Hi Tim,
I recently had a chance to try out the new Altium impedance tool. I didn't go
too deep into detail, but the results were similar to what I calculated using
the ADS Controlled Impedance Line Designer. I have a microstrip including
soldermask which CILD calculates at 49.82Ω, and Altium calculates that at
50.15Ω.
One primary distinction is that for stripline layers Altium considers the
dielectric height between the upper plane and the base of the copper (including
the trace height). I typically indicate metal-to-metal dielectric thickness so
it does affect the calculation slightly unless I correct for it. I also seem to
get an error ("Unsupported transmission line configuration") when one reference
plane is two layers away, although the diagram seems to indicate that this is a
valid configuration for the tool.
All-in-all, it seems to be a huge improvement; especially since it now supports
using any layer as a reference rather than only plane layers as previous
versions did. I also find the ability to set design rules for trace
width/spacing based on the impedance tool to be very quick and easy.
Kind regards,
Stephen Newberry
-----Original Message-----
From: si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
Bill Hargin
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2019 0115
To: tgsmith81@xxxxxxxxx; si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [SI-LIST] Re: Altium19 - Impedance Calculator
Hi Tim:
I wasn't fully able to understand your description below, but our software uses
the HyperLynx field solver, and you can download the evaluation software for
your own comparison below.
I would guess that if everything is modeled apples-to-apples, you'll get
similar results from the two field solvers - for the structure you're proposing.
Bill Hargin
Director of Everything
Z-zero ▪ Innovative PCB Stackup Design ▪ www.z-zero.com
billh@xxxxxxxxxx ▪ 425-301-4425 ▪ Skype: bill.hargin
-----Original Message-----
From: si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <si-list-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of
Tim Smith
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2019 4:07 PM
To: si-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [SI-LIST] Altium19 - Impedance Calculator
Hi experts,
Unsure of how many of you use Altium, but they have recently introduced a major
update with their v19 release.
While most of the updates are typical in AD fashion, they are now claiming to
use Simbeor as the back-end for calculating the impedance which is a big move
away from previous revisions which used formula based approximation.
My question is has anyone else had a chance to test their new calculator?
I only have access to TA2 and, for inner layers, the results are quite similar.
Outer layers always pose the problem of accurately representing the soldermask.
I've used the following parameters as an example:
Three layer microstrip:
L1 = 35 um
D1 = 0.1 mm FR408
L2 = 35 um
D2 = 0.2 mm FR408 (copper underneath)
L3 = 35 um
Material = FR408
Dk = 3.66
tanD = 0.012
f = 1.0 GHz
Eg 1:
trace undercut = 0
width = 0.0924 mm
spacing = 0.15 mm
Zodd = 89.9 R (TA2), 89.97 (AD19)
Eg 2:
trace undercut = -0.2
width (top) = 0.107 mm
width (bottom) = 0.1214 mm
spacing (top to top) = 0.3 mm
Zodd = 89.65 R (TA2), 89.99 (AD19)
Can, or has, anyone else compare AD19 to something like Hyperlynx or Polar?
Regards,
Dr. Timothy Smith
Principal Electronics Engineer
Cylite Pty Ltd
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