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Quantum computers need to interface with each other, just like any other group of classical computers. Just like we have a classical internet with classical communications channels, we’ll eventually have quantum analogues of LANs, WANs, and an entire quantum internet. Quantum computers are already mysterious enough, and scalable fabrication of a single quantum architecture out to VLSI territory is still a major obstacle to creating commercial...

Digital temperature sensors offer the simplest way to measure and input a highly accurate temperature reading into a microcontroller or other logic device. In the last article in this temperature sensor series, we looked at analog temperature sensors. While these might seem easier to implement by just taking a simple ADC reading, to get the most accurate measurement, you’ll need to calibrate each device’s ADC during production, which isn’t always...

Getting your new product designed and evaluated will involve multiple simulation runs, especially if you need to design an extremely stable power regulation strategy. For power supplies, one essential evaluation step is an EMI filter simulation. This can involve simulating Gaussian random noise directly in the frequency domain, or it can involve analyzing the frequency response of a circuit to identify where conducted/radiated noise can produce a...

If you’re a freelancer and you’ve led or managed a complex PCB design project, the need to involve your customer in the product development process may not be obvious. Your customer is probably a project manager at a bigger company, so they’ll be overseeing progress on the project and leading communication with you. If you work on a small team or as part of a large organization, involving customers in product development can be time-consuming...

Circuit designers and board designers like to use S-parameters to describe signal behavior as it passes through an interconnect. These important parameters tend to get overgeneralized (in my opinion), and there are other important quantities that may be easier to calculate if you use some different parameters. In particular, a transmission line transfer function is one important quantity used for signal integrity calculations and simulations...

If you look at a microwave electronics design textbook, you’ll see a number of parameters that are used to describe N-port networks. S-parameters, ABCD parameters, and H-parameters–all have their place in PCB design and analysis. These days, many important concepts in analog signal integrity are now critical for determining digital signal integrity, and the analysis tools used by the microwave community must be transferred to the digital...

Over the last 20 years, electronic devices have become increasingly sophisticated. Less than two decades ago, just having a mobile phone to make calls was rare; today, our phones power our lives. To meet the growing demand for smartphone technology, technology has become faster, more functional, and intuitive. Improvements to the component base have streamlined processes while reducing manufacturing costs. Smartphones use higher-frequency...

A HDI PCB layout can get very cramped, but the right set of design rules will help you design successfully. More advanced PCBs are packing more functionality into smaller spaces, often with customized ICs/SoCs, higher layer counts, and smaller traces. Getting the layout for these designs correct requires a powerful set of rules-driven design tools that check your routing and layout against design rules as you create your PCB. If you’re working...

Every so often, I receive an interesting question about routing, layout, signal integrity, or the like. I try to respond to these when I’m not too busy, but sometimes one of these catches my eye and I feel the need to get the answer out to more designers. Without further adieu, here’s a question I received about stripline vs. microstrip width required for controlled impedance. I have an inquiry about microstrip and stripline. Is it possible to...