Wide geometry can be accurately extracted from the physical layout of an
integrated circuit through the use of detection circles having diameters
equal to a threshold width. Projection regions in the layout are
selected, and for each projection region, a detection circle of a
threshold width (diameter) is defined. A trim region within each
projection region is defined using the associated detection circle, such
that a portion of the trim region boundary exhibits tangency to the
detection circle. The trim regions, which represent non-wide portions of
the layout, are then removed to generate a wide element layout. Because
the detection circle is a rotation-independent geometry, the
over-extraction and under-extraction problems associated with
conventional wide element extraction methods can be eliminated.