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SEPTEMBER 2026 I I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE 91 The Best Factory Is a Learning Factory Manufacturers that bring these sophisticated capa- bilities together with human expertise create en- vironments where technology generates insight, processes continuously improve, and people con- tinually become more knowledgeable. At GreenSource Fabrication and GreenSource Engineering, we see the factory of the future as one where technology allows people to do more valuable work, where automation handles repetition, and people apply judgment, AI finds patterns, people ask better questions, experi- enced professionals share their knowledge, and the next generation brings new perspectives to established processes. Continuous improvement applies equally to machines, processes, systems, and people. Ultimately, the smartest factory is the one that gets smarter because of its people. I-CONNECT007 Michael Gleason is director of product devel- opment and strategic growth at GreenSource Fabrication. What Engineers Find Challenging About High Frequency Signal Integrity How do materials affect RF signal performance? It's a fair question, and most will assume they already understand the answer. But this misunderstanding is exactly why so many high frequency designs underperform, require rework, or worse, fail in the field. Below the surface, where signal integrity is either preserved or destroyed, the truth is that at high frequencies, material selection matters, and that's where most engineers get it wrong. The Myth of Layout Dominance PCB design has been driven by geometry in the form of trace widths, spacing, stackups, con- trolled impedance calculations, differential pairs, return paths, and digital and power. It all matters, but the problem is that at RF and microwave fre- quencies, geometry is no longer the dominant variable. It's ruled by material behavior. You can design the cleanest layout in the world—with perfect impedance control—and still lose signal integrity if the material itself is unsta- BY C H A N D R A G U PTA , R E M T EC ble because, at high frequencies, the material de- fines the playing field long before layout begins. Why Dielectric Stability Matters More Than You Think Most engineers know that Dk affects impedance and signal propagation speed, but what's often missed is not that the value of Dk that matters, but how stable that value is. In many traditional PCB materials, especially FR-4, Dk is not constant. It varies with frequency, temperature, resin content, and moisture absorption. So, what happens? You design for 50 ohms and differential lines of 100 ohms based on a nominal Dk value, but in real-world conditions, that Dk shifts, which also shifts impedance. Then, reflections increase, losses rise, and signal integ- rity degrades. Your layout wasn't wrong, but your material properties were changing with condi- tions and frequency. BELOW THE SURFACE Continue reading this column here.