The Pulse: Caught in the Crosshatch—A Cautionary Tale of Detective Work
Fresh PCB Concepts: Designing PCBs for Harsh Environments—Reliability Is Engineered Upstream
Elementary, Mr. Watson DFX—Basically a Basket of Crabs With Spreadsheets
Silicon to Systems: A Wake-up Call for the Industry
September 26, 2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Duane Benson, founder of Positive Edge, has been working with silicon and packaging for longer than some of our newer readers have been alive. We asked him to share his thoughts on silicon to systems, which Duane says is much more than a buzzword—it’s a wake-up call for the industry.
Andy Shaughnessy: We’re seeing more technologists pointing out the need for PCB designers to focus on silicon to systems. What does this term mean to you?
Duane Benson: Silicon to systems implies a holistic approach to design. It means that someone designing a component or subsystem will produce a better product by considering the entire system, from the supply chain through design and to the purchasers and users of the product. In other words, don’t design a product that can’t be built or that doesn’t really fit a need, and while designing it, communicate with others on the overall design team.
Shaughnessy: Many designers don’t know much about what happens at the silicon level, mainly because they’ve never really had to learn. What are the most important things that PCB designers need to understand about silicon?
Benson: Digging deep isn’t a requirement for many products. A lot of good designs have come from engineers who understand the way something works, but not the physics or chemistry underneath. That being said, I think that understanding the silicon level is becoming more important as speeds and density increase. Many engineers still think in terms of analog vs. digital electronics. They even design mixed signal electronics from the perspective of one side or the other. It’s not so simple anymore. In anything but the most basic of design levels now, that distinction is less relevant. Microcontrollers (MCUs) and systems on chip (SoC) mix analog, digital, and even programmable logic in the same part. On the leading edge, speeds are so fast that you can’t really look at it as either digital or analog. When designing in those regimes, even the electron physics becomes relevant.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the September 2024 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
SEMI Appoints Julie Rogers Executive Director of the ESD Alliance
05/01/2026 | SEMISEMI, the industry association serving the global semiconductor and electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, announced the appointment of Julie Rogers as Executive Director of the Electronic System Design Alliance (ESDA), a SEMI Technology Community.
IBM, Dallara to Advance AI and Quantum-Powered Design for High-Performance Vehicles
05/01/2026 | IBMIBM and the Dallara Group, a world-leading racing and high-performance vehicle manufacturer, announced a collaboration to advance vehicle design and optimization using AI and explore the use of quantum computing.
SEMI ESD Alliance 2026 Outlook: Agentic AI to Transform Chip Design and Verification
05/01/2026 | SEMIThe Electronic System Design Alliance (ESD Alliance), a SEMI Technology Community, announced its annual Executive Outlook event for semiconductor EDA, agentic AI and IP company executives.
EMAC Returns with Bright Electronics Manufacturing Challenge 2026
04/30/2026 | SMTAThe Electronics Manufacturing & Assembly Collaborative (EMAC) has announced the return of the Bright Electronics Manufacturing Challenge 2026, an immersive, hands-on student competition that puts real electronics manufacturing experience into the hands of the next generation of engineers.
A Designer's Focus on High Density
04/30/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007 MagazineVern Solberg is a distinguished member of the Global Electronics Association Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame and has served as chair or vice chair of many committees, developing technical standards and implementation guidelines, including the IPC-7090 series, which focuses on design for manufacturing and reliability for electronic assemblies. He’s a long-time contributor to Design007 Magazine, and he conducted a half-day tutorial at APEX EXPO 2026, where he addressed 2D, 2.5D, and 3D packaging and ultra-high density hybrid bond interconnect. I caught up with Vern at the show and asked about his pivot from addressing more standard design challenges to his focus on high-density circuits.