Latest Layout Technical Articles

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The Challenge of Integrating an Antenna Into Small IoT Devices

Designing antennas for compact IoT devices is a tricky task, but an increasingly important one. Learn more about this challenge and how to meet it.

August 18, 2023 by Nthatisi Hlapisi

PCB Material Properties and Their Impact on Performance of High Frequency Boards

Understanding PCB material parameters such as relative permittivity and loss tangent allows us to discuss some important considerations for choosing the right material when designing a high-speed/high-frequency application.

July 05, 2023 by Dr. Steve Arar

PCB Layout Challenges—Improve Your Switched-mode Power Supply Designs

Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) appear simple to route on your PCB, but are they? This article identifies two noise sources and simple fixes to improve your EMC performance.

June 02, 2022 by Adrian Gibbons

Learn How Integrated Solutions Can Increase the Accuracy of Resistive Current Sensing

In this article, we’ll discuss why a discrete implementation cannot provide a high accuracy in resistive current sensing.

August 15, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Using Single-Ended Amplifiers in Low-Side Current Sensing: Error Sources and Layout Tips

Learn how to use single-ended amplifiers in low-side current sensing, including PCB layout tips and considerations, as well as a layout example based on an op-amp in the SOT23 package.

August 10, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Examining the Negative Resistance of a Quartz Crystal Oscillator

This article discusses how we can examine the oscillator circuit to make sure that it has sufficient “negative resistance” or “oscillation allowance”.

June 18, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Assessing the Effect of Load Capacitance on the Frequency of a Quartz Crystal

Learn how the load capacitance mismatch can “pull” the crystal to oscillate at a different frequency and how we can circumvent this problem.

June 16, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Four Lessons an Adult Engineer Can Learn From Children’s Toys

Children’s toys aren’t just for children. Inside every toy, there are hundreds of hours of engineering experience just waiting to be discovered.

March 24, 2021 by Mark Hughes

PCB Layout Techniques for Reducing Harmonic Distortion of a Differential ADC Driver

Summary

February 19, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

How to Use Decoupling Capacitor Placement to Reduce Harmonic Distortion

Learn how to reduce second harmonic distortion by following some guidelines for placing decoupling capacitors in your PCB layout.

February 12, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Reducing Second Harmonic Distortion with Symmetrical PCB Layout

Need a low-distortion ADC interface? In this article, we'll discuss how to reduce 2nd harmonic distortion by using symmetric PCB layout.

January 18, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Introduction to Thermal Characterization Parameters

In this article, we’ll discuss another group of thermal data, called thermal characterization parameters denoted by the Greek letter Psi (Ψ).

January 14, 2021 by Dr. Steve Arar

Tips for Achieving Low-Frequency Precision and Improved Bandwidth in Photodiode Circuits

This article continues our discussion of design techniques that help us to improve the performance of transimpedance amplifiers.

January 13, 2021 by Robert Keim

Junction-to-Case Thermal Resistance in Thermal Design

Learn about an important thermal metric for designing the interface between an IC package and a heat sink.

December 30, 2020 by Dr. Steve Arar

Theta JA (θJA) Test Conditions for Assessing IC Package Thermal Design

Junction-to-ambient thermal resistance (or θJA) should be measured under standardized testing conditions. Learn about these details to use this thermal metric appropriately.

December 29, 2020 by Dr. Steve Arar

How Junction-to-Ambient Thermal Resistance of an IC Package Affects Thermal Performance

Assessing the thermal performance of an IC package becomes easier if you understand this common, but often misapplied, parameter known as theta JA.

December 27, 2020 by Dr. Steve Arar

What Is RF Integrated Circuit Design?

Learn the high-level steps behind RFIC design.

December 06, 2020 by Jean-Jacques DeLisle

What Is Analog IC Design?

Learn the basic steps of the analog IC design process and how it compares to digital IC design.

December 04, 2020 by Jean-Jacques DeLisle

Construction of a Guitar Amplifier

This article explains the theory and the construction of the circuit of a 10W practice guitar amplifier.

November 29, 2020 by Teja Sai Marellapudi

Using EMI Shielding to Reduce Radiated Emissions in Electronic Designs

Learn the basic concepts of EMI shieldings, including types of shielding options and the calculation for determining shielding effectiveness.

May 26, 2020 by Ignacio de Mendizábal