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To: Jacques Newey who wrote (81867)	5/28/1999 12:54:00 AM
From: Process Boy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Jacques - <Sorry for my ignorance, but what does "taping out" mean?> It's the term for when a design's database is fractured, and the circuit layers transferred to mask plates. If a design is taped out, a fab can start putting the design on silicon. Finished product could be from 3 weeks to two months after tape out, depending on how the first run is prioritized through the factory. Hope this helps. PB

To: Jacques Newey who wrote (81867)	5/28/1999 1:10:00 AM
From: Paul Engel	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 186894

Jacques - Re: "Sorry for my ignorance, but what does "taping out" mean?" It essentially means that the design is COMPLETE, logic and design verification has been performed, design rules have all been checked and the simulations all meet agreed upon specs and....the data base for the physical reticle layouts (about 21 of these) are being SENT TO THE Reticle making shop to make the reticles ("tools") and PRODUCTION of the first silicon is about to start ! In the "old days" a reel of tape ( 1/2 ") with the fractured database was physically sent OUT to a mask making shop, hence the term "Tape Out ". Nowadays, the fractured database info is sent "electronically" - over wires on LANs - and sometimes over the "air" via satellite. Paul