Alun Morgan Discusses AltiumLive Munich Keynote

January 15, 2019 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 Magazine

EIPC Chairman Alun Morgan will deliver a keynote speech at this week’s AltiumLive event in Munich, Germany. He gave us a quick preview of his keynote, and explained what his new job entails as technology ambassador with Ventec International Group.

A Fractal Conversation with Jim Howard and Greg Lucas

January 15, 2019 | Barry Matties and Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007

Veteran PCB technologists Jim Howard and Greg Lucas have made an interesting discovery: Certain shapes of copper planes make a PCB run more efficiently than other shapes, a process they dubbed fractal design. It doesn’t appear to cost a penny more, and testing suggests that fractal design techniques could eliminate edge noise. Barry Matties and Andy Shaughnessy asked Jim and Greg to discuss the fractal design process, and the advantages of using this technique.

Embedding Components, Part 6: Preparation for Active Semiconductor Elements

January 10, 2019 | Vern Solberg, Consulting

Designers are well aware that a shorter circuit path between the individual die elements, the greater the signal transmission speed, which significantly reduces inductance. By embedding the semiconductors on an inner layer directly in...

Connect the Dots: Key Guidelines for Clean Schematic Designs

January 8, 2019 | Team Sunstone Circuits, Sunstone Circuits

The smoke has not even cleared, but they already know what the problem is. It was supposed to be a celebratory moment for the team, plugging in the first board from the initial shipment. Instead, the room is as silent as a morgue. The...

Beyond Design: 10 Fundamental Rules of High-speed PCB Design, Part 4

January 2, 2019 | Barry Olney, In-Circuit Design Pty. Ltd.

Part 4 of the 10 fundamental rules of high-speed PCB design deals with the routing of critical signals and return path discontinuities. Needless to say, matched delay and length, differential pairs, and other critical signals should...