Patent Application
20100007431
This application claims priority to Taiwan Application Serial Number 97125777, filed Jul. 8, 2008, which is herein incorporated by reference.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to signal transmission structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to the transmission structure of high frequency signals.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, the DSP's internal clock rate has reached GHz level and signal transmitting/receiving frequency is also up to more than 100 MHz. In such high-speed digital circuits, noise and electromagnetic interference (EMI) are critical problems. Unfortunately, digital signal processing (DSP) systems processing audio/video signals and communication signals are sensitive to these disturbances. For example, the high-speed switching signals, with a lot of noise and interference, affect the DSP system performance.
There are several sources which might cause the switching noise. The transmission line with reflection phenomena is one of them. To minimize the reflection phenomena caused by the high frequency transmitting, the length of the current return path is short as possible. Generally speaking, low-speed signals return to the signal source along the shortest path with minimum resistance, and high-speed signals return to the signal source along with the shortest path with minimum inductance. Therefore, the object of high-speed circuit is to provide the minimum inductance path. This can be achieved with the power supply plane and the ground plane. Power plane is an inherent high-frequency decoupling capacitor and is able to minimize parasitic inductance. The ground plane also known as the mirror plane has a shielding effect and provides the shortest current return path.
The existing digital circuit usually requires several power signals to provide different voltages. Therefore, the power plane is usually divided into several regions with slots to provide different voltages on different regions. Because current of the system needs to return to the current source, if there is discontinuation in the region of the system, such as the slot, current needs to go around to pass the discontinuous region, which increases the length of the current return path and the equivalent inductance. Thus, high-frequency signals might be filtered out due to the increased inductance, which causes signal distortion.
Hence there is a need for a new signal transmission structure that can reduce the high frequency signal loss caused by the slot on the power plane and keep the signal complete.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a signal transmission structure includes two power planes, a signal line and a first pillar. The power planes spaced by an interval space provide a first voltage and a second voltage respectively. The signal line, disposed on first surfaces of the power planes, is disposed across the interval space. The first pillar is disposed within the interval space and is next to the signal line, in which the first pillar is apart from the power planes and the signal line.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a signal transmission structure includes a power plane, a slot, a signal line, a ground plane, and a first pillar. The slot is disposed on the power plane and divides the power plane into two regions to provide two power signals. The signal line is disposed on a first surface of the power plane and is across the slot. The ground plane faces a second surface of the power plane. The first pillar passes through the slot and is electrically connected to the ground plane, in which the first pillar is aside the power plane and apart from the signal line.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are by examples, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.
In the following embodiment, the pillar is disposed in the interval space between the power planes, and is electrically connected to the ground plane. The current return path can be shortened by the pillar, such that the effective inductance is reduced, and the high frequency signal loss is reduced, which maintains the signal as original.
The interval space, such as slot 107, is disposed between the power plane 105a and 105b. The signal line 103 is disposed on first surfaces of the power planes 105a and 105b, and is across the interval space 107 vertically in order to reduce the effective inductance. The pillar 105a and the pillar 105b, are made of metal such as copper, aluminum, and stannum.
The pillar 105a and the pillar 105b are both disposed in the slot 107 and pass through the slot 107, and aside the signal line 103, in which the first pillar 105a and the second pillar are apart from the power planes 101a, the power plane 101b, and the signal line 103. The second pillar 105b is disposed opposite to the first pillar 105a with the signal line 103 interleaved.
As shown in
Moreover, the signal line 103 can be disposed closer to the pillar 105a/105b than the first ground plane 111 during the layout process, that is, the distance (115a/115b) between the signal line 103 and the pillar 105a/105b is shorter than the distance (117/119) between the signal line 103 and the ground plane 111/113. The pillar 105a/105b can be implemented with vias.
Because the potential of pillar 105a and pillar 105b is equivalent to ground potential, which provides a short current return path for the signal line 103, thus the equivalent inductance and signal attenuation of high-frequency signals are reduced, and the high frequency signal is kept.
According to curve 201a˜205a, 201b˜205b at frequency less than 6 GHz, the signal losses are reduced and the curves are smooth by disposing the pillar, and the high frequency signal is kept close to the original. In addition, the reflection parameter S11 is decreased, which means that the reflection phenomenon is reduced.
In
In
In contrast to curve 303b (without pillar), the reflection of curve 305b (with pillar) is decreased about 30 mV. (The reflection is smaller as the voltage approach 1v). In this simulation, the original value of the input signal voltage (1000 mV) is the ideal target. Taking curve 301b (complete power plane without slot) as the compare base, curve 305b (with pillar) has improved about 77.36%. (1000−954.68=45.32 mV; 1000−941.00=59.00 mV; 1000−907.91=92.09 mV. The improvement is ((92.09−45.32)−(59.00−45.32))/(92.09−45.32)=33.09/46.77=77.36%)).
According to the above embodiments, by disposing the pillar within the slot, the length of the current return path is shorten, such that the inductance and the reflection effect of the high frequency signal are reduced, which reduces the signal loss caused by the slot on the power plane, and the signal can be kept as the original signal before transmitted.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 97125777 | Jul 2008 | TW | national |
