Here are a few factors that PCB board designers must consider, which will influence their decisions:
1. Product functions
1) Basic functions of the cage cover, including:
a. Interaction between schematic diagram and PCB layout
b. Wiring functions such as automatic fan-out wiring, push-pull, and other wiring capabilities based on design rule constraints
c. DRC validation
2) Ability to advance product features as the company engages in more complex designs
a. HDI (High Density Interconnection) interface
b. Flexible design
c. Embedding passive components
d. Radio frequency (RF) design
e. Automatic scripting
f. Topology layout and cabling
g. Manufacturability (DFF), testability (DFT), producibility (DFM), etc.
3) Additional products can perform analog simulation, digital simulation, analog mixed-signal simulation, high-speed signal simulation, and RF simulation.
4) Have a central component library that is easy to create and manage.
2. A reliable partner who leads the industry technically and invests more effort than other manufacturers can help design effective and technical products quickly.
3. Price should be a secondary consideration among the above factors, with more attention paid to ROI.
PCB estimation requires consideration of many factors. The types of development tools designers seek depend on the complexity of their design work. As systems grow more complex, the control of physical wiring and electrical component placement has evolved, necessitating the establishment of hub path constraints in the design process. However, excessive constraints can limit design flexibility. Designers must thoroughly understand their designs and rules to know when to apply them. This represents a typical integrated system design from front end to back end, starting with a design definition (schematic input) tightly integrated with constraint codification. In constraint codification, designers can define both physical and electrical constraints. Electrical constraints enable pre- and post-layout analysis for network validation and driving emulators. Examining the design definition reveals its link to FPGA/PCB integration. The aim of FPGA/PCB integration is to enable bidirectional data governance and co-design capabilities between FPGAs and PCBs. The same constraint rules used in physical implementation are applied during layout, reducing the likelihood of errors from specification to layout. Pin switching, logic gate switching, and IO_Bank interface group switching all require updates back to the design definition stage, ensuring synchronization at each design step.
Let’s explore some trends prompting designers to reassess current development tool features and consider new acquisitions:
1. HDI
Semiconductor complexity and increasing logic gate counts demand integrated circuits with more and finer-spaced pins. Designing over 2000 pins on a BGA device with 1mm pin spacing is now common, as is 296 pins on a 0.65mm spacing device. Faster rise times and signal integrity needs necessitate additional power and ground pins, driving demand for High Density Interconnection (HDI) technology with micro-perforations. HDI features micro-hole and ultra-thin dielectric properties, with finer wires and smaller line spacings.
2. RF Design
For RF designs, RF circuits should integrate directly into system schematics and board layouts rather than separate environments for subsequent conversion. Although RF emulation environments still require simulation, tuning, and optimization capabilities, they can accommodate raw data more effectively. This facilitates direct interaction between system design and RF simulation. Complex RF designs may benefit from distributing circuit simulations across multiple computing platforms or reducing simulation times by assigning each circuit in a multi-module design to its own emulator.
3. Enhanced Package Integration
Increasing functional complexity in modern products necessitates more passive devices, particularly decoupling capacitors and terminal matching resistors for low power and high frequency applications. While surface-mount passive device packaging has shrunk over the years, the goal remains achieving maximum density. Printed component technology has facilitated the transition from multi-chip and hybrid components to System in Package (SiP) and PCBs with embedded passive components. These assembly techniques, such as integrating an impedance material layer in layered structures and placing series termination resistors directly beneath micro-ball grid array (uBGA) packages, significantly enhance circuit performance. Precision design of embedded passive components eliminates additional steps like laser trimming welds, while wireless component integration directly within substrates further advances integration capabilities.
4. Rigid-Flexible PCBs
Designing rigid-flex PCBs requires careful consideration of all assembly process factors. Designers must not treat rigid-flex PCBs as conventional rigid PCBs; they must address design points in bending areas to prevent conductor breakage and stripping due to stresses on bending surfaces. Mechanical factors such as bending radius, dielectric thickness and type, copper plating, overall circuit thickness, layer count, and bending section count must all be carefully managed to ensure successful rigid-flex designs that meet product requirements.
5. Signal Integrity Planning
Recent advancements in technologies like parallel bus architectures and differential pair architectures for serial transformation have improved design capabilities. The challenge with parallel bus design lies in managing system timing variations such as clock skew and propagation delay. Differential pair architectures facilitate point-to-point serial communication, accommodating data widths from 8 to 256 bytes. However, high data rates pose challenges such as clock recovery issues and increased power noise, affecting system jitter and signal integrity. Designers must mitigate common-mode noise and address lossy effects from IC packages, PCBs, cables, and connectors to optimize high-speed data transmission.
6. Design Kit Usability
Design kits for USB, DDR/DDR2, PCI-X, PCI-Express, and RocketIO enable designers to adopt new technologies effectively. These kits provide technology overviews, detailed instructions, challenges, simulations, and guidance on creating cabling constraints. They include declarative documentation alongside programs, offering designers a streamlined approach to adopting new technologies that surpass older ones. While obtaining a PCB layout tool seems straightforward, it is crucial to select one that not only meets immediate needs but also supports long-term design requirements effectively.
1. Product functions
1) Basic functions of the cage cover, including:
a. Interaction between schematic diagram and PCB layout
b. Wiring functions such as automatic fan-out wiring, push-pull, and other wiring capabilities based on design rule constraints
c. DRC validation
2) Ability to advance product features as the company engages in more complex designs
a. HDI (High Density Interconnection) interface
b. Flexible design
c. Embedding passive components
d. Radio frequency (RF) design
e. Automatic scripting
f. Topology layout and cabling
g. Manufacturability (DFF), testability (DFT), producibility (DFM), etc.
3) Additional products can perform analog simulation, digital simulation, analog mixed-signal simulation, high-speed signal simulation, and RF simulation.
4) Have a central component library that is easy to create and manage.
2. A reliable partner who leads the industry technically and invests more effort than other manufacturers can help design effective and technical products quickly.
3. Price should be a secondary consideration among the above factors, with more attention paid to ROI.
PCB estimation requires consideration of many factors. The types of development tools designers seek depend on the complexity of their design work. As systems grow more complex, the control of physical wiring and electrical component placement has evolved, necessitating the establishment of hub path constraints in the design process. However, excessive constraints can limit design flexibility. Designers must thoroughly understand their designs and rules to know when to apply them. This represents a typical integrated system design from front end to back end, starting with a design definition (schematic input) tightly integrated with constraint codification. In constraint codification, designers can define both physical and electrical constraints. Electrical constraints enable pre- and post-layout analysis for network validation and driving emulators. Examining the design definition reveals its link to FPGA/PCB integration. The aim of FPGA/PCB integration is to enable bidirectional data governance and co-design capabilities between FPGAs and PCBs. The same constraint rules used in physical implementation are applied during layout, reducing the likelihood of errors from specification to layout. Pin switching, logic gate switching, and IO_Bank interface group switching all require updates back to the design definition stage, ensuring synchronization at each design step.
Let’s explore some trends prompting designers to reassess current development tool features and consider new acquisitions:
1. HDI
Semiconductor complexity and increasing logic gate counts demand integrated circuits with more and finer-spaced pins. Designing over 2000 pins on a BGA device with 1mm pin spacing is now common, as is 296 pins on a 0.65mm spacing device. Faster rise times and signal integrity needs necessitate additional power and ground pins, driving demand for High Density Interconnection (HDI) technology with micro-perforations. HDI features micro-hole and ultra-thin dielectric properties, with finer wires and smaller line spacings.
2. RF Design
For RF designs, RF circuits should integrate directly into system schematics and board layouts rather than separate environments for subsequent conversion. Although RF emulation environments still require simulation, tuning, and optimization capabilities, they can accommodate raw data more effectively. This facilitates direct interaction between system design and RF simulation. Complex RF designs may benefit from distributing circuit simulations across multiple computing platforms or reducing simulation times by assigning each circuit in a multi-module design to its own emulator.
3. Enhanced Package Integration
Increasing functional complexity in modern products necessitates more passive devices, particularly decoupling capacitors and terminal matching resistors for low power and high frequency applications. While surface-mount passive device packaging has shrunk over the years, the goal remains achieving maximum density. Printed component technology has facilitated the transition from multi-chip and hybrid components to System in Package (SiP) and PCBs with embedded passive components. These assembly techniques, such as integrating an impedance material layer in layered structures and placing series termination resistors directly beneath micro-ball grid array (uBGA) packages, significantly enhance circuit performance. Precision design of embedded passive components eliminates additional steps like laser trimming welds, while wireless component integration directly within substrates further advances integration capabilities.
4. Rigid-Flexible PCBs
Designing rigid-flex PCBs requires careful consideration of all assembly process factors. Designers must not treat rigid-flex PCBs as conventional rigid PCBs; they must address design points in bending areas to prevent conductor breakage and stripping due to stresses on bending surfaces. Mechanical factors such as bending radius, dielectric thickness and type, copper plating, overall circuit thickness, layer count, and bending section count must all be carefully managed to ensure successful rigid-flex designs that meet product requirements.
5. Signal Integrity Planning
Recent advancements in technologies like parallel bus architectures and differential pair architectures for serial transformation have improved design capabilities. The challenge with parallel bus design lies in managing system timing variations such as clock skew and propagation delay. Differential pair architectures facilitate point-to-point serial communication, accommodating data widths from 8 to 256 bytes. However, high data rates pose challenges such as clock recovery issues and increased power noise, affecting system jitter and signal integrity. Designers must mitigate common-mode noise and address lossy effects from IC packages, PCBs, cables, and connectors to optimize high-speed data transmission.
6. Design Kit Usability
Design kits for USB, DDR/DDR2, PCI-X, PCI-Express, and RocketIO enable designers to adopt new technologies effectively. These kits provide technology overviews, detailed instructions, challenges, simulations, and guidance on creating cabling constraints. They include declarative documentation alongside programs, offering designers a streamlined approach to adopting new technologies that surpass older ones. While obtaining a PCB layout tool seems straightforward, it is crucial to select one that not only meets immediate needs but also supports long-term design requirements effectively.