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PCB Routing

Routing in your PCB makes copper connections between components, and best routing practices will help ensure signal integrity, low crosstalk, and low EMI. Browse our library of resources to learn more about routing in your PCB and how the best PCB layout software helps you obey routing rules and signaling standards.

Routing Guidelines for PCB Layouts Efficient PCB Routing Routing PCB Traces in Altium Designer High-Speed Routing Guidelines

How to Build a Circuit Board With Altium’s PCB Design Software Your printed circuit board (PCB) design might be designed to be electrically correct, but you also need to be assured it can be manufactured. Even though you need a PCB manufacturer to fabricate and assemble your board, you need to implement design for manufacturing (DFM) to ensure your board can be manufactured at scale. Making sure your design is manufacturable is all about encoding DFM specifications in your design rules.With the rules-driven Read Article

Look No Further than Altium Designer for the Best PCB Design Software When it’s time to buy new PCB design software, you only want to buy the best of the best, and you’ll probably look through a PCB design software list to find the tools you need. Open source software carries zero price tag, but it simply isn’t capable of tasks professionals need to perform every day.If you’re considering a new PCB design software package, consider this first. You need all the tools the industry demands, and there is no reason to Read Article

Power Delivery Analysis: Getting Started with PDN Analyzer If you’ve ever been involved in RF design, high-speed design, high current design, or all these areas combined, you know the importance of power integrity in your PCB. If power delivery in your next PCB design is a critical performance factor, you need simulation and analysis tools that are accessible alongside your standard PCB design features. Here’s how the PDN Analyzer feature in Altium Designer can help you diagnose and correct your power Read Article

Advanced High Density PCB Design in Altium Designer HDI PCB design and manufacturing pushes electronics and circuit boards to their limits. As electronics become faster and more capable, they require greater functionality in a smaller package. From smartphones to smartwatches and other IoT devices, HDI design is slowly becoming the norm rather than the exception. Keeping up with new technology and design techniques means that designers need to rethink how they layout components, as well as design Read Article

Create Your PCB Design Workflow for Military Systems in Altium Designer No matter which industry or vertical you work in, you’ll need to follow important design, performance, and manufacturability standards. These requirements are more stringent when working with military-grade electronic systems. When you work with design software built on a rules-driven design engine, meeting these important standards becomes much easier.Altium Designer gives you the power to prepare a compliant PCB design and prepare manufacturer Read Article

Design Basics for HDI and Planning for the HDI Manufacturing Process As the world of technology has evolved, so has the need to pack more capabilities into smaller packages. PCBs designed using high-density interconnect (HDI) techniques tend to be smaller as more components are packed in a smaller space. An HDI PCB uses blind, buried, and micro vias, vias in pads, and very thin traces to pack more components into a smaller area. We’ll show you the design basics for HDI and how Altium Designer^® can help you create Read Article

The Best PCB Design Software Features A PCB Trace Impedance Calculator PCB trace, pad, and via features are some of the most important in your circuit board and need to be carefully designed. The right cross-sectional PCB trace area and distance to the nearest reference plane will ensure your PCB trace impedance is consistent throughout your board. It can also help suppress temperature rise if your board will operate at high current.Choosing the right trace dimensions in your printed circuit board represents a Read Article

PCB Impedance Calculator and Stackup Design in Altium Designer There are many demands placed on PCB stackup design. High speed designs carry a requirement for controlled impedance, crosstalk control, and the need for interplane capacitance. Impedance in your traces becomes a critical parameter to consider during stackup design for high speed PCBs, but the stackup will also influence crosstalk susceptibility and sheet capacitance between ground and power planes. While you can work out many of these details by Read Article

The Best High Speed Design Tools in Altium Designer Building your next high speed PCB takes the best design and analysis tools. Your high speed design tools should make it easy to route connections, place components, and design your stackup in a way that ensures signal integrity and prevents unintended crosstalk. Your analysis tools should help you identify problem areas in your PCB, and your design tools should help you quickly implement redesigns in your PCB. With the high speed PCB design Read Article

LVDS to LVPECL, CML, and Single-Ended Conversions A lot is made of high speed interfaces for PCBs. Here’s how you interface between LVDS to LVPECL, CML, and other logic families. Read Article

WiFi 6 PCB Design Guide and 802.11 Standards Your next PCB might need WiFi 6 capabilities. Here’s what you need to know about WiFi 6 PCB design and layout. Read Article

PCB Routing Rules for Single-Ended and Differential Signals Different signaling standards require different PCB routing rules. Here’s how to find and set the PCB routing rules you need in your PCB design software. Read Article

USB 4 Design: Ultra-fast Serial Data Transfer for Your PCB USB 4 will bring ultra-fast serial data transfer to your PCB. Here’s what you need to know about USB 4 design for your PCB. Read Article

How to Setup HDI PCB Layout and Routing in Your PCB Design Software HDI PCB layout and routing seems more complicated than it really is. Here’s how you can get started with HDI layout and routing in Altium Designer. Read Article

Differential Pairs Without Ground: Is it a Problem? Some designers tell you that differential pairs without ground are acceptable. So who’s correct? We’ll examine the pros and cons of a differential pair ground plane. Read Article

Which Type of Capacitor Should You Use? Capacitors are used in far more applications than just bypassing noise, and there are many more types of capacitors than just ceramic and aluminium electrolytic. Read Article

Solder Bridge Jumper Best Practices in PCB Design A PCB variant is often simply thought of as a new layout created from an old design. However, if you’re creative with your routing and layout, you can use a solder bridge jumper to configure portions of a single PCB layout for multiple variants. This lets you quickly create variants of a PCB layout without rerouting traces or changing your schematics. If you plan to use jumpers in your PCB layout, there are some important guidelines to follow to Read Article