Mentor's breakout geometry concept is a great idea, but their implementation makes creating breakout geometries very tedious and error prone. In particular, there is no checking to make sure that clearances have been met. New methods of creating breakout geometries will be presented, focusing on a method that uses Layout to create a breakout geometry with clearances that are DRCed. The result is a correct breakout in about 1/5th of the time needed to create one with the standard method.

Bio

Glenn Ball has been using and supporting Mentor tools for the last 13 years. His work includes design of complex PCBs, Mentor consulting, and writing custom AMPLE userware for customers. Glenn holds a BSEE from Lehigh University and an MSEE from Stanford University.