Introduction to Power Integrity: A Laboratory Manual
Now Available!
The Power Integrity Lab Manual is the second in the Lab Manual series. It follows the same format as the Signal Integrity Lab Manual (a brief, very focused theory chapter followed by a chapter of experiments where you test out those ideas for yourself on simple to build hardware).
Click here to download a PDF of the Table of Contents, the Preface, a sample from a theory chapter, and a sample from an experiment chapter.
There are 15 experiments for you to perform, showing how CMOS logic IC’s react to power supply noise, the way decoupling capacitors (DCAPs) behave, and how they can quell noise. You’ll use an oscilloscope to explore how DCAPs change the amount of power supply noise, and change it’s ringing (this is the “time domain” view).
If your scope can perform an FFT you’ll use it to see the frequency harmonics present in the current drawn by an IC when it switches, and you’ll learn how DCAPs impedance changes the strength of these harmonics (this is the “frequency domain” view, and the theory chapter discusses the power systems target impedance concept).
If your scope can’t perform an FFT, experiments show you how to use it anyway (along with a sine wave generator) to understand how DCAP’s behave across frequency.
The projects are a one IC RF voltmeter, a current probe, and a simple pulse generator with adjustable output rise/fall times. The current probe seems to be the book's most popular project. You’ll see how to use it with your scope and, although not discussed in the book, the probe works very well with a full-sized bench top spectrum analyzer or one of the open-source pocket sized units available on-line (if you’re fortunate enough to have one of these devices).
High-Speed Circuit Board Signal Integrity, Second Edition
This is a complete revision and reorganization of High-Speed Circuit Board Signal Integrity’s 1st edition. The 2ed edition has about 30% more figures and text, and contains new topics and material (such as an introduction to diff S-Parameters, an intro to power integrity, and chapters about reflections and terminations).
The new material is aimed at those electrical/electronic or computer engineers designing circuits and printed circuit boards in the telecom, embedded systems and computer industries needing to understand fundamental signal integrity concepts and how to solve common signal integrity problems. It retains the 1st edition's advanced material that serial channel designers, custom chip and ASIC designers and their test engineers found so useful.
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The book:
- Explains the electrical difference between microstrip and stripline traces
- Shows how circuit board characteristics effect electrical performance
- Shows how to design circuit board traces for a specific impedance and how to terminate them
- Explains how reflections are created and explains how different types of terminations are used to reduce or eliminate them
- Shows how to determine delay time and how to properly add intentional delay
- Shows how to analyze, design and terminate differential pairs
- Shows how to analyze and mitigate signal attenuation
- Explains different the types of crosstalk, how to calculate their values, and provides techniques to reduce their effects
- Introduces power integrity and the importance of signal return paths
- Describes the actual electrical behavior and characteristics of ceramic capacitors
Introduction to Signal Integrity: A Laboratory Manual
Click here to find out more about my signal integrity manual. It walks you through performing experiments on actual hardware that demonstrate transmission line impedance, delay, termination and crosstalk.
Read a sample chapter (PDF).
Understanding Signal Integrity
In 2011 I published the introductory text, Understanding Signal Integrity, specifically for those students, managers and the many experienced engineers unfamiliar with signal integrity. Besides the electrical engineering of signal integrity, the book introduces the unique language and terminology used by practitioners and by circuit board designers. It contains suggested plans of attack for diagnosing and solving common signal integrity problems. Several chapters have solved exercise problems that help cement ideas and can be used as templates to solve similar problems in actual hardware.
Click here to download the solution manual for the student exercises.
High-Speed Circuit Board Signal Integrity
In 2004 I wrote High-Speed Circuit Board Signal Integrity to help high-performance circuit board designers and ASIC designers understand the physics and signal integrity issues surrounding high-speed signaling. This is an advanced text popular with ASIC designers and those board design engineers working with high-speed signaling.