PCB Technical Articles - Electrical Engineering & Electronics Technical Articles

Common PCB Stackups for a Four-Layer Board

This article looks at the common options for a four-layer board stackup.

September 04, 2019 by Steve Arar

Major Causes of High Temperatures on PCBs

This article discusses the major causes of high temperatures on PCBs that cause failure and damage to the board itself.

September 02, 2019 by Amos Kingatua

Special Topics in Schematic Capture

Learn about heterogeneous and homogenous buses, special IC packages, and more!

August 23, 2019 by Stephen Colley

Error Checking Schematics

This article presents tools and practices in reducing errors in your schematics.

August 22, 2019 by Stephen Colley

Mitigating Noise in Double-sided PCBs: Multipoint Grounding (Gridded Ground) in Two-layer PCB Design

Learn how to use the gridded ground technique to reduce noise in a double-sided PCB.

August 15, 2019 by Steve Arar

How a Ground Plane Reduces PCB Noise

How does a ground plane reduce noise in a PCB? Learn more in this technical article.

August 15, 2019 by Steve Arar

Understanding Schematics

If you're looking to get a better handle on how to read schematics, this helpful guide will give you a head start.

July 22, 2019 by Matthew Cook

Hardware Security Vulnerabilities that Engineers Should Know

Why should engineers care about hardware security? Because they can help prevent vulnerabilities through design!

July 12, 2019 by Mark Hughes

Tips and Techniques for DC-DC Buck Converter PCB Layout

Learn best layout practices for your DC-DC buck converter circuits.

July 03, 2019 by George Biner

6 Ways to Design for Circuit Board Rework

Learn why you should design for rework—and 6 easy ways to do it.

May 31, 2019 by Matthew Cook

A (Solder) Bridge To Nowhere: What Is a Solder Bridge and How to Avoid Them in PCB Design

Learn what solder bridges are and how to avoid them.

May 09, 2019 by Matthew Cook

The Incredible Shrinking Resistor: The Advantages and Drawbacks of Ever-Smaller Components

The advantages and disadvantages of ever-shrinking components.

April 19, 2019 by Matthew Cook

How to Program an MSP430 Microcontroller to Gather Data from an Inclinometer

This article goes over the design of firmware for a custom PCB project: a precision inclinometer subsystem.

January 14, 2019 by Mark Hughes

How to Turn a Schematic into a PCB Layout: PCB Design for a Custom Inclinometer

So you have a schematic. How do you lay out your custom board? In this article, we'll go over the challenges and solutions I came across in designing a custom PCB for an inclinometer...

January 11, 2019 by Mark Hughes

How to Design a Schematic: Creating a Roadmap for a Custom PCB Inclinometer

This project series details the design and construction of a precision inclinometer based on the Murata SCA103T-D04. This article looks at schematic design considerations....

January 09, 2019 by Mark Hughes

How to Eliminate Reflection Noise in Your Next PCB Design

What is reflection noise? What effects can it have on the functionality of your custom PCB? How can you mitigate it with better design practices?...

December 19, 2018 by Mark Hughes

Which Via Should I Choose? A Guide to Vias in PCB Design

How much do you really know about vias, one of the building blocks of PCB design?

November 07, 2018 by Mark Hughes

What Is Inductance and How Does It Apply to Ground Bounce?

Why you should care about even small amounts of inductance.

November 06, 2018 by Mark Hughes

How to Reduce Ground Bounce: Mitigating Noise with PCB Design Best Practices

Learn what ground bounce is and how you can avoid it with design decisions from PCB layout to programming.

October 29, 2018 by Mark Hughes

The Path of Least Impedance: How to Use Return Paths for Better PCB Design

High-speed signals don't follow the path of least resistance; they follow the path of least impedance.

October 26, 2018 by Mark Hughes