Mixing Console PCB: Grounding, Assembly and Testing What Makes an Audio Board Different A mixing console is judged by what the operator hears, and at low levels what they hear is the residual noise and distortion of the electronics. Audio signals arrive at microphone level, in the millivolt range, and…

Spectrum Analyzer PCB: Design for a Low Noise Floor The Board Sets the Noise Floor A spectrum analyser measures the amplitude distribution of a signal across frequency, and what it can see is limited by its own noise floor. That floor is set by the receiver chain, and the receiver…

Back Drilling PCB: Removing Via Stubs for High Speed The Problem a Via Stub Creates A through hole via runs the full thickness of the board. When the signal only needs to travel between two inner layers, the portion of the barrel below the connection point serves no electrical purpose.…

Graphic PCB: Printing Interfaces Directly on the Board What a Graphic PCB Is A graphic PCB does two jobs on one substrate. It carries the circuit, and it carries the interface: the icons, function labels, scale markings, logos and area divisions that a person reads and touches. The graphics are…

Signal Generator PCB: Design for Phase Noise and Stability The Board Sets the Noise Floor A signal generator is an instrument, and its specification is a set of numbers: frequency accuracy, long term stability, phase noise, harmonic and spurious content, and output flatness. Those numbers are determined partly by the…

ABS Control Module PCB Assembly: Safety Critical Build The Electronics Behind an Active Safety System An anti lock braking system watches wheel speed, calculates slip in real time, and modulates hydraulic pressure at each wheel to prevent lock up. The control module is the unit that does the calculating, and…

Microwave Transmitter PCB: Materials, Stackup and Thermal A Board Operating at the Limit of Its Materials A microwave transmitter runs continuously at high frequency and often at high power. That combination puts the board under simultaneous electrical and thermal stress, and it removes most of the margin that ordinary RF…

Glucose Meter PCB: Low Noise Design for Accurate Readings Why the Board Decides the Reading A blood glucose meter measures an electrochemical reaction. The test strip produces a current or a voltage that varies with the glucose concentration, and that signal is small, slow and easily corrupted. The meter converts…

Implantable Medical Device PCB: Design and Manufacturing The Most Demanding Category of Board An implantable device is placed inside a human body and expected to operate continuously for five to fifteen years. Pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, neurostimulators, cochlear implants and internal sensors all share that requirement, and the board inside them…

PCB Sample Boards: Types, Materials and Ordering Guide What a PCB Sample Is For A sample board is a small quantity of boards built to engineering requirements before any production commitment is made. Quantities are typically between one and twenty pieces, and the important detail is that they are fabricated…