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56 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2024 Feature Q&A With Duane Benson Duane Benson, founder of Positive Edge, has been working with silicon and packaging for longer than some of our newer readers have been alive. We asked him to share his thoughts on silicon to systems, which Duane says is much more than a buzzword—it's a wake-up call for the industry. Andy Shaughnessy: We're seeing more technologists pointing out the need for PCB designers to focus on silicon to systems. What does this term mean to you? Duane Benson: Silicon to systems implies a holistic approach to design. It means that someone designing a component or subsys- tem will produce a better product by consid- ering the entire system, from the supply chain through design and to the purchasers and users of the product. In other words, don't design a product that can't be built or that doesn't really fit a need, and while designing it, communicate with others on the overall design team. Many designers don't know much about what happens at the silicon level, mainly because they've never really had to learn. What are the most important things that PCB designers need to understand about silicon? Digging deep isn't a requirement for many products. A lot of good designs have come from engineers who understand the way some- thing works, but not the physics or chemis- try underneath. at being said, I think that understanding the silicon level is becoming more important as speeds and density increase. Many engineers still think in terms of analog vs. digital electronics. ey even design mixed signal electronics from the perspective of one side or the other. It's not so simple anymore. In anything but the most basic of design levels Silicon to Systems: A Wake-up Call for the Industry