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FEBRUARY 2022 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 17 I'm sure there will be many more. All these technologies require new or adaptive ways of producing electronic products. Smaller size, flexible design with improved performance all adds up to advances in PCB design techniques. Designers can expect to see more high-speed serial links and faster buses and memory devices requiring signal and power integrity skills. With the advancements in automotive technologies, one would expect a merger of microwave/RF techniques in the PCB design realm. ere has also been a change in the demo- graphics of the PCB design team over the past decade. Boards have been chronically designed by a PCB designer who is a specialist in the field. However, with fewer designers entering the workforce than retiring, the response has been to involve more degreed engineers with PCB design. e engineers will not be special- ists and will only design one or two boards a year, but they bring advantages too. ey are much more familiar with the constraints, and why they are important. ey may also have a much greater understanding of signal integ- rity, power distribution network design, sig- nal propagation, and thermal characteristics. Future designs will be more complex and require these skills. We feel comfortable and secure in doing things the way we have always done them. But constant change is part of being in the field of electronics. So why not embrace change and learn new technologies and master new skills? I have always said that change is good. It brings new challenges but also rewarding opportuni- ties. Look for opportunities and act on them. Key Points • As system performance increases, the PCB designer's challenges become more complex. • e impact of lower core voltages, high frequencies, and faster edge rates has forced us into the high-speed digital domain. • If the propagation time and reflection from source to load are longer than the edge transition time, an electrically long trace will exist. • Power distribution network (PDN) plan- ning is another relatively new technology that has become an essential, interrelated component of signal integrity analysis. • e trend in lower DC voltages also requires tighter voltage noise tolerances and higher currents. • Smaller size, flexible design with improved performance all adds up to advances in PCB design techniques. • With fewer designers entering the work- force than retiring, the response has been to involve more degreed engineers with PCB design. • Constant change is part of being in the field of electronics. DESIGN007 Resources 1. Beyond Design: Signal Integrity Part 1 of 3, by Barry Olney, The PCB Design Magazine, October 2014. Barry Olney is managing director of In-Circuit Design Pty Ltd (iCD), Australia, a PCB design service bureau that specializes in board-level simulation. The company developed the iCD Design Integrity software incorporat- ing the iCD Stackup, PDN, and CPW Planner. The software can be downloaded at www.icd.com.au. To read past columns or contact Olney, click here.