News & Updates
Blog
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How to Select Copper Foil for High-Frequency PCB Design
The PCB materials industry has spent significant amounts of time developing materials that provide lowest possible signal loss for products with RF applications. For high speed and high frequency designs, losses will limit signal propagation distance and distort signals, and it will create an impedance deviation that can be seen in TDR measurements. In this article, we'll look at the balance between copper foil losses and other types of losses in a PCB, as well as some strategies that are commonly used to overcome roughness.
Blog
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Altium Designer 22.8 Update
We are happy to announce that the Altium Designer 22.8 update is now available. Altium Designer 22.8 continues to focus on improving the user experience, as well as performance and stability of the software, based on feedback from our users. Check out the key new features in the What's New section on the left side of this window!
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What is Hybrid Beamforming?
In this article, we’ll look at beamforming implementation in an advanced method combining analog and digital techniques, known as hybrid beamforming. This method blends both digital and analog techniques to create multiple beams and thus reach multiple users with varying intensities. In the case of an RF imaging system or a radar system, hybrid beamforming in a MIMO technique also allows tracking of multiple targets with adjustable resolution.
On-Demand Webinar
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PCB Design in Altium Designer with Differential Data Transfer
Differential data transmission lines usage can be challenging for even experienced designers. First you need to be familiar with the concepts of differential data transmission, find out why it is used, and what the potential advantage for your signal. This webinar will help you determine what part of your designs need differential pairs implementations and how to create such pairs with a given wave impedance in Altium Designer.
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Why Most Via Impedance Calculators Are Inaccurate
The problem with every via impedance calculator that I have seen is simple: they are incomplete or totally wrong. The “incomplete” part refers to a lack of context; these calculators can roughly reproduce a well-known estimate from a legend like Howard Johnson in his Digital Design textbooks. However, these calculators never provide insight into what they are actually calculating, or where the calculated via impedance is accurate. Keep reading to see why these calculators get it so wrong, as well as the context surrounding via impedance.
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Buck Converter Simulation in Altium Designer
When designing high power circuits (usually very high voltage and/or current), you’ll need to create a regulator from scratch and place it in your PCB layout. It's also the case that you may want to model a real component using discretes in a simulation in order to qualify the system's expected operating regime. As part of buck converter design, you can easily run a buck converter simulation directly in Altium Designer’s schematic editor. Here’s how you can access these features in the newest version of Altium Designer.
Blog
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Overview of the PCIe 6.0 Standard
Just as you get used to PCIe 5.0, they decide to release another standard! The newest iteration of PCIe is Gen6, or PCIe 6.0. PCIe 6.0 brings a doubling of channel bandwidth through introduction of PAM-4 as the signaling method in high-speed differential channels. This signaling method is a first for PCIe, and it’s an important enabler of the doubled data rate we see in the current standard. In this article, I’ll run over the important points in the standard and what PCB designers can expect when designing these channels.
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SPI vs. I2C: How to Choose the Best Protocol for Your Memory Chips
One of the common implementations of SPI and I2C in a PCB layout is as a protocol for reading and writing to an external Flash memory. Flash chips are a very common component in embedded systems and can offer high capacities of non-volatile memory up to Gb values. When choosing a memory chip, you'll want to match the application requirements and functionality with the bus speed you need for read and write operations in your memory chip. There is also the matter of the type of Flash memory you'll need to access (NOR vs. NAND).
On-Demand Webinar
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Tips & Tricks: Board Shape Creation
Being able to design a board in your ECAD environment doesn’t mean that it is manufacturable in real life. You have to make sure your CAD representation won’t have any problems in the real world by taking some precautions. For example, there are certain areas that need to be free of components and have specified clearances like your board edge. This webinar will help you get acquainted with the creation and modification of your board shape so that you can ensure manufacturability.
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Is There an SPI Trace Impedance Requirement?
There is no SPI trace impedance requirement? The reality is that SPI lines only start to need impedance control when the length of the interconnect becomes very long. And because there is no specific impedance requirement in the bus, you have some freedom in channel design and termination. So what exactly qualifies as “very long” and when is some termination method needed? We’ll break it down in this article.
Blog
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The Skin Effect, Current Density, and the Electromagnetic Field
During this year's AltiumLive CONNECT event, I recall receiving an interesting question about the skin effect and the distribution of current due to the presence of ground in coplanar transmission lines. In this article, we'll look at the electric field around a transmission line carrying a signal, and how this might be impacted by the skin effect.
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Material and Process Considerations That Influence Performance
Material and process choices play a key role in high-performance PCB design. This article highlights how stack-up configuration, substrate selection, and lamination strategy impact signal integrity, reliability, and manufacturability.
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How to Make Your PCB Layout AOI and X-Ray Friendly
Designing for inspection is key to reliable manufacturing. This article covers practical PCB layout tips to optimize your board for AOI and X-ray inspection helping you reduce defects, false positives, and production delays.
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Understanding Systems Engineering
Read our brand-new article where we explore the key areas of an engineering project and the different stages of electronic product development from a project execution perspective. From initiation and planning to design, development, validation, testing, and certification, we walk you through each phase to help you understand how successful electronic products are brought to life.
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PCB First-Pass Yield: Small Decisions That Make a Big Difference
This article highlights how seemingly minor layout choices like trace spacing, component footprints, or stack-up details can dramatically impact whether a board passes fabrication and assembly the first time.
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Implementing Design for Supply Chain Principles in Electronic Product Development
Designing with supply chain principles in mind helps you avoid delays, reduce costs, and ensure manufacturability. This article outlines practical strategies for component selection, sourcing, and lifecycle management to make your designs more resilient and production-ready.
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Beyond the BOM: How Proactive Component Selection Is Transforming Workflows
Learn how proactive component selection helps you avoid supply chain risks, reduce costs, and design more reliably. Our new article outlines key strategies and shows how tools like Altium 365 support smarter part decisions.
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Power Integrity Issues?
Power problems can be hard to spot until it’s too late. See how easy it is to analyze your power nets, check voltage drops, and improve reliability with Power Analyzer by Keysight - all without leaving your design environment.
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How to Design High-Speed PCBs Without Signal Surprises
Signal issues can sneak in early and cost you later. Read our whitepaper to see how Signal Analyzer by Keysight (inside Altium Designer) helps you catch problems fast and design with confidence.
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Beyond Basic Part Selection: Using Supply Chain Data to Validate Choices
Learn how to enhance part selection by using real-time supply chain data. This article shows how integrating insights like availability and lifecycle status helps you make smarter, risk-aware design choices.
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Signal Mistakes Are Expensive
See how the Signal Analyzer by Keysight in Altium Designer lets you run signal integrity checks directly within your design environment. Read our article to learn how to effectively manage impedance, return paths, stackups, and more.
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Twice the Insight. One Seamless Simulation Bundle
Ensure power and signal integrity with the Keysight Bundle in Altium Designer. Catch issues early, reduce rework, and optimize your PCBs - all within one integrated environment featuring Signal & Power Analyzer.
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Preparing for Prototype: Final Component Validation
Final component validation is the last critical check before building a prototype, ensuring all parts are accurate, available, and viable. This article shows how Altium’s integrated tools—like SiliconExpert, Z2Data, Octopart, and BOM Portal—help teams avoid costly surprises and prepare with confidence.
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Getting Started with Harness Design in Altium Designer 25
Explore the essential steps and tools for Harness Design in Altium Designer 25, from initial setup to final documentation. The article highlights how the unified design environment streamlines the entire process, improving efficiency and project integration.
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The Future of PCB Design Starts Here
Altium Designer is constantly evolving, with powerful new features and updates on the way. Get an exclusive first look at what’s coming next—visit our Coming Soon page to stay up to date with the latest innovations.
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Simplify Harness-to-System Connections for Better PCB Design Outcomes
Struggling to keep harness and system designs in sync? In our brand-new article we explore how integrating PCB and harness design workflows can eliminate errors, improve collaboration, and accelerate your development process. Discover a smarter approach to connecting your harness to the system.
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The Crucial Balance: Cost, Quality, and Availability In Electronic Component Selection
Balancing cost, quality, and availability is key when selecting electronic components. This article explores how to make informed choices that meet design goals while managing supply chain and sourcing challenges.
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