Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1484263
68 PCB007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2022 AME allows us to remove the via and to make a continuous connection between layers. We call it 3DT (3D trace). It does not require the extra real estate of landing/capture pads, and its high-frequency performance is notice- ably superior. Replacing Vias With 3DTs We took an existing video board design; at the first stage we built it as-is but using AME design. At the second stage we converted the vias with 3DTs and we achieved a 30% reduc- tion in size and better electrical performance. Figure 5: Different 3D AME diagonal interconnect (3DT) instead of PCB traditional via. Figure 6: Example showing how converting traditional via to 3D AME 3DT reduces PCB size by 30%.