Glossary comparison
DRC vs LVS: what is the difference?
The difference
Layout versus schematic checks that the layout's connections match the circuit. DRC checks only geometry.
Design rule checking checks shapes against geometric rules. LVS checks that the shapes form the right circuit.
The two terms
DRC
Physical verification that compares a layout against the foundry's geometric rule deck for widths, spacings, enclosures, densities and antenna ratios. A clean DRC run against the signed-off deck version is a mandatory tapeout gate.
LVS
Physical verification that extracts a netlist from the drawn layout and compares its devices and connectivity against the reference schematic or CDL netlist. It proves the layout implements the intended circuit before masks are made.
Side by side
| Field | DRC | LVS |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | Design Rule Check | Layout Versus Schematic |
| Type | Acronym | Acronym |
| Domain | EDA Tools & Flows | EDA Tools & Flows |
| Group | Physical verification | Physical verification |