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The Signal Integrity Issue: Design007 Magazine September 2025
September 9, 2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamEstimated reading time: Less than a minute
During the dotcom boom, SI seemed a lot like black magic. Until then, PCBs ran at such low speeds, and rise and fall times were so long, that designers didn’t have to worry about “analogish” behavior. You could ballpark it and get away with it.
Today’s PCB designers have far more weapons to wield in their fight for SI than they did in 1999. That’s a good thing, because almost everything on a board is faster, smaller, and more complex than a few decades ago. As the saying goes, “If you don’t have signal integrity problems now, you will eventually.”
This month in the September issue of Design007 Magazine, our experts share a variety of design techniques that can help PCB designers and design engineers achieve signal integrity.
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Sweeney Ng - CEE PCBSuggested Items
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10/08/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy -- Column: The Shaughnessy ReportYes, that headline is the equivalent of a dad joke, but editors can’t pass up a chance to inject a little humor into a headline, and I had to take my shot. Power integrity (PI) problems are no joke. Current power demands are increasing, especially with AI, 5G, and EV chips, which can lead to voltage drops that kill your performance.
New Fil Arzola Class: Designing for the Future, and for Sustainability
10/07/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007If you have not yet taken a class from Fil Arzola, you are missing out. In late October, Fil will be teaching the class "Building Sustainable Model-Based PCBs," speaking from the design perspective. I had the pleasure of catching this course at last year's IPC APEX EXPO, and I walked away with a lot to think about. I asked Fil to discuss his upcoming course. Registration is open now.
American Standard Circuits to Exhibit at SMTA International
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Elementary Mr. Watson: Chasing Checkmarks, Not Signal Integrity
10/01/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonFor the September 2025 issue of Design007 Magazine on signal integrity, I explored how the PCB is similar to a military obstacle course: walls that sap energy like impedance mismatches, barbed wire that cuts like crosstalk, and mud pits that drag a signal down like attenuation. The takeaway was clear that a PCB is not a flat drawing; it's an electromagnetic ecosystem filled with hazards that test every signal that dares to cross it. The real danger lies not in the obstacles themselves, but in the fact that many designers never see them.
Target Condition: Rethinking the PCB Stackup Recipe
10/01/2025 | Kelly Dack -- Column: Target ConditionMarie Antoinette is attributed with saying, “Let them eat cake,” but historians now agree she likely never said it. It was probably revolutionary propaganda to paint her as out of touch with the starving masses. Yet, the phrase still lingers, and oddly enough, it applies to the world of PCB design.