Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/884055
8 The PCB Magazine • October 2017 We are just back from the IPC fall meetings and the SMTA International conference and show, held jointly every September in Rose- mont, Illinois. More than 75 IPC subcommit- tee meetings were there for the taking—and not just sessions related to assembly, as one might think. Plus, the SMTA conference had 2–3 tech- nical tracks on Monday and five tracks each of the next three days. The exhibition, if not huge, was solid. Each year, the show seems to get big- ger and better (though it may still be called small by international standards). So, that aside, our topic this month is signal integrity, certainly a common one in our indus- try. Signal integrity is achieved by controlling impedance, so my advice is to do that. There, I'm done. Just kidding…of course I'm not done. But if you are in PCB manufacturing and you think this is just a design problem and doesn't concern you, please think again. As features on a board get smaller, as speeds get faster, and as more is expected from everyone in the supply chain, you too need to know. No sense hiding from it, so read on; this issue is for you! To start, we introduce our newest columnist group, Elmatica, with Josse Johnsen authoring a primer on SI, covering basics that are important for both the designer and PCB manufacturer to know. Next, Viking Test's Marc Ladle uses down to earth examples to show just how complicat- ed PCB processing can be when trying to con- trol impedance. We also bring you a rather detailed discus- sion on SI with this month's panel of experts: Mike Steinberger, SiSoft; Mark Thompson, Pro- totron Circuits; Yogen and Sunny Patel of Can- by Patty Goldman I-CONNECT007 (Signal) Integrity for All PATTY'S PERSPECTIVE