The enhanced Virtuoso Layout Suite offers accelerated performance and productivity from advanced full custom polygon editing (L) through more flexible schematic-driven and constraint-driven assisted full custom layout (XL), to full custom layout automation (GXL).
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When you make a cell, you can recall it within the layout pattern, repeatedly. Also, due to hierarchical access, the cells can not be edited in top level; hence the pattern is supported from some probable mistakes on top level.
In the case of applying correction on one cell, all the cells would be automatically updated.
For example, in layout pattern of a memory, it is better to generate the layout based on cells.