Editing Integrated circuit (section)

==Design==
{{main|Electronic design automation|Hardware description language|Integrated circuit design}}
[[File:Siliconchip by shapeshifter.png|right|thumb|Virtual detail of an integrated circuit through four layers of planarized [[copper interconnect]], down to the polysilicon (pink), wells (greyish), and substrate (green)]]The cost of [[Integrated circuit design|designing]] and developing a complex integrated circuit is quite high, normally in the multiple tens of millions of dollars.<ref>{{cite web |title=FinFET Rollout Slower Than Expected |url=http://semiengineering.com/finfet-rollout-slower-than-expected/ |publisher=Semiconductor Engineering |date=16 April 2015 |author=LaPedus, Mark }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Basu|first=Joydeep|date=2019-10-09|title=From Design to Tape-out in SCL 180 nm CMOS Integrated Circuit Fabrication Technology|journal=IETE Journal of Education|volume=60|issue=2|pages=51–64|doi=10.1080/09747338.2019.1657787|arxiv=1908.10674|s2cid=201657819}}</ref> Therefore, it only makes economic sense to produce integrated circuit products with high production volume, so the [[non-recurring engineering]] (NRE) costs are spread across typically millions of production units.

Modern semiconductor chips have billions of components, and are far too complex to be designed by hand. Software tools to help the designer are essential. [[Electronic design automation]] (EDA), also referred to as electronic [[computer-aided design]] (ECAD),<ref>{{cite web|title=About the EDA Industry|url=http://www.edac.org/industry|publisher=[[Electronic Design Automation Consortium]]|access-date=29 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150802073506/http://www.edac.org/industry|archive-date=2 August 2015}}</ref> is a category of [[software tools]] for designing [[electronics|electronic systems]], including integrated circuits. The tools work together in a [[Design flow (EDA)|design flow]] that engineers use to design, verify, and analyze entire semiconductor chips. Some of the latest EDA tools use [[artificial intelligence]] (AI) to help engineers save time and improve chip performance.