On May 17 and 18, Sierra hosted a workshop on PCB Layout Design Engineering. Whether you attended the two-day training or not, check your knowledge on this subject!

Results Congratulations, you are a master in PCB layout design engineering! Try our controlled impedance quiz You might still have a few things to learn about PCB design. Get started now and download our High-Speed PCB Design Guide next #1. Which reference plane did Robert advise you to use to reference controlled impedance traces? A solid ground plane. A power plane. It doesn't matter. next #2. What advice did Robert give about DDR2/3 layout? Fully route the tracks all at once. Route all signals of one group by the same topology. Don't worry about the position of the memory chips. next #3. When it comes to DDR3, what can you do during the pin swapping? Leave a big gap between the tracks and then swap and connect. Leave a small gap between the tracks and then swap and connect. Connect the closest and longest signals together. next #4. In the length matching process, when do you have to do the fine tuning? At the beginning of the design. During the preliminary memory layout. At the end of the design. next #5. What are T-points? A technique of via stitching. Virtual points used to length match branches of signals. A tool to remove unused pad shapes. next #6. When you do a differential pair routing, what should your waves look like? next #7. When it is not specified, what is the distance Robert recommends to length match high-speed signals? Within 1 mil. Within 10 mils. Within 100 mils. next #8. What does Robert advise for the most common high-speed design rules? Maintain single ended and differential pair impedance. Keep less space possible between waves. Route close to the board edge. next #9. What should you do if you need more space in your stack-up? Remove the top and bottom signal layers. Add two more power planes. Add two more signal layers. next #10. Which of the following is not a footprint tip Robert gave? Make component outline bigger. Check pin ordering of your footprint. Never create a BOX around the ribbon cable headers. finish