2 To address signal integrity issues, design engineers have invested more time and effort in the constraint definition phase of circuit board design.
3 By using design oriented signal analysis tools, running multiple simulations, and carefully planning the board topology in the early stages of the design process, comprehensive electrical and physical characteristic design constraints can be formulated to avoid related issues such as electromagnetic interference.
4 The current typical design environment mainly focuses on the later stages of design, with circuit board drawing as the main consideration factor.
5 Design tool suppliers are addressing these new design challenges.
6 However, design engineers need to adopt new methods to address the increasingly prominent high-speed design issues in the early stages of the design process< Img src=“ https://www.wellcircuits.com/wp-content/uploads/20230620/56317bd8-b43d-11ee-a825-705ab6a7e753/e1594f203ec2fb1c692c758e8b5fa843.jpg
1 Better signal integrity analysis tools
It is crucial to conduct extensive signal analysis before designing a circuit board to identify and solve these high-speed signal problems without relying on expensive and time-consuming onboard testing. When design engineers identify these issues, they can ensure the success of circuit design by changing the routing and circuit layer distribution, defining the routing topology of clock lines, and selecting components at specific speeds. However, previous signal integrity analysis tools were very limited, either difficult to use or unable to analyze the entire design. Therefore, design engineers can only rely on experience to determine the key circuit networks that need attention, or rely on comprehensive signal integrity analysis tools for analysis.
2 More powerful cabling capabilities
After determining the wiring rules, the design engineer enters the physical implementation phase. Common PCB drawing tools provide comprehensive component selection functionality, the ability to set board layers, assign constraint rules, and manage the layout of all components on the board. But in high-speed design environments, this is not enough, and PCB drawing tools must provide more comprehensive solutions.
3 Building a complete design approach
These tools represent significant progress in addressing the common high-speed issues in today’s circuit board design. However, design tools must also add more features to adapt to the increasing clock speed and complexity of circuit board design, especially requiring a comprehensive design approach to replace today’s multi-point design tools.
