PCB Tech - High-frequency circuit board wiring experience

1. Multilayer circuit board wiring

High-frequency circuits tend to have high integration and high wiring density. The use of multi-layer boards is not only necessary for wiring, but also an effective means to reduce interference. In the PCB Layout stage, a reasonable selection of the printed board size with a certain number of layers can make full use of the intermediate layer to set up the shield, better realize the nearest grounding, and effectively reduce the parasitic inductance and shorten the signal transmission length, while still maintaining a large All of these methods are beneficial to the reliability of high-frequency circuits, such as the amplitude reduction of signal cross-interference. Some data show that when the same material is used, the noise of the four-layer board is 20dB lower than that of the double-sided board. However, there is also a problem. The higher the number of half-layers of the circuit board, the more complicated the manufacturing process, and the higher the unit cost. This requires us to select the appropriate number of layers of the circuit board when performing PCB Layout. Carry out reasonable component layout planning, and use correct wiring rules to complete the PCB design.

2. The less the lead bends between the pins of high-speed electronic devices, the better

The lead wire of high-frequency circuit wiring is best to adopt a full straight line, which needs to be turned. It can be turned by a 45-degree broken line or a circular arc. This requirement is only used to improve the fixing strength of the copper foil in low-frequency circuits, while in high-frequency circuits, this requirement is met. One requirement can reduce the external emission and mutual coupling of high-frequency signals.

3. The shorter the lead between the pins of the high-frequency circuit device, the better

The radiation intensity of the signal is proportional to the trace length of the signal line. The longer the high-frequency signal lead, the easier it is to couple to the components close to it. Therefore, for signals such as clock, crystal oscillator, DDR data, LVDS lines, USB lines, HDMI lines and other high-frequency signal lines are required to be as short as possible.

4. The fewer lead layers alternate between the pins of high-frequency circuit devices, the better

The so-called "the less the inter-layer alternation of the leads, the better" means that the fewer vias (Via) used in the component connection process, the better. According to the side, one via can bring about 0.5pF distributed capacitance, and reducing the number of vias can significantly increase the speed and reduce the possibility of data errors.

5. Pay attention to the "crosstalk" introduced by signal lines in parallel with close distances

High-frequency circuit wiring should pay attention to the "crosstalk" introduced by the close parallel routing of signal lines. Crosstalk refers to the coupling phenomenon between signal lines that are not directly connected. Since high-frequency signals are transmitted in the form of electromagnetic waves along the transmission line, the signal line will act as an antenna, and the energy of the electromagnetic field will be emitted around the transmission line. Undesirable noise signals are generated due to the mutual coupling of electromagnetic fields between the signals. Called crosstalk (Crosstalk). The parameters of the PCB layer, the spacing of the signal lines, the electrical characteristics of the driving end and the receiving end, and the signal line termination method all have a certain impact on the crosstalk. Therefore, in order to reduce the crosstalk of high-frequency signals, it is required to do the following as much as possible when wiring:

If the wiring space permits, inserting a ground wire or ground plane between the two wires with more serious crosstalk can play a role in isolation and reduce crosstalk.

When there is a time-varying electromagnetic field in the space surrounding the signal line, if parallel distribution cannot be avoided, a large area of "ground" can be arranged on the opposite side of the parallel signal line to greatly reduce interference.

On the premise that the wiring space permits, increase the spacing between adjacent signal lines, reduce the parallel length of the signal lines, and try to make the clock line perpendicular to the key signal line instead of parallel.

If parallel wiring in the same layer is almost unavoidable, in two adjacent layers, the directions of the wiring must be perpendicular to each other.

In digital circuits, the usual clock signals are signals with fast edge changes, which have high external crosstalk. Therefore, in the design, the clock line should be surrounded by a ground line and punched more ground line holes to reduce distributed capacitance, thereby reducing crosstalk.

For high-frequency signal clocks, try to use low-voltage differential clock signals and wrap the ground mode, and pay attention to the integrity of the package ground punching.

The unused input terminal should not be suspended, but grounded or connected to the power supply (the power supply is also grounded in the high-frequency signal loop), because the suspended line may be equivalent to the transmitting antenna, and the grounding can inhibit the emission. Practice has proved that using this method to eliminate crosstalk can sometimes yield immediate results.

6. Add high-frequency decoupling capacitor to the power supply pin of the integrated circuit board block

A high-frequency decoupling capacitor is added to the power supply pin of each integrated circuit block nearby. Increasing the high-frequency decoupling capacitor of the power supply pin can effectively suppress the interference of high-frequency harmonics on the power supply pin.

7. Isolate the ground wire of high-frequency digital signal and analog signal ground wire

When the analog ground wire, digital ground wire, etc. are connected to the public ground wire, use high-frequency choke magnetic beads to connect or directly isolate and select a suitable place for single-point interconnection. The ground potential of the ground wire of the high-frequency digital signal is generally inconsistent. There is often a certain voltage difference between the two directly. Moreover, the ground wire of the high-frequency digital signal often contains very rich harmonic components of the high-frequency signal. When the digital signal ground wire and the analog signal ground wire are directly connected, the harmonics of the high-frequency signal will interfere with the analog signal through the ground wire coupling. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the ground wire of the high-frequency digital signal and the ground wire of the analog signal are to be isolated, and a single-point interconnection method can be used at a suitable position, or a method of high-frequency choke magnetic bead interconnection can be used.