Cross Hatched Ground Plane Geometry Optimization for High Frequency Signal Integrity
Cross-hatched ground plane geometry requires balancing mesh pitch, line width, and trace bias angle to prevent impedance elevation and slow-wave phase delay.
Full Wave Em Solver
Computational Engine
Numerical algorithms solve Maxwell equations in three dimensions to determine the electromagnetic behavior of complex physical structures. A full wave em solver accounts for all coupling effects and radiation losses without the simplifications found in 2D field solvers. These tools process the entire geometry of a via or transition to provide an accurate model.
Field Computation
Analysis begins by dividing the physical volume into thousands of smaller elements. Every element contributes to a massive matrix representing the electric and magnetic fields. This method captures the interaction between signals and nearby power planes.
High speed design depends on these results to predict resonance in complex multilayer stacks. Sophisticated solvers utilize either finite element methods or finite difference time domain techniques.
Solver Efficiency
Computational time increases rapidly with the complexity of the 3D model. Simple traces rarely justify the expense of a 3D solution. Decisions regarding geometry simplification are necessary to maintain a reasonable schedule.
Reducing the number of elements can speed up the calculation but might introduce errors in the high frequency response. Software licensing and high performance computing clusters represent a major investment for a design firm. Precision in high frequency modeling depends on the correct application of a full wave em solver.