62 The PCB Design Magazine • September 2015
1
Beyond Design:
Stackup Planning, Part 2
in Part 1 of the Stackup Planner series, i looked
at how the stackup is built, the materials used in
construction and the lamination process. And i set
out some basic rules to follow for high-speed de-
sign. it is important keep return paths, crosstalk
and eMi in mind during the design process. Part 2
follows on from this with definitions of basic stack-
ups starting with four and six layers.
2
The Shaughnessy Report:
The PCB Design Supply Chain
We asked readers of The PCB Design Magazine if
their supply chain was a problem for them. Al-
most two thirds of respondents said no, but a
solid 37% said yes. And surprisingly, for many it
was an emphatic "yes." navigating the supply
chain is a huge challenge for some of our leading
companies.
3
Nick Barbin: From Designer
to EMS Company owner
Many PCB designers would rather do just about
anything than pore over a P&L spreadsheet. But
nick Barbin isn't a typical designer. he co-found-
ed Optimum Design Associates over two decades
ago, and later expanded into contract manufac-
turing. i caught up with nick recently and asked
him how he wound up leading an eMS company
on the inc. 5000 list.
4
Training the Next-Generation
Engineer: When Does it Begin
and End?
American engineering companies are seeing a
severe shortage of the homegrown engineers re-
quired to compete globally. Just go into any com-
pany today and you'll notice that increasingly, the
engineers are foreign-born. Our local universities
are seeing fewer and fewer American engineering
students each year.
5
Mentor White Paper:
Analyzing Crosstalk's Impact
on BER Performance
This paper by Mentor Graphics' vladimir Dmit-
riev-zdorov and zhen Mu discusses two major is-
sues associated with channel crosstalk that have
not been fully addressed previously: models from
measurements and algorithms for BeR prediction.
it presents a practical solution that allows design-
ers to add in near-end or far-end crosstalk.
ToP
Ten
Recent Highlights from PCBDesign007
62 The PCB Design Magazine • September 2015
