A Simulator to Replace Wire Rules for High Speed Computer Design

Signal quality is of great concern on PC boards containing high speed logic. Improper positioning of loads in a network can cause reflection problems. Traditionally engineers have dealt with this by imposing wire rules on the layout process. The use of simulators during layout can be more accurate and less restrictive than wire rules. To make this possible, the simulator must not only simulate reflection noise but determine how to add the minimum amount of etch to solve the reflection problem. A unique algorithm that does this is described here.