PCB Signal Integrity LiveLessons is a complete, detailed course on signal integrity for printed circuit board designers. There is no other media (including in person seminars) that provides so much material in such an easy-to-learn, convenient format.

Doug starts the course by introducing the basic electronic background information necessary for understanding the rest of the material. This includes his perspective on the historical evolution of signal integrity issues on PCBs. He then devotes the next six lessons on specific signal integrity topics, ranging from EMI and crosstalk to bypass capacitors, to the skin effect, their impact, and solutions to the problems they impose. Before concluding with some final thoughts, Doug adds a lesson on the relationship between trace currents and temperatures, and how to address very large current surges that might melt (fuse) a trace.

Skill Level

• All Levels

What You Will Learn

• The role of rise time in signal integrity issues.
• The root cause of the various signal integrity issues.
• The “problem” and impact of the various issues.
• PCB design solutions to those signal integrity issues.
• Problems to avoid in implementing the solutions.

Who Should Take This Course

• Literally, anyone who designs printed circuit boards. The problems and solutions discussed in these lessons can apply to ALL circuit boards.
• Although this material would not be required for people in related industries (e.g. board fabrication and board assembly), it would be beneficial for them to also understand these issues.

Course Requirements

• Although there are no prerequisites to this course, it would be beneficial for the student to have a basic understanding of electronic circuits and of how circuit boards are designed and fabricated.

About the Author:

Douglas Brooks has an MS/EE from Stanford University and a PhD from the University of Washington. He has spent most of his career in the electronics industry in positions of engineering, marketing, general management, and as CEO of several companies. He has owned UltraCAD Design Inc. since 1992. He is the author of numerous articles in several disciplines, and has written articles and given seminars all over the world on Signal Integrity issues since founding UltraCAD. His first book, Printed Circuit Board Design and Signal Integrity Issues was published by Prentice Hall in 2003. That was followed by his second book, PCB Currents; How They Flow, How They React, in 2013, also published by Prentice Hall.