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FEATURES

• Impedance Control
  Accurate Impedance Control, Part II
  Choosing the right method for determining impedance control of multi-GHz or multi-Gb boards.
  by Istvan Nagy
  

• Signal Integrity
  Designing PCBs with High-Speed Constraints
  SI rules must take into account signal quality, timing and crosstalk.
  by Patrick Carrier
  

• Cover Story
  Could Printed Electronics Replace Traditional Electronics?
  Over the next 10 years, printed electronics will make gains in RFID, displays, packaging, ICs, and alternative energy. But a glorious future isn't set in stone.
  by Randall Sherman
  

• CIRCUITS ASSEMBLY Top 50
  The Trials of 2009
  When it comes time to write the story of the EMS industry in 2009, foremost will be the effects of the recession. The subtext, however, will be the dramatic fall of Elcoteq, whose final chapter is still being written. Plus: The 50 largest EMS companies.
  by Mike Buetow
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Tin drums beat louder.
  Mike Buetow

• Database
  Scary thoughts on DfM.
  Pete Waddell

MONEY MATTERS

• Global Sourcing
  Getting vertical.
  Rex Green

• ROI
  Merger mania strikes again.
  Peter Bigelow

TECH TALK

• Designer's Notebook
  Defining PDN impedance.
  Dr. Zhen Mu

• On the Forefront
  Can Japan stay committed to R&D?
  E. Jan Vardaman

• Tech Tips
  Component reliability for RF applications.
  ACI Technologies Inc.

• Solar Technologies
  Frontside silver conductor line efficiency.
  Tom Falcon

DEPARTMENTS

Off the Shelf

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FEATURES 

Cover Story

Frequency Loss Effect of Conductor Profile on the Insertion Loss, Phase Constant and Dispersion in Thin High Frequency Transmission Lines

Increasing conductor roughness alone increases the effective Dk in thin circuitry by up to 15%, while substantially increasing dispersion.

Allen F. Horn III, Ph.D., John W. Reynolds, Patricia A. LaFrance and James C. Rautio, Ph.D.  

RF Design

Choosing an RF Design Environment Flow

You can’t build a house without blueprints. So why do so many RF design flows try to build a board without a schematic?

by Abby Monaco  

CPCA Show Recap

Cautious Optimism in China

Exhibitors were cautious rather than shell-shocked, and even with a wobbly recovery underway, they have seen a marked increase in business.

by Matthew Holzmann  

Memory Interface Design

Memory Interface Speed Solutions

Higher performance requirements reduce timing margins on interfaces, thus imposing strict rules on board routing.

by Hal Katircioglu  

Apex Recap

New Year, New Outlook

An uptick in attendance on the floor overshadowed a lack of innovations in the booths.

By Mike Buetow and Chelsey Drysdale        

COLUMNS  

First Person  

Caveat Lector

EMS hot for LED.

Mike Buetow  

Database

Sayonara, electronics engineering?

Pete Waddell

Money Matters  

Sherman’s Market

Printed electronics: process revolution?

Randall Sherman  

ROI

Bad grades.

Peter Bigelow  

Tech Talk  

On the Forefront

Inside the iPad.

E. Jan Vardaman  

Designer’s Notebook

It’s the data, stupid!

Michael Dreyer         

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FEATURES

• DfA
  Component Layout in Placement Processes
  Effective, accurate component placement takes into account the best practices of design and assembly, both of them inextricably intertwined. Positioning CSPs and noise-sensitive devices are two of a host of considerations.
  by Zulki Khan
  

• Copper Plating
  Improved Electrolytic Copper Plating for Flex PWBs
  A novel electrolytic copper-plating process is said to provide flex circuit manufacturers a new option for meeting system performance requirements, while maintaining or improving product interconnection and mechanical reliability.
  by Hiroshi Hoshiyama, Shinjiroh Hayashi, Makoto Sakai and Rikiya Shimizu
  

• CAD-CAM
  PCB Data Preparation
  What happens to CAD data once it is released to manufacturing? A veteran designer describes what happens to a typical job once it leaves his facility and reaches manufacturing.
  by Jack Olson and Mike Tucker
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  Testing our mettle.
  Mike Buetow

• Sherman's Market
  Riding the EMS rollercoaster.
  Randall Sherman

• Database
  Microwave heats up.
  Pete Waddell

MONEY MATTERS

• Global Sourcing
  When offshoring works best.
  Rob Duvall

• ROI
  Back to basics.
  Peter Bigelow

TECH TALK

• EMC for the Real World
  Grover on inductance.
  Dr. Eric Bogatin

• The Defects Database
  Rethinking black pad.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio, Ph.D.

• Test and Inspection
  IEEE test standards 'speed' toward resolution.
  Jun Balangue

• Getting Lean
  Sequentially implementing Lean and Lean Sigma.
  Carlos Rodriguez

DEPARTMENTS

Off the Shelf

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FEATURES

• CAM
  Improving Fabrication Yields
  A large portion of manufacturing yield is tied up in the CAM process, and these "fabrication planners" can make the difference between profits and losses. Plus: The designer's role.
  by Zulki Khan
  

• EDA Tools For Today and Tomorrow
  'We Need to Facilitate Faster, Smarter Design'
  Leading design and layout tool suppliers talk about their software, designers' needs, the industry's biggest challenges, and why FPGAs could do for PCB designers what microprocessors did for their digital forerunners.
  by Pete Waddell
  

• Design Tools
  Predicting PCB Density
  Comparing design data requirements to design resources can result in better electronic performance at a reduced cost. A density-predicting calculator is a tool that performs a tradeoff analysis at the feasibility stage, given the constraints of the assigned area.
  by Ruth Kastner and Eliahu Moshe
  

• Productronica Recap
  Trading Up
  For the first time in 10 years, we saw the sun in Munich. Is it a sign of a new dawn for the industry? OK, no, but amid tepid expectations, Productronica turned out stronger than expected, again defying gravity and the pundits to remain the mother of all trade shows.
  by Mike Buetow
  

FIRST PERSON

• Caveat Lector
  "Conflict metals" fight deepens.
  Mike Buetow

• Database
  The design game.
  Pete Waddell

MONEY MATTERS

• ROI
  Resolutions for a new year.
  Peter Bigelow

• Focus on Business
  Hiring's golden age.
  Susan Mucha

TECH TALK

• Designer's Notebook
  Enclosed in.
  John Isaac

• Better Manufacturing
  Improving test coverage by design.
  Andrew Murrietta

• The Defects Database
  Plating-related opens.
  Dr. Davide Di Maio, Ph.D.

• Solar Technologies
  Solar Power International was a return to the past.
  Chrys Shea

• Tech Tips
  Boundary scan extends its use.
  ACI Technologies Inc.

DEPARTMENTS

Off the Shelf