Multilayer Circuit Routing Using Identical Mask Layers

The patent applies universality by designing identical routing layers that can be formed using the same mask across multiple layers. Instead of creating unique masks for each layer's routing connections, the invention uses a universal mask design that repeats across layers, allowing the same manufacturing process and mask set to serve multiple routing functions in different layers, thereby reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining routing precision

The patent segments the routing function into identical modular layers. Each layer contains the same routing pattern segmented into comparable units (traces and vias), allowing the routing complexity to be divided into repeatable modules rather than requiring unique complex patterns for each layer, which simplifies mask fabrication and application

The patent applies the nested doll principle by placing identical routing layers in a nested stack configuration. Each layer is a copy of the same routing pattern, nested vertically above one another, allowing multiple layers to be formed using the same mask set through repeated deposition and etching cycles, thereby achieving high planar density without proportionally increasing mask complexity

The patent transitions from two-dimensional unique routing patterns to three-dimensional repeated routing patterns. By stacking identical routing layers in the vertical dimension, the invention achieves increased planar density through vertical integration rather than through increasingly complex two-dimensional mask designs, effectively moving the complexity management from the planar domain to the vertical domain