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If you design in RF, microwave or millimeter wave frequencies then this podcast is for you. Today we talk to John Coonrad who’s the Technical Marketing Manager for Rogers Corporation, a Global Manufacturer of advanced circuit materials. John talks about what dielectric constant (Dk) is exactly, the various test methods for Dk, why datasheets can sometimes be confusing and how all of this impacts your design.   Listen to the Podcast: Downloa...

Understanding the Challenge How Long is too Long? Matching the Impedances Where does the Return Energy Flow? Differential Pairs What about Vias? Crosstalk Dancing in Time The Board The Materials The Layers Possible Layer Stackups   Understanding the Challenge The purpose of this article is to introduce the key elements of high-speed design and then discuss how each of those elements is tackled in Altium Designer. This article does not...

TOPICS IN THIS SOLUTION Complicated PCB Design for High-Speed Applications High-Speed Constraints Are Used in Every Phase of the Design Process Analyzing the Design for Consistent Operation that Meets Specification You’re creating products that are made for the present day, which means moving past traditional PCB technology and design techniques. It takes more than innovation to perform these tasks well - how do you create high-speed...

Successful design and manufacture of any PCB requires managing data. Every PCB project includes a ton of data on the components, front-end schematics, the physical layout, and manufacturing files. There is other documentation that may be needed that is not captured in your PCB design software. This all has to be tracked and managed by the designer because working with incomplete or out-of-date data will result in a design that doesn't perform as...

When it comes to low power implementations, products are characterized as very rarely having high current options, being small in size, being optimized for power management and having the necessity for batteries to last as long as possible. There’s a broad spectrum of products that fall under these criteria including, but not limited to, smartphones, smartwatches, remote monitoring devices and medical devices to name a few. In terms of PDS...

Across the industry, the design element that continues to cause the most problems is the power delivery system (PDS). And, as a consulting firm, for the last several years the majority of problems that we have been called in to solve have always centered on PDS problems. As noted in my previous blog on guard traces and their ineffectiveness, every time we have been called upon to solve an EMI problem, we have always ended up fixing the PDS. Th...

You have probably heard the remarks. In the 1980s, manufacturers complained that electronics assembly was difficult because designers forced 20 pounds of, shall we say, stuff into a 10-pound bag. Now, assemblers grumble that designers cram 60 pounds of stuff into a 10-pound bag. These complaints are not your fault! You provide the customer exactly what they ask for. Today, the trends toward miniaturization, high-density, closely-spaced components...

Connectors are the unsung stars of both a product and its hardware development. Any Apple user knows the romantic tale the company has spun from infatuation with the first magnetic power connector through the betrayal of the 3.5mm jack to today’s ‘it’s complicated’ status thanks to the baggage their dongles create in pursuit of beauty. Product developers have similar emotional experiences with their prototypes. An unreliable connector that...

The amount of smart, connected products is increasing faster than ever. It was only very recently that IoT technology jumped from our phones and computers to our refrigerators, our lighting systems, and our vacuum cleaners. It's starting to seem like nothing is excluded from this extensive digital overhaul. In 2016, the smart home market was worth about $24 billion. By 2022, it's expected to reach $53 billion. Smart homes and robots are no longer...