The focus of this project is to study the causes of and design considerations for reducing the impact of electrical noise in high-speed printed circuit boards. Circuits are operating faster, busses of signals are becoming wider, and operating voltages are dropping. Likewise, time to market is shrinking due to heavy competition and the need to produce faster systems that also offer more reliability and lower cost than previous products. Unfortunately, as operating speeds increase, electrical noise due to improper routing of signals and faster switching impact the operation and performance of these systems. Topics that will be studied include transmission line theory, driver and receiver technology, termination techniques to reduce noise, and an exploration of the simulation tools and measurement equipment used to design and characterize electrical circuits on printed circuit boards (PCBs). The application of circuit theory, coupled with subject matter in electromagnetics, RF circuit design, and power electronics will be utilized throughout this project. In the end, it is my goal to create a design manual that may be used by students working on future MQP projects, post-graduate research, and graduates entering the world of circuit design.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Baker,Nicole

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• 01D316M

Advisor

• Looft, Fred J.

Year

• 2001

Date created

• 2001-01-01

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Electrical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright