WILSONVILLE, OR – Mentor Graphics Corp. has announced the publication of a book written by Charles Pfeil, engineering director of Mentor’s Systems Design Division, entitled BGA Breakouts and Routing, Effective Design Methods for Very Large BGA. The book explores the impact of dense ball-grid array (BGA) packages with high pin-count on PCB design, and provides solutions for design challenges.

“As BGA density and pin count continue to increase, the designer’s ability to effectively design with the devices has not kept pace. Fortunately, significant advancements in PCB fabrication technology have enabled further miniaturization in the manufacturing process,” said Pfeil.

The company offers that these improvements, along with new software and methods of design specifically targeted for BGAs, provide improved methods when using these devices.

“BGA Breakouts and Routing is a useful industry resource," said James Patten of Northrop Grumman Space Technology.  "The book explores BGA routing in a logical and straight-forward manner, and provides an orderly methodology while offering valuable insight into designing with these devices."  

MARLBOROUGH, MA - Flomerics' Flotherm software has helped Redback Networks with the cooling problems involved in Redback's first broadband, phone and TV subscriber platform.

"The power dissipation of the line cards in the new platform had to be increased by 2X …to obtain the planned improvement in performance and functionality," said Wendy Lu, engineer for Redback. "By focusing on reducing the chassis static pressure via geometry changes and using a higher performing fan, we were able to double the airflow in the chassis."

Lu utilized Flotherm's software to evaluate plenum geometry to obtain the required level of airflow. Then, using the software's generated board model, she ran simulations on the model to ensure that critical components could be cooled to within specifications.

Lu then commissioned a foamcore model of the newly designed plenum so that physical tests could be performed, and lab measurements closely matched the simulation results, with no design changes required for the prototype. The new platform will go into production and has already been selected by one of the top 20 telephone carriers in the world, ChungHwa Telecom of Taiwan.