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Radio frequency interference analysis is one important task in high frequency and high-speed PCB design. Interference at radio frequencies can arise due to many simple design errors, but these problems can be easy to spot with the right PCB design tools. When you need to identify areas of a design that can create RFI problems, an automated rules-driven toolset can help. If you’re unclear on what RFI is or how you can spot areas in a design that...

Impedance control in PCB designs can refer to two different practices depending on who you're speaking with. PCB manufacturers provide impedance control as a service to customers who want to manufacture a high-speed digital system or an RF design. In contrast, PCB designers use the term to refer to intentional material selection and specification for their PCB stack-up, often without consideration of what materials a manufacturer might have...

RF PCBs and mixed-signal systems are challenging for many designers. Careful attention must be paid to the PCB stackup design, process for designing transmission lines, placement of components, and floorplanning the PCB layout to ensure predictable return path. Many RF PCB layout designs will include printed elements, like an RF filter, antenna, isolation structures, and unique waveguide geometries. RF systems can make copious use of RF filters...

Go back to your university math classes and recall the Fourier spectra; this concept tells you that digital signals can be represented as an infinite sum of frequencies, with the representation normally beginning at the clock frequency. From here, definitions of signal bandwidth start to get very muddy, with many arbitrary definitions being applied to define frequency limits on a digital signal. In reality, a digital signal is not a perfect...

Using thermal pads vs paste is an important decision when deciding how to best attach a heat sink to a power-hungry component like a CPU. Each of these materials gives the important benefit of heat transfer and reduced temperature, but there are other points to be considered when using a heat sink with a thermal pad or thermal paste. Assembly houses also need to know which option a design will use, requiring that clear documentation be provided...

Some designers prefer to build their own prototypes in their home or company lab as it gives them a firsthand view of potential quality problems in their boards. While designers can go this route if they’re comfortable using etchants and cleaning solutions needed to remove copper from PCB laminates, they’ll need design tools to create their etching stencils. An at-home designer will need to procure PCB copper boards to use for etching and create...

RF designs that run at high frequency need high isolation from digital components, power subsystems, and external sources of noise that can degrade signal quality. One option in many RF designs is coplanar waveguide with ground as this can be used with controlled impedance routing on external layers. When you need to use coplanar waveguide with ground routing in your RF PCB designs, use the industry’s best set of routing features. Only Altium...

Electronic components generate heat while they operate, which will heat up the rest of your board. Heat will move to cooler areas of the board, but a board that reaches high temperature without quickly dissipating heat is prone to failure. Thermal shock testing aims to evaluate a design to ensure it can withstand thermal shock and comply with important application requirements. The best set of design tools, like the circuit board layout features...

There are many mechanisms that can cause a PCB to fail, but some common failures can be traced back to vibration and electric shock. Vibration and electric shock are estimated to account for approximately 20% of PCB failures as they affect the most sensitive portions of a PCBA: the components. With the best set of PCB design tools, a designer can implement some basic design decisions that will help ensure reliability and prevent failure due to...