Various aspects of this disclosure relate to increasing pattern density in a circuit layout design of a circuit layer so as to control the thickness of material in a manufactured integrated circuit. For example, a layer in circuit design may be divided into separate areas, and a target thickness range may be established for all of the tiles in the integrated circuit design. Each area may be analyzed to determine if it has a sufficient pattern density for a thickness estimation model to accurately estimate its expected material thickness upon manufacture. Each tile may be analyzed to determine if the expected thickness for that tile is within the target thickness range.