San Jose, California? According to Mentor Graphics CEO Wally Rhines, the circuit board tools division of the EDA industry is currently viewed as a mature, integrated, and somewhat stagnant market. However, it is expected to become more dynamic soon. In his keynote speech at the PCB Design Conference West on Tuesday (March 16), he predicted that as PCB design accelerates, existing tools will be challenged, necessitating a reorganization by users.
“The complexity of integrated circuit design has extended to circuit boards, reaching the limits of what can be achieved at the chip level. Therefore, why not distribute the complexity and make circuit board design more intricate? This is happening, but not in a linear fashion—it’s occurring exponentially. While many are aware of the challenges in IC design tools, they may not fully grasp the ‘pressure’ being placed on PCB design,” he said.
“EDA companies continue to add new features to PCB tools to address these pressures, but the tools available today were largely designed years ago. I argue that printed circuit design will experience fundamental changes akin to those in integrated circuit design.”
PCB manufacturing, FPGA, signal integrity, library and data management, and globalization are the five major “pressures” that will drive the imminent reorganization of PCB design.
PCB manufacturing introduces new levels of complexity that some tools simply cannot manage. The use of microvias, high-density interconnects, and embedded passive components has become increasingly common. As designs become more complex and these technologies become more prevalent, placement and routing techniques may also be disrupted.
“Merely routing through pin density, handling packages with high pin counts, or reducing wire spacing by a factor of five compared to ten years ago can provide significant advantages. Users who adopt high-density interconnect (HDI) and microvia technologies can save layers and enhance density compared to traditional laminates. With advancements in silicon processes, the number of source devices will increase. Reducing passive components while maintaining compact form factors may necessitate new PCB synthesis techniques,” he noted.
1. As PCB designs become more complex and FPGAs more prevalent, FPGA PCB design teams must collaborate closely to balance the trade-offs between PCB and FPGA. While this issue is not immediate, technologies that enhance communication between these groups are crucial to accelerate design and improve team collaboration.
2. Additionally, signal integrity will remain a constant challenge. As chip and system speeds increase and circuit boards become denser, areas such as 3GIO and asynchronous designs will challenge traditional signal integrity rules, necessitating “statistical analysis.”
3. Related topics, such as library data management and globalization, signal a shift from current PCB design methods. With new technologies and tools emerging, libraries will evolve, and companies must adapt to these changes.
4. Eventually, existing library formats will need to evolve, requiring automation in part selection and integration of EDA supplier libraries with comprehensive company solutions.
5. As design teams from diverse global regions collaborate, they must utilize standardized libraries and data management software. PCB companies could develop software to enable simultaneous PCB design across different fields.
“The complexity of integrated circuit design has extended to circuit boards, reaching the limits of what can be achieved at the chip level. Therefore, why not distribute the complexity and make circuit board design more intricate? This is happening, but not in a linear fashion—it’s occurring exponentially. While many are aware of the challenges in IC design tools, they may not fully grasp the ‘pressure’ being placed on PCB design,” he said.
“EDA companies continue to add new features to PCB tools to address these pressures, but the tools available today were largely designed years ago. I argue that printed circuit design will experience fundamental changes akin to those in integrated circuit design.”
PCB manufacturing, FPGA, signal integrity, library and data management, and globalization are the five major “pressures” that will drive the imminent reorganization of PCB design.
PCB manufacturing introduces new levels of complexity that some tools simply cannot manage. The use of microvias, high-density interconnects, and embedded passive components has become increasingly common. As designs become more complex and these technologies become more prevalent, placement and routing techniques may also be disrupted.
“Merely routing through pin density, handling packages with high pin counts, or reducing wire spacing by a factor of five compared to ten years ago can provide significant advantages. Users who adopt high-density interconnect (HDI) and microvia technologies can save layers and enhance density compared to traditional laminates. With advancements in silicon processes, the number of source devices will increase. Reducing passive components while maintaining compact form factors may necessitate new PCB synthesis techniques,” he noted.
1. As PCB designs become more complex and FPGAs more prevalent, FPGA PCB design teams must collaborate closely to balance the trade-offs between PCB and FPGA. While this issue is not immediate, technologies that enhance communication between these groups are crucial to accelerate design and improve team collaboration.
2. Additionally, signal integrity will remain a constant challenge. As chip and system speeds increase and circuit boards become denser, areas such as 3GIO and asynchronous designs will challenge traditional signal integrity rules, necessitating “statistical analysis.”
3. Related topics, such as library data management and globalization, signal a shift from current PCB design methods. With new technologies and tools emerging, libraries will evolve, and companies must adapt to these changes.
4. Eventually, existing library formats will need to evolve, requiring automation in part selection and integration of EDA supplier libraries with comprehensive company solutions.
5. As design teams from diverse global regions collaborate, they must utilize standardized libraries and data management software. PCB companies could develop software to enable simultaneous PCB design across different fields.
