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42 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2023 e field of PCB design is evolving rapidly, which creates both opportunities and demands for new and experienced designers. PCB designers must deal with various issues in find- ing the right balance between the form factor, functionality, and power requirements of their boards while ensuring that the stackup, place- ment, and routing are completed to guarantee stringent signal and power quality. Advanced tools and skills are needed to create compact, flexible, high-performance, and low-power PCBs with faster turnaround times. ere is also a trend to collaborate with other design- ers and manufacturers in a team environment through cloud-based platforms to ensure that the designs are reliable and manufacturable. As multilayer PCBs become more complex, PCB designers face the challenge of cramming more components and connections onto a lim- ited board area without compromising perfor- mance or quality. Increasing the number of sig- nal layers can help to accommodate more sig- nal routing and reduce crosstalk, but there are inevitable bottlenecks in the breakout of high pin-count devices. e use of high-density interconnects, blind and buried vias, and via- in-pad techniques also help to alleviate these issues. Ball grid array (BGA) packages come in a variety of pitches and sizes. As device com- plexity increases and OEMs continue their drive toward smaller components, ball pitches Balancing Trade-offs for Optimal PCB Design Beyond Design Feature Column by Barry Olney, IN-CIRCUIT DESIGN PTY LTD / AUSTRALIA 42 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2023