Overshoot-controlled RLC interconnections

How overshoot in the step response of a circuit involving an RLC line can be controlled using a combination of driver and line resistance that depends on the load capacitance is shown. The no-peak condition or its equivalent is used to relate line parameters to the driver and load impedances. This no-peak condition generalizes the impedance matching customarily used for lossless lines, i.e. it provides an alternative to the traditional choice R_D=√ L/C. The results allow improved circuit response without risk of overshoot, for example, by reduction of driver resistance below √L/C for cases where line resistance is unavoidable and/or where load capacitance is not negligible compared to line capacitance. The algebraic formulas derived are more effective than case-by-case numerical simulations for analyzing scaling and technology issues, whether on-chip, or at the packaging, board, or system levels