June 2017 • The PCB Design Magazine 79
5
Intercept Technology Makes
Strides with New Pantheon PCB/
Hybrid/RF Layout Software Version
Intercept Technology
has launched a major
new enhancement re-
lease of its Pantheon
PCB layout software,
which includes spe-
cialized RF and hybrid
design flows. Complementing this new Pantheon
version is a major enhancement release of Inter-
cept's Mozaix CAE schematic design software.
6
Altium Focuses on
the Designer First
A few months before I joined
Altium, while I was still with I-
Connect007, I sat down with
Lawrence Romine to discuss
the company's drive to satisfy
the individual PCB designer,
and not necessarily the OEMs
who employ them. Romine
also explains what sets designers and engineers
apart from the average person, and why some Al-
tium users have a different primary EDA tool, but
use Altium when they need a design done fast.
7
iCD Launches QuickSolver
Edition of Stackup Planner
The iCD QuickSolv-
er is an inexpensive
edition of the pop-
ular iCD Stackup
Planner that is pow-
ered by the same
precision 2D BEM
field solver and pro-
vides everything you need to accurately model the
characteristic and differential impedance of multi-
layer PCBs utilizing blind and buried vias.
8
The State of High-Speed
Materials
Choosing the right ma-
terial for your PCB was
so simple a few decades
ago. All but the most
high-tech PCBs were
constructed with FR-
4. The lowly FR-4 has
been improved and re-
engineered many times
in the past few decades,
and rumors of its demise
have proven unfounded.
9
Ucamco Releases
Integr8tor v2017.05
Ucamco has an-
nounced the re-
lease of version
v2017.05 of Inte-
gr8tor, the market-
leading data entry
and design analysis
tool for sales, pre-
CAM and engineering. This version builds further
on the v2016.12 release from last December.
J
Beyond Design:
Return Path Discontinuities
Simultaneous switching
noise (SSN) is a major prob-
lem in high-speed systems.
But the underlying issue is
really the management of
transmission line return cur-
rents that flow on the near-
by reference planes, causing
the planes to bounce. High-
speed design is not as simple as sending a signal
from the driver to the receiver, over an intercon-
nect.
PCBDesign007.com for the latest circuit design news and
information—anywhere, anytime.
