As the applications for electronic circuit boards continue to increase, so do the demands for greater functionality and capability. Any engineer knows, greater capability often means more components to be placed and more traces to route. This added complexity comes at the cost of increased board real estate. Meeting these mandates means board size expansion. Unfortunately, 2D size is often fixed or limited by mechanical constraints, which necessitates that you look to a multilayer design. Prior to adding layers, it is important to develop a sound PCB stack-up strategy that considers the added costs to your design and development budget.
This eBook answers the following questions:
- When is it necessary to consider a z-axis routing and power plane strategy?
- How does the PCB stack-up impact electrical and mechanical performance?
- What are good cost factors to help guide your PCB stack-up layer decisions?
- What are some physical considerations and tips that can help keep costs down, while also meeting operational requirements?
- Why is it critical to weigh and properly balance performance vs cost factors?
