Streamlined Tools from the HDI Standard Board for Enhanced PCB Design
Sierra Circuits, a leading provider of High-Density Interconnect (HDI) and standard Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), has unveiled three essential tools to streamline the PCB design process. These tools, named Stackup Designer, Impedance Calculator, and Material Selector, cater to various aspects of PCB design, ensuring manufacturability, high performance, and signal integrity.
Stackup Designer
The Stackup Designer is a versatile tool that allows users to create multilayer PCB stack-ups in real-time. This tool supports low-cost, standard, high-power, high-frequency, and HDI PCBs, including complex BGA layouts. It aids in building manufacturable stack-ups tailored for high-speed and high-frequency designs.
To use the Stackup Designer, users first input project details such as PCB type and requirements. The tool then generates recommended stack-ups automatically. Users can view and customize each layer’s parameters, including layer type, copper percentage, base and finished copper thickness, plating thickness, dielectric constant, dielectric description, stackup construction details, and dissipation factor. The outputs include exportable IPC-2581 files and compatibility with ECAD tools like Altium Designer and Cadence Allegro.
Impedance Calculator
The Impedance Calculator is an indispensable tool for high-speed PCB designs, using a 2D numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations to compute controlled impedance and related parameters for PCB traces. It supports microstrip and stripline for both single-ended and differential traces.
To use the Impedance Calculator, users need to input parameters such as dielectric height, dielectric constant, trace width, trace thickness, width difference, and target impedance. The tool calculates single-ended impedance based on these inputs and provides additional outputs like capacitance, inductance, propagation delay per unit length, and effective dielectric constant. The Impedance Calculator also supports mils, inches, mm, um, and cm for parameter inputs and references a dielectric constant guide to help select materials.
Material Selector
While the Material Selector tool does not have a separate detailed description, it is implied that the Stackup Designer and Impedance Calculator rely on material parameters such as dielectric constant and dissipation factor. Users can select appropriate dielectric materials based on these parameters, which affect impedance and signal loss. The Stackup Designer allows dielectric description entry per layer, giving flexibility in material choice for different stackups.
The Material Selector tool has over 50 rigid and 10 flexible materials in its database, allowing users to compare properties of up to 7 materials at a time. Users can also search for halogen-free and very high thermal conductivity materials by selecting respective radio buttons.
In summary, these tools assist designers with precise control over PCB layer construction, trace impedance, and material selection, facilitating efficient design of both HDI and standard PCBs with adherence to manufacturing capabilities and signal integrity requirements.
- The Stackup Designer, one of Sierra Circuits' essential tools, enables users to develop multilayer PCB stack-ups in real-time, supporting various PCB types and catering to high-speed and high-frequency designs.
- To accurately compute controlled impedance for high-speed PCB designs, designers can utilize the Impedance Calculator, which uses 2D numerical solutions of Maxwell's equations and supports both microstrip and stripline for single-ended and differential traces.
- The Material Selector tool aids in the selection of appropriate dielectric materials for PCB designs, with over 50 rigid and 10 flexible materials available in its database, allowing designers to compare properties and choose materials based on dielectric constant, dissipation factor, and other relevant properties.
