Investigation: Development of a Stiff-Bendable Video Circuit Board
Sierra Circuits Unveils Innovative Rigid-Flex High-Speed Digital Video Boards
Sierra Circuits, a leading PCB manufacturer, has taken a significant step forward with the introduction of their rigid-flex high-speed digital video boards. The new product line is designed to cater to the growing demand for low-latency, high-frequency signals in various industries, from broadcast equipment and video processing to advanced imaging systems.
The boards are engineered with a meticulous approach to impedance control, utilizing sophisticated simulation and calculators such as Sierra Circuits’ impedance calculator based on Maxwell’s equations for microstrip and stripline geometries. This ensures that the trace width and spacing, typically 2 mil or finer on rigid layers, meet the stringent IPC Class 2 or 3 standards.
The layer stack-up of these boards is optimized for minimal signal loss and mechanical flexibility, combining rigid and flexible substrates. The exact materials and thicknesses are defined per design requirements, ensuring the boards can withstand the rigors of flexing and heat while maintaining high data rates and reliable signal integrity.
Via design is another critical aspect of these boards, with tear-dropped pads and adequately sized annular rings to withstand mechanical and thermal stress. This robust design is essential for maintaining trace integrity under bending while meeting IPC class requirements.
Sierra Circuits also acknowledges the importance of thermal management and signal power integrity. Tools like Sigrity X for SI (Signal Integrity) and PI (Power Integrity) analysis are integrated within the PCB design environment to help manage these factors.
However, designing such boards is not without its challenges. Fabrication limits for minimum trace width, spacing, and via sizes must be carefully balanced to ensure manufacturing capability without compromising high-speed signal performance.
Sierra Circuits provides a comprehensive design guide to help navigate these challenges, offering insights into bend radius calculation, controlled impedance for flex, and other essential design techniques for rigid-flex boards. The company's design team, with extensive experience in PCB design for rigid-flex boards, also interacts with the DFM team to evaluate routing requirements for a particular design.
Beyond video data transmission applications, these high-performance boards find use in embedded systems with space or weight constraints, as well as in aerospace, defense, and medical devices where robust, compact, and high-performance interconnections for digital video signals are critical.
In the realm of road traffic monitoring systems, medical flex PCBs are integral components. They are used in various diagnostic equipment, including X-ray, ultrasonography, MRI, endoscopy, CT scan, and more.
Automatic vehicle guidance and road traffic monitoring cameras are other areas where Sierra Circuits' rigid-flex high-speed digital video boards can make a significant impact. By localizing vehicles and examining dynamic changes in the surroundings, these systems can contribute to safer and more efficient road networks.
In summary, Sierra Circuits' rigid-flex high-speed digital video boards are engineered with rigorous impedance control, mechanically resilient flex-rigid construction, and advanced electrical analysis tools to meet the demands of various high-speed video data transmission applications.
In the context of Sierra Circuits' rigorous development of their rigid-flex high-speed digital video boards, these boards are designed with a focus on controlled impedance, which is achieved using sophisticated simulation and calculators such as the company's impedance calculator. Moreover, data-and-cloud-computing is increasingly utilizing technology advancements like these high-performance boards in various industries, beyond traditional video data transmission applications, such as embedded systems, aerospace, defense, and medical devices.
