A method and system is provided to use the same design manipulation
processes for both chip design and kerf design. Concurrent generation of
kerf designs and chip designs provides a consistent, accurate, and
repeatable process. Improved quality of wafer testing results because the
data in the kerf matches data in the chip. The total cycle time for mask
manufacturing is reduced because kerf build is accomplished prior to
start of the mask manufacturing process. Also provided is the use of load
balancing across multiple servers during kerf and chip design to optimize
computing resources.