[1] The term tapeout currently is used to describe the creation of the photomask itself from the final approved electronic CAD file.
Designers may use this term to refer to the writing of the final file to disk or CD and its subsequent transmission to the semiconductor foundry; however, in current practice the foundry will perform checks and make modifications to the mask design specific to the manufacturing process before actual tapeout.
These modifications of the mask data include:[2] A modern integrated circuit has to go through a long and complex design process before it is ready for tape-out.
Tape-out is usually a cause for celebration by everyone who worked on the project, followed by trepidation awaiting the first article, the first physical samples of a chip from the manufacturing facility (semiconductor foundry).
Most chips will go through a series of iterations, called "spins", in which errors are detected and fixed after testing the first article.