Latest Posts

7 Steps to Successful Serial Link Layout, Part 2

Author: Donald Telian , SI Guys - Guest Blogger This is a continuation of my previous post detailing the 7 Steps required to successfully implement a serial link. While all 7 steps aim at controlling discontinuities and loss concepts introduced in Steps 1 and 2 , this post ventures into the pragmatic aspects of managing loss and discontinuities during the routing process. Ever wonder how a tiny via stub can destroy your signal? Read on. Step 3: Route Using Best Practices While it would seem self...

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Donald Telian - Guest Blogger, SiGuys 11/5/2018 Comments(0)

7 Steps to Successful Serial Link Layout, Part 1

Author: Donald Telian , SI Guys - Guest Blogger Over the past 15+ years I’ve been accumulating a checklist of items required for successful serial link layout. I refer to the list when a customer requests a design review of their implementation, without simulation. The swelling list also regularly appears as an Appendix in reports I write for other customers. So when we began developing our Pragmatic Signal Integrity course often co-taught by SiSoft and SiGuys at DesignCon , I thought Woul...

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Donald Telian - Guest Blogger, SiGuys 10/4/2018 Comments(0)

When Should I Simulate?

Author: Donald Telian , SI Guys - Guest Blogger This question is not asked as much as it should be. Companies that simulate routinely or never at all can both benefit by asking it. As a Consultant, asking and answering this question for my customer is part of my value add; defining effort and expense commensurate with the task at hand – no more, no less. Learning how to answer this question is one of engineering’s soft skills and the subject of this post. To be sure, inventors and pu...

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Donald Telian - Guest Blogger, SiGuys 9/5/2018 Comments(0)

Fixing Signal Integrity Issues in Software?

Author: Donald Telian , SI Guys - Guest Blogger Yes, you read that right. Unheard of? Read on. The history of electronics is checkered with many things that should have caught on, and others – like the internet – that surprised us with their ubiquity. This post is about something I expected to become one of the greatest boons for Signal Integrity SI : SerDes Equalization Settings SES, only accessible through software . I was wrong. You’d be surprised to learn how many of my cus...

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Donald Telian, SiGuys - Guest Blogger 8/9/2018 Comments(0)

Which Discontinuities are Small Enough to Ignore?

Author: Donald Telian , SI Guys - Guest Blogger A 60 mil via is too small to worry about, right? And that 20 mil solder pad - the signal certainly won’t see that, correct? If you work with high-speed signals, no doubt you’ve asked these questions and someone told you it depends. You might have your own rule-of-thumb RoT that helps you decide which discontinuities – or features – might impact signal quality. In this post I’m going to share my favorite rule-of-thumb r...

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Donald Telian, SiGuys - Guest Blogger 7/9/2018 Comments(0)

Understanding Via Impedance

Author: Donald Telian , SI Guys - Guest Blogger If you routinely give attention to trace impedance but are not accustomed to thinking about via impedance, this post is for you. Or, if you are paying attention to via impedance yet are unsure what dimensions will yield the right impedance, this help with that too. So, when should I use an 8 mil drill? Why should I care? Serial links can fail because of impedance miss-matches discontinuities . In practice, discontinuities are likely causing more pr...

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Donald Telian, SiGuys - Guest Blogger 5/23/2018 Comments(0)