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68 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2026 granted. Their work reminds us that signal integrity has always been an international discipline. And while AI may soon generate simulations, optimize layouts, suggest stackups, and probably critique our via fields with unsettling confidence, it still depends on the physical principles these masters spent decades researching, explaining, measuring, debating, and teaching the rest of us to respect. Return currents still follow the path of least impedance. Discontinuities still create reflections at the worst possible locations. Power planes still find creative new ways to resonate, and electromag- netic fields still stubbornly obey Maxwell instead of marketing slides. The Human Layers Still Matter Signal integrity is a story of accumulation, not re- placement, moving from intuition to physics to mea- surement and now to intelligent automation. It is a global discipline shaped by engineers worldwide, The Printed Circuit Designer's Guide to...UV Curable Conformal Coatings: Addressing Future Manufacturing Speed and Need Chapter 1: Options for Protecting Electronic Assem- blies and a Deep Dive into UV Conformal Coatings Electronics, depending on fit and function, have differ- ent protective options including conformal coatings, potting materials, encapsulants, protec- tive enclosures, sealing and gaskets. Conformal coatings: The most com- mon method for protection involves applying thin, protective films to the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB) or printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) to shield it from moisture, dust, and other contaminants (Figure 1.1a). Conformal coatings can be made from various materials, including acrylics, sil- icones, urethanes, epoxies and more. Each type of coating offers different levels of protection and flexibility. Potting and encapsulants: These materials encase the entire PCB or PCBA or specific components in a pro- BY B R I A N J. C H I S L E A A N D C O DY S C H O E N E R , P H D, D OW, I N C. tective material creating a robust barrier against envi- ronmental factors while offering additional mechani- cal support, making it ideal for applications where the PCBA may be exposed to harsh conditions or physi- cal stress (Figure 1.1b). The benefit, due to the thickness of the protective ma- terial, is that the chance of ingress is reduced; the drawback is that it adds weight to the final design, which could be detrimental. Sealing and gasket enclosures: This method, commonly used for PCBAs, in- volves using seals or gaskets to create a combined barrier around the PCBA, thereby preventing the ingress of mois- ture, dust, and other contaminants (Fig- ure 1.1c). These enclosures can be made of plastic, metal, or composite materials and further sealed with a polymer mate- rial between the joining parts. Continue reading here. BOOK EXCERPT many of whom may never headline major confer- ences but continue to define the behavior of to- day's advanced systems. Signals do not care where the engineer is based; they only respond to wheth- er the physics is respected. Before SI becomes fully abstracted into systems that design faster than humans can follow, it is worth acknowledging the people who made that future possible. Because once the tools no longer need explanation, the industry may also forget who first taught the rest of us why the explanations mattered in the first place. I-CONNECT007 Kelly Dack, CIT CID+, special- izes in DFx-driven PCB design and applications engineering at Pioneer Circuits, Inc. To read past columns, click here. TA RG E T C O N D I T I O N