PCB Layout: Pads & Vias

Articles and resources related to PCB Layout: Pads & Vias. Check out Altium.com to learn more about PCB Layout and other relevant topics.

IPC 4761 Via Type

IPC-4761 Via Types The document describes the possibilities of supporting several types of adapter protection according to the standardized IPC-4761 via types in Altium Designer with the advantages and disadvantages of each. Read Article

When Should You Use a Flex Circuit?

When Should You Use Flexible Printed Circuit Cables? The two predominant reasons for using flex or rigid flex, are to solve a packaging issue or reduce the space and weight of the electronics package. These two are often interrelated and space, weight and packaging, (SWaP) will continue to be a driving force in PCB design. Read Article

PCB manufacturing trends interview

PCB Manufacturer Trends and Challenges with Summit Interconnect Learn more about PCB manufacturing trends from Clay Swain, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and Gerry Partida, Senior Field Applications Engineer. Read Article

50:25 Altium Designer 19 Key Features We are pleased to announce the release of Altium Designer 19.0! An exciting new era of Altium Designer is here Watch Video

Simulation Driven PCB Design

Simulation Driven Design Can Solve Your PCB’s Signal Problems and More If you work in the electronics industry or in research, there’s a chance that simulations are a regular part of life. Simpler systems can be designed with intuition and simulated after designs are completed, but more advanced systems running at high frequencies or very high data rates need qualification before and after a PCB layout is complete. Simulation software has to take a more prominent role in PCB design for many advanced systems Read Article

Meeting Standards: IPC 6012 Class 3 Via Sizes and Annular Rings

Meeting Standards: IPC 6012 Class 3 Via Sizes and Annular Rings Take a look at the above image of a PCB layout, specifically the vias and drill holes poking through the silkscreen. It's quite clear that some of these vias are off-center, meaning the drill hit that created these vias was not dead-center in the receiving land. This leaves behind an annular ring, something which might be considered a defect in certain IPC product classes. Under the IPC standards for rigid boards, we have several possible Read Article

PDS Impedance: The Traditional Approach To PDS Design vs. Energy Flow

PDS Impedance: The Traditional Approach To PDS Design vs. Energy Flow Take a look at traditional PDS impedance versus the “energy flow” view of PDS design. We’ll debunk misleading information that could cause your designs to fail. Read Article

Making the Most of Your Crystal Oscillator

Making the Most of Your Crystal Oscillator “Blindly” adopting what a crystal oscillator data sheet says usually results in adequate frequency stability. An oscillator requires the phase shift around the loop to be 360° and this total phase shift must be a precise and stable oscillation frequency. Read Article

Digital On-Demand Manufacturing and a 32-Bit MCU PCB for Everyone

Digital On-Demand Manufacturing and a 32-Bit MCU PCB for Everyone Eli Hughes shows us how on-demand manufacturing through a PCB manufacturer's cloud platform helped him quickly produce a set of high-quality prototypes for a MCU board. Read Article

Through Thick And Thin — How Do You Get High Current Into a High Speed PCB?

Through Thick And Thin — How Do You Get High Current Into a High Speed PCB? The typical large currents in today’s high speed PCB designs require a different approach. This article will describe the stackup requirements associated with these very large current PCBs and how to design them so that they can be readily manufactured properly. Read Article

Vias in PCIe routing

What Happens to PCIe Signals Traversing Blind Vias at Higher Speeds? In our one, two and three-day courses, which we conduct at technical and trade conferences as well as at private on-site classes, we will frequently be asked about particular technology trends and their impact on current designs. Of late, a number of these questions have focused on how the use of PCI Express (also known as PCIe) at higher frequencies impacts signals that change layers through vias. Limits on the number of vias in PCIe generations Read Article

How to Approach Microvia Reliability Issues With Jim Brown of GreenSource

How to Approach Microvia Reliability Issues With Jim Brown of GreenSource Many people struggle with microvia reliability issues. Listen to Jim Brown discuss how GreenSource has handled many of these problems allowing them to make great strides! Listen to the Podcast: Download this episode (right click and save) Watch the video: {"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/TdakhkfOlVk.jpg?itok=jCRmTeix","video_url":"https://youtu.be/TdakhkfOlVk","settings":{ Read Article

How Do Pads and Vias Impact Total Capacitor Parasitic Inductance?

How Do Pads and Vias Impact Total Capacitor Parasitic Inductance? In this blog article we discuss how the footprint and mounting style affect capacitor parasitic inductance. The pads and vias back to the PCB power planes increase the total series inductance of the capacitor. Read Article

Non-functional pads—what are they and what problems can they create?

Capture Pads and Non-functional Pads in PCB Design: What Are They? In previous articles on my blog, I have stated that non-functional pads in PCB artwork should always be removed, but I have not gone into detail as to why this should be the case. In the industry at large, there is some confusion about these pads in PCB designs and whether or not they serve a useful purpose. In this article, I will define what they are, how their use originated, the problems they can create and why they should be removed from PCB Read Article

Blind And Buried Vias—what Are They And How Are They Used?

Blind And Buried Vias—What Are They And How Are They Used? As noted in several of my previous articles as well as a large majority of other published documents, component lead pitches have become increasingly fine, and smaller form factor devices have come to dominate a large number of the products (cell phones) being developed today. The question of how to connect components to both sides of these crowded PCBs should be among the first factors taken into account by a product development team. Typically Read Article

From Mechanical Drilling to Laser Drilling of Microvias

From Mechanical Drilling to Laser Drilling of PCB Microvias Miniaturization of PCB designs eventually forces a switch from mechanical drilling to laser drilling. Learn more about sizing vias for your next multilayer PCB. Read Article

Sizing Vias in Your Next Multilayer PCBs

PCB Via Size Calculators: Sizing Vias in Multilayer Designs If you’ve ever opened up an old cell phone, you’ve likely noticed the intricate dance between traces and vias. These elements tango with the signal traces on inner board layers, and sizing them properly is as much art as it is science. Your vias are critical for accessing the inner layers in a multi-layer PCB. So how do you choreograph the balance between your vias, traces, and components? Your vias should be sized appropriately if they are to be Read Article