
  

The net can now be routed on the specified tracks using the Virtuoso wire editor, as described in Creating Wires Snapped to Track Patterns.