EDA: PCBs Are Not So Simple AnymoreSponsored by: MENTOR GRAPHICS

Jan. 19, 2004

The printed-circuit-board design infrastructure has grown, and PCBs themselves will face future challenges.

Printed-circuit boards (PCBs) are at the heart of the modern electronic packaging found in almost every consumer electronics product. In essence, a PCB creates the connections between components within a system.

Mass reproducibility for circuits with even a modicum of complexity and/or speed requires a PCB-based packaging scheme. When designed correctly, PCBs bring predictability. A correct design minimizes wiring lengths and lays out the board so signal-integrity issues are controlled. It also makes it much easier to find components during troubleshooting and repair. Even high-pin-count ICs can be removed, if necessary, and replaced.

Up to about 10 years ago, advanced PCB design technologies like microvias, high-density interconnects (HDIs), embedded passives, and high-pin-count FPGAs were available primarily to power users in global organizations designing bleeding-edge products. But these design technologies are rapidly entering the mainstream, making them challenges for a broader spectrum of PCB designers than ever before.

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About the Author

David Maliniak | MWRF Executive Editor

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.