Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1517130
26 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2024 it would be a totally different book. It's not that stackups have changed; I just keep learn- ing. I'm researching at the same time that I'm developing soware and teaching others how to do this stuff. As Einstein said, "e more I learned about the universe, the more I realized how much I don't know." It sounds weird to say that about stackups, but it's a little like that. What I find is that the engineering hardware design part of the world is pretty interested in learning how to do a better job with the backbone of the PCB, the stackup. As you say, the fabricator will do the stackup, but it benefits everybody if the person at the front end understands more about it. But stackups seem to give people such a hard time. e problem is, let's say you have a master's degree in electri- cal engineering. You're a pretty smart guy. You've been trained on electromagnetics, and all the circuit theory that somebody could want. You might even be able to recite Maxwell's equations. But none of that helps you do a stackup, because the stackup is largely mechanical, with electrical properties. So, how do you learn how to do that? You need train- ing, and having a good tool helps. I'm not try- ing to just sell my soware like an infomercial. But the person who thought of this, the person who developed the class, and the person who developed the soware, it's all the same guy. So, I can't separate those three things. I remember talking to you when you started your company. You were personally invested in this business. When I first thought of doing this, I was the HyperLynx marketing guy. e Isola direc- tor of marketing at that time approached me and said, "Hey, I'd like to get our library into your soware." And I thought, yeah, that'd be a good idea. But we never really had time to do it. When I le Mentor and went to work in the laminate space, I took all the things I knew about signal integrity and added the fabrica- tion and laminate side of the world to it. ey all converged in the soware and in the train- ing that I do. You were saying that the stackup is the manifestation or physical representation of what's going on in the electrical world: The real vs. the ideal. at's right. Signal integrity is about the real vs. the ideal. at's in the book too. ere's an ideal signal vs. a real sig- nal, and the difference between the two is the physical world. I've created a spin on a Sun Tzu quote that I say at the beginning of all my training sessions. He said, "Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer." I say, "Keep your signals close and keep manufac- turing closer." Your friends are your signals. e enemy of your signals is the mechanical world: fabrication. So, keep the mechanical world even closer. Learn about it and you'll be much better off as a design or hardware engi- neer. Your signals will be better off, and you will be better off. What does it take to become a great designer or design engineer? First, ask yourself if you want to be great or just normal. ink about the normal distribution. I think 67% are within one sigma of the aver- age. Roughly half are below average. "Great" might be defined as the top 10%. If you want to be great, you need to be inquisitive. Ask ques- tions. Be willing to roll up your sleeves and do some research. Don't just do what you're told to do. Go beyond what you're required to do, and always be learning. I have a planned back- Signal integrity is about the real vs. the ideal.