Valley Services Electronics

Silicon Valley’s Premier Electronic and PCB Assembly Blog

Semi Conductor

PCB Crosstalk: How to Reduce Coupling

Have you ever been deep in thought writing and transcribed the words you hear instead of what you intended to write? It was only late in my life that I realized how overloaded my brain becomes when trying to work silently and process spoken words simultaneously. Even if you haven’t experienced the exact phenomenon, the…

READ MORE
The characteristic impedance of transmission lines starts with the board stackup.

Characteristic Impedance of Transmission Line Design

Defining the stackup early in the design helps constrain the layout and prevent downstream manufacturing issues. Primarily, a trace width based on the finest pitch component will act as an input to the impedance field solver software; this step ensures manufacturability and coordination with the characteristic impedance necessary for different transmission protocols. While most traces…

READ MORE

PCB Trace Widths: Optimizing for Impedance, Density

In the layout of printed circuit boards, width plays an important part, especially in the metal connections fabricated into the board called “traces.” Traces conduct signals to and from the pins of the components soldered to the board and carry varying amounts of current depending on the net. Additionally, the signal’s traces may have special…

READ MORE
analog PCB layout guidelines

Component Obsolescence and Future-Proofed Assemblies

Few feelings are worse than performing a part buy and realizing the components aren’t suitable for the design as planned. Whether incorrect package styles or electrical parameters, the result is a delay in manufacturing while waiting for the next shipment. An even more ghastly possibility is the inclusion of components designated for obsolescence, which can…

READ MORE