What is PCB simulation?
Simulation of a PCB is carried out to understand the actual behavior of the circuit board. It basically increases the
efficiency of fabrication by providing a quick preview of how the printed circuit board is going to perform.
Simulation (3D electromagnetic simulation) is performed once the PCB layout is ready. This is followed by signal
integrity analysis.
Once the board is fabricated, scope measurement and SI analysis are performed. SI analysis is performed twice,
once in the layout stage and once after the board is fabricated.
Why Signal and Power Integrity
Digital signal frequencies used on PCBs continue to rise. Now bit rates on fast serial interfaces are passing 20Gbps/lane (e.g. DP2.0,
USB4). This is clearly a speed when a high-speed digital interface design becomes RF design.
1. Do you have a large PCB with a limited point of power? If yes, how do you know that there is a proper supply voltage to the chips?
Do you have a crowded PCB and limited space for traces?
2. How to make sure that the power lines are strong enough between the vias breaking power plane?
3. How to make sure that the signals are not disturbing each other?
4. Do you know what is the received signal quality on the chip (especially if the trace is not in a visible layer)?
5. Do you have fast and long signal interfaces, which need to be designed like transmission lines?
6. Do you have differential signals, where balance needs to be maintained?
7. Do you need to run certification analysis for memory lines (DDR4)?
LingtechPCB are happy to help you forward with these questions. Contact us to discuss with our expert on Power and Signal
Integrity!
LingtechPCB conducts power simulation analysis on all customer projects to ensure product reliability.
We use advanced 3D EM simulation tools to improve critical portions of the high-speed lane routing, such as vias, component, and
connector areas. From the simulation, the designer gets information on impedances of the routing at different locations and S-param
models showing the frequency response of the transmission path. S-param model allows tuning of equalization for the path when
available. We also run lower frequency (<< 5GHz) analysis showing signal waveforms which are used to tune driver strengths and
terminations. This is often the case with fast clock signals and memory interfaces (e.g. SC cards and DRAMs).
With power integrity analysis, power delivery network (PDN) performance is checked both for AC and DC. DC analysis
ensures that enough DC power can be delivered without voltage drops and too high current densities improving also
reliability. AC impedance of PDN is analyzed to meet specifications given for high performance and high current IC’s.
The target here is to secure power delivery also at higher frequencies. This improves EMI levels of the processor
subsystem as well.
