IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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34 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2026 B E YO N D D ES I G N Whenever energy moves, inductance is present. Whenever inductance is present, SI and PI are affected. Understanding this relationship is the differ- ence between a board that merely functions and one that performs reliably at multi-gigabit speeds. Electric and magnetic fields play equal roles in the transport of energy in a multilayer PCB. The presence of voltage implies an electric field, and changing that field creates a magnetic field. What may not be appreciated is that moving a voltage between two components requires moving energy I nductance is the quiet saboteur of high speed design. It doesn't reveal itself the way im- pedance discontinuities do, nor does it leave the obvious clues that poor routing or inadequate stackups produce. Yet it shapes nearly every facet of signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI), influ- encing how energy moves, how noise couples, how timing shifts, and how the power distribution net- work (PDN) responds under dynamic load. In multilayer PCBs, electric and magnetic fields interact to transfer energy between components. BY BA R RY O L N E Y, I N - C I RC U I T D ES I G N PT Y LT D | AU ST R A L I A Inductance: The Silent Architect Driving SI and PI