Four Important Signal Integrity Principles Demonstrated with Virtual Prototypes

Signal integrity encompasses all the problems that arise when interconnects are not electrically transparent. One difficulty in understanding signal integrity principles is that these effects can’t be seen, felt, or heard. Visualizing the fields using 3D full wave simulations helps to build intuition immediately. While visualization is no substitute for understanding the electromagnetic principles at the foundation of signal integrity, it can reinforce the understanding.

In this presentation, I will offer four examples of essential principles illustrated with Ansys HFSS: signal propagation on transmission lines, cross talk in multiple signal traces, the impact on reflection noise and cross talk from gaps in the return path, and the design of signal vias to reduce cross-talk and radiated emissions.

What You Will Learn

• The power of visualizing propagating electromagnetic fields for signal integrity applications as part of a curricula
• Why the return path is just as important in interconnect design as the signal path
• Two different ways of visualizing the dynamics of propagating fields as a transient simulation and the phase advance of a frequency domain simulation
• Visualizing the fields is not a substitute for understanding electromagnetics, but it sure makes it easier

Who Should Attend

Engineering educators who are teaching courses including printed circuit design, electromagnetics, transmission lines, signal integrity, and electricity and magnetism and are looking to enhance their curricula.