Design of interconnects on PCBs for 6-10 Gb/s data rates requires electromagnetic models from DC up to 20 GHz. Manufacturers of low-cost FR-4 PCBs typically provide values for dielectric constant and loss tangent either at one frequency or without specifying frequency value at all, that is not acceptable for the broad-band models. A simple and practical methodology to extract frequency-dependent dielectric parameters on the base of correlation of measurements and simulations is proposed. A board with 30 test structures has been built to validate the extraction methodology and to verify possibilities to predict interconnect parameters with the electromagnetic analysis.

Technical Presentations