On the external inductive coupling of differential signalling on printed circuit boards

A study of the common-mode radiation behavior of differential signalling is presented, considering small current imbalances, which may originate from differential driver phase skew and circuit asymmetries. Two configurations are investigated, a solid ground plane and a ground plane with an open slit as an example of a ground-plane discontinuity. The external coupling voltage responsible for common-mode radiation is quantified through coupling inductances, for which closed-form expressions are derived and numerically validated. It is found that common-mode electromagnetic interference from differential signalling may become comparable to conventional single trace routing when traces are placed near the edge of the ground plane. For traces routed across a ground-plane discontinuity, differential signalling is only an effective means for reducing radiation when signal imbalance can be kept small.