Thanks Alan for the recommendations on a formal analysis... It did seem - given the sub 1ns rise time - that this was required even if the two parts are right close to one another... so I've been trying to improve on my previous approach (i.e. follow ref design and 'sprinkle a few more caps just in case' methodology) to a more scientific approach... Reading on the subject to improve the understanding and reach some approximation to science, I have thus far adopted Lee Ritchey's approach, added some theory from Dr. Howard Johnson and verified the whole thing with an old Micron app note... However, the 'excel spreadsheet' that resulted is surely not optimal and could induce us in some errors... Are there any tools / methodology you have seen in your travels that can assist with capacitor selection for high-speed designs such as ours? Many thanks! Jean-Pierre --- In si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, Alan Hilton-Nickel <Alan.Hiltonnickel@...> wrote: > > Jean-Pierre, > > You have some analysis to do, both electrical and mechanical. > > Keep in mind that as the form factor of the capacitor gets smaller, the > interconnect inductance becomes more dominant. This means that the > lowest-inductance caps should generally be closest to the point of > consumption (the chip). This often means underneath the chip. The arrays > and the odd form-factor caps may simply not be placeable without > eliminating power or ground vias, which at some point defeats the > purpose of using low-inductance caps since it increases the inductance > of the power-plane connection. > > I've often seen the arrays and X2Y/LICCs used most effectively on the > package, not the board. The higher cost of the parts is a key factor as > well. > > Good luck with this. > > Alan ------------------------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe from si-list: si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field or to administer your membership from a web page, go to: //www.freelists.org/webpage/si-list For help: si-list-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'help' in the Subject field List FAQ wiki page is located at: http://si-list.org/wiki/wiki.pl?Si-List_FAQ List technical documents are available at: http://www.si-list.org List archives are viewable at: //www.freelists.org/archives/si-list or at our remote archives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/si-list/messages Old (prior to June 6, 2001) list archives are viewable at: http://www.qsl.net/wb6tpu