In order to run NETEX you must define a stackup in the - how the various layers are stacked together to form a multi-layer board.

The stackup can be thought of as a table that defines:

• gerber file for that layer
• thickness
• type (metal, dielectric, wire)
• electrical properties

There are four kinds of layers:

Metal - this is a conductor layer that carries signals or power. You must specify a Gerber file for each metal layer in your stackup.

Dielectric - this is a layer that separates two conductor layers (or it may be on top of a conductor layer.) A dielectric layer has no Gerber file associated with it.

Wire - this is a special group of layers reserved for defining bond wires. It is treated differently than metal layers. Since the wires are in free space we don't do any booleans -- just use the wire endpoints and pass the information to the output ASCII file. Wires on a common layer may not cross in the X-Y plane so one may require multiple wire layers. No dielectric is needed between wire layers.