What does tape out mean ?

[sv1437]

What does tape out mean in layout?
Is it the final design layout of the circuit which is sent to the manufacturer for fabrication which includes information such as transistor technology, width of the traces, W/L of transistor etc...

I went through the definition of wikipedia. But can anyone explain with any example.

Thanks,
sv

 

[JoannesPaulus]

It is the final delivery to the manufacturing foundry. The term is kept for historical reasons when the data was actually transferred to the foundry physically shipping a tape with all the data.

 

[dick_freebird]

I used to hand carry my database tapes to the mask shop,
when it was mini-computers for running hand-entered SPICE
netlists and GE Calma stations for layout, and LVS was a wall
sized plot and a bunch of blue & red pencils. Hopefull not
much red, because then you had to start all over again with
a new plot. Checking a "big" 1600-gate array took days and
a lot of coffee and pancil sharpening. But at the end of it all,
the walk and handing over that reel in person really meant
something. Kind of a ceremony.

 

[erikl]

I used to hand carry my database tapes to the mask shop ... But at the end of it all,
the walk and handing over that reel in person really meant something. Kind of a ceremony.

Yeah! And we even hadn't to care for things like density filling nor any other data prep in between ;-)

 

[JoannesPaulus]

Can you imagine metal fill with Calma!?

 

[erikl]

Re: Calma

I liked its 24" CRT still workable in full sunshine, being X-rayed with 150keV the whole day ;-)

 

[lostinxlation]

Re: Calma

Calma... I haven't heard of that word for like 18 years. I still remember the password for the Calma machine we had.