Spectrum Analyzer PCB Layout: Shielding, Phase Noise and Spurs A spectrum analyzer is an instrument that measures a signal it is not allowed to disturb. The board therefore carries a receiver with a very wide dynamic range, a synthesizer whose phase noise sets the resolution limit, and enough isolation between…

Ultrasound PCB Design: Beamforming Front Ends and Medical Assembly An ultrasound board is an analog instrument built around a large number of nearly identical channels. A probe array presents 64, 128 or 192 elements, and each element needs its own transmit driver, its own receive path and its own delay,…

PCB Cold Plate Mounting: A Practical Manufacturing Guide Buyers and engineers often focus on the finished product and forget the production line behind it. In practice, most field failures can be traced back to process decisions made during assembly. Understanding PCB cold plate mounting gives you a practical advantage when…

PCB Soldering: Tools and Technique for SMD Work Hand soldering still matters. Prototypes, rework, field repairs, and the occasional component that cannot go through reflow all land on a bench with an iron, and the quality of those joints decides whether the assembly works. PCB soldering of surface-mount parts is…

IC Package Types: From DIP to BGA and CSP Every integrated circuit reaches a circuit board through a package, and the package is often chosen long before anyone thinks about soldering it. That is a mistake, because the package sets what the board has to tolerate: how many pins must…

PCB Warpage at High Temperature: Causes and Prevention A board that leaves the fabricator flat can still arrive at the assembly line bowed. PCB warpage at high temperature is the result of internal stress and unequal expansion being released as the panel passes through reflow, and it shows up as…

Standard PCB Service Cost: Materials, Layers and Volume Most projects do not need the fastest board or the most exotic material, and the ones that do usually know it early. For everything else a standard PCB service, built with mainstream materials and mainstream process capability, gives the best combination of…

PCB Thermal Resistance Measurement: From Prototype to Volume Production Buyers and engineers often focus on the finished product and forget the production line behind it. In practice, most field failures can be traced back to process decisions made during assembly. Understanding PCB thermal resistance measurement gives you a practical advantage…

Crash Survivable Memory and the Board Around It A flight data recorder is built to survive a crash and then to explain it. The board inside a recorder is therefore designed around two requirements that rarely appear together: it must acquire and store data reliably while the aircraft is flying…

PCB Derating of Components: A Practical Review for Manufacturing Teams Buyers and engineers often focus on the finished product and forget the production line behind it. In practice, most field failures can be traced back to process decisions made during assembly. Understanding PCB derating of components gives you a practical…