Four-layer Printed Circuit Board Research Articles

A modeling method for thermal steady-state simulation of the four-layer printed circuit board.

Thermal simulation of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) can help identify potential overheating risks in the circuit. The proposed modeling method combines analytical temperature solutions and numerical approximations. Only Fourier-series analytical solutions related to the prepreg-layer surfaces need to be calculated, rather than the entire structure. Heat transfer through the lateral sides of a PCB is approximately considered as part of the compensated heat flux of the insulating-layer surface boundaries. Heat diffusion within or between metal layers is numerically approximated using the finite volume method. The core layer is treated as "thermally-thick". Temperature-dependent boundary conditions are considered through iterations. A test solver was developed based on the method. The modeling accuracy was validated by comparison with COMSOL Multiphysics for a four-layer structure with a moderate degree of discretization. Additionally, a PCB for generating DC 3.3V was designed, tested, and modeled, with the modeling results confirmed by the thermal images. The electro-thermal analysis of the distribution of electric potential and Joule heating in traces and vias was integrated into the PCB model. The layout maps of the PCB were further adjusted to reduce Joule heating in the output circuit, and the improvement on reducing the IR drop and hotspot temperature was examined.

A 27 ​GHz, simple 2-bit 1×8 phased array

This study demonstrates a simple 2-bit phased array operating at 27 ​GHz that supports one-dimensional beam scanning with left-handed circular polarization (LHCP). The antenna is constructed using a compact four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) structure, consisting of a 90° phase shifter layer with microstrip structures, a ground (GND) layer, a direct current (DC) control layer, and a circularly polarized annular radiation patch layer with 1-bit phase shifting. Based on the proposed unit structure, a 1×8 array with half-wavelength inter-element spacing was designed and validated. Experimental results show that the array achieves a peak gain of 10.23 dBi and is capable of beam scanning within ±50°.

A Miniaturized Ultrawideband V-Shaped Tip E-Probe for Near-Field Measurements.

A sensitive, miniaturized, ultrawideband probe is proposed for near-field measurements. The proposed probe is based on a new V-shaped tip design and a slope structure resulting in better field distribution and impedance matching with a span bandwidth from 10 kHz up to 52 GHz, which is compatible with ultrawideband applications. The proposed E-probe fabrication process utilizes a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) using Rogers RO4003 (tm) and RO4450 high-performance dielectrics, with εr = 3.55 and 3.3, respectively. The probe length is 40 mm with a minimum width of 4 mm, which is suitable for narrow, complex, and integrated PCBs. The passive E-probe sensitivity is -106.29 dBm and -87.48 dBm at 2 GHz and 40 GHz, respectively. It has a very small spatial resolution of 0.5 mm at 20, 25, 30, and 35 GHz. The probe is small and cheap and can diagnose electromagnetic interference (EMI) in electronic systems such as telemetry, UAVs, and avionics.

A Two-Turn Shielded-Loop Magnetic Near-Field PCB Probe for Frequencies up to 3 GHz.

This paper proposes a novel design of shielded two-turn near-field probe with focus on high sensitivity and high electric field suppression. A comparison of different two-turn loop topologies and their influence on the probe sensitivity in the frequency range up to 3 GHz is presented. Furthermore, a comparison between a single loop probe and a two-turn probe is given and different topologies of the two-turn probe are analyzed and evaluated. The proposed probes were simulated using Ansys HFSS and manufactured on a standard FR4 substrate four-layer printed circuit board (PCB). A measurement setup for determining probe sensitivity and electric field suppression ratio using an in-house made PCB probe stand, vector network analyzer, microstrip line (MSL) and the manufactured probe is presented. It is shown that using a two-turn probe design it is possible to increase the probe sensitivity while minimizing the influence on the probe spatial resolution. The average sensitivity of the proposed two-turn probe compared to the conventional design is increased by 10.1 dB in the frequency range from 10 MHz up to 1 GHz.

Single-band Series Absorptive Common-mode Noise Filter

A Single-band Series Absorptive Common Mode Noise Filter (ACMF) is proposed. The ACMF is embedded in a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) and consists of three parts: a Reflective Common Mode Noise Filter (RCMF), a matching circuit, and an absorber. The RCMF is designed using mushroom-type resonators. The matching circuit is designed using meander lines to reduce the size of the filter dimensions. The absorber of the Common Mode noise (CM) is a series resistor. The designed operating frequency is 2.45 GHz. The simulation results are as follows: the insertion loss of CM (Scc21) is -22.49 dB at the frequency of 2.61 GHz, the return loss of CM (Scc21) is -18.62 dB at the frequency of 2.5 GHz, while the integrity of the Differential Mode signals (DM) can be maintained with a very small insertion loss (Sdd21) of -1 dB at the frequency range of 0-8 GHz, and the achieved Absorption Efficiency (AE) is 93% at the frequency of 2.54 GHz. The proposed ACMF dimension is 10.3 x4.6 mm. The fractional bandwidth is 19%. The measurement results of the fabricated ACMF do not deviate significantly the simulation results. They are as follows: Scc21 is -17.87 dB at the frequency of 2.31 GHz, Scc11 is -20.87 dB at the frequency of 2.38 GHz, Sdd21 is -2.8 dB at the frequency range of 0–8 GHz, the Absorption Efficiency is 97% at the frequency of 2.32 GHz, and the fractional bandwidth is 17%. Therefore, the results of the ACMF design carried out by simulation can be implemented into a fabricated ACMF with measurement results similar to the calculation results in the design.

Laser-induced thermography: An effective detection approach for multiple-type defects of printed circuit boards (PCBs) multilayer complex structure

Due to the multilayer complex structure characteristics of printed circuit boards (PCBs), multiple types of defects (Such as delamination, debonding, and breakdown damage) are likely to occur during processing and use, which affects the performance of the entire electronic component. In the present study, infrared thermography was employed to detect the multiple-type defects of PCBs. Initially, the thermal-wave diffusion model for a four-layer PCBs simulation structure induced by a sinusoidal modulation laser was built. Meanwhile, the finite element methods were utilized to solve the thermal-wave mathematical model and analyze the behavior of thermal-wave diffusion. Furthermore, a four-layer copper-clad laminate structure with flat bottom holes (FBHs) simulated delaminate defect was designed and manufactured. Finally, laser-induced lock-in thermography was adopted to detect the multiple types of actual defects (breakdown damage, delamination defect, fold defect, and micropore) of rigid or rigid-flexible PCBs. The phase characteristic image realizes the effective detection of PCBs delamination defects with a depth of 1.2 mm and microporous defects with a depth of 400 μm. The experimental results demonstrated that laser-induced thermography is suitable to detect the multiple-type defects of PCBs.

GaN-Based Multichip Half-Bridge Power Module Integrated on High-Voltage AlN Ceramic Substrate

Power electronic systems employing wide-bandgap GaN transistors promise high efficiency operation and power density but require minimized parasitic circuit elements and an effective cooling concept. This article presents a half-bridge module integrating two 600 V/170 mΩ gallium nitride (GaN) high-electron mobility transistors with their gate drive stages and a fraction of the dc-link capacitance on a patterned multilayer polycrystalline AlN-substrate. The high-voltage isolation at a layer distance of 10 μm and a dense chip-by-chip integration on the GaN half-bridge module enable a compact lateral commutation loop design combined with improved cooling capability of the power transistors. Consequently, the GaN half-bridge module allows for higher load currents at lower device temperature while most parasitic circuit elements are reduced compared to a conventional printed circuit board (PCB) design. The parasitic circuit elements of the GaN half-bridge module and a reference four-layer PCB half-bridge are evaluated using 3D-FEM field simulation and in-circuit measurements. Selected finite element method (FEM) simulation results are validated by <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">S</i> -parameter measurements and further used to parametrize a lumped commutation loop model. The thermal characterization of the GaN half-bridge module validates the improved cooling capability of the GaN half-bridge power module. Transient switching characteristics are studied in hard-switching mode. The device temperature and converter efficiency are evaluated in dc/dc buck-converter operation.

Hyperchaotic Oscillation and Multistability in a Fourth Order Smooth Chua System with Implementation Using No Analog Multipliers

Abundant dynamical behaviors and succinct realization forms are of great significance for nonlinear circuits and systems. Hyperchaos represents more complex oscillation mode compared with chaos, while multistability means more complex essential features compared with robustness. And the coexistence of the two is rare but interesting. Based on the classic Chua model, a fourth order smooth Chua system is constructed through utilizing linear feedback control method in this article. The introduction of hyperbolic sine nonlinearity remarkably simplifies the physical realization form for the new system. The two interesting nonlinear phenomena of hyperchaotic oscillation and multistability are discovered by adjusting system parameters. Dynamic analyses including bifurcation diagrams and Lyapunov exponent spectra comprehensively reveal the evolution of oscillatory behaviors brought by the variation of system parameters, whereupon more attractors such as periodic attractors, chaotic attractors in different oscillation scales, coexisting quasi-periodic attractors, coexisting multiple attractors and coexisting periodic attractors are found. And the attractor morphologies of this system are rare and significantly different from those in the reported Chua circuits and systems. Hardware circuit experiments without using analog multipliers are performed from a four-layer printed circuit board, which efficiently verify the simulated dynamical behaviors within the acceptable deviation.

Design and characterisation of a dual probe with double‐loop structure for simultaneous near‐field measurement

In this study, a near-field dual probe with a double-loop structure is designed and characterised. The high-performance, low-loss Rogers material and four-layer printed circuit board are applied to design the double detection loop structure, which increases the detection area and effectively improves the frequency response of the probe. The key parameters of the probe, including the frequency response, calibration factor, sensitivity, spatial resolution, isolation and differential electric field suppression are characterised by a microstrip line. Compared with other dual probes, the proposed probe has better frequency response and higher sensitivity. The magnetic field sensitivity is −90.88 dB A/m/ H z $\sqrt{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{z}}$ and the electric field sensitivity is −46.89 dB A/m/ H z $\sqrt{\mathrm{H}\mathrm{z}}$ at 1 GHz.

A High-Power-Density Active-Clamp Converter with Integrated Planar Transformer

This paper proposes an active-clamp forward-flyback (ACFF) converter with an integrated planar transformer for wide-input voltage and high-output current applications, such as low-voltage direct-current (LDC) converters in electric vehicles. An integrated planar transformer that consists of a forward-flyback transformer, single primary winding, and efficient structure of secondary windings is adopted for the proposed converter, and since this transformer is implemented with a common four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) winding, a high power density and low cost of the proposed converter can be achieved. In addition, due to the low leakage inductance induced by the planar transformer, a reduced commutation period can be achieved, and it is possible to increase the switching frequency resulting in low volume of transformer. Although the integrated planar transformer has relatively high conduction loss, the active-clamp topology can significantly reduce the conduction loss on switches compared with widely used full-bridge (FB) converters because it only utilizes two switches and shows the low circulating current. As a result, the proposed converter with an integrated planar transformer has strengths in high power density and cost competitiveness without degraded efficiency, and it is a very attractive topology for LDC converters and other applications that require wide-input voltage and high-output current.

Wireless Low-Power Transfer for Galvanically Isolated High-Voltage Applications

For various applications, such as gate drivers for transistors, wireless chargers for mobile devices and cars, and isolated measurement equipment, an isolated DC power supply for electronic components is required. In this work, a new concept for an isolated power supply with insulation strength of 50 kV and power transmission of up to 60 W to supply measurement equipment with 12 or 24 V is presented. Furthermore, high overall efficiency of 82.5% at 55 W is achieved. Feasibility is demonstrated in a real application powering data acquisition electronics at high reference potential. Our new concept uses a coreless printed circuit board (PCB) transformer (15 cm × 10 cm × 4 cm and a weight of 480 g) designed for maximum efficiency via a coil layout and close proximity of adjacent coils on one PCB while reaching high isolation strength via the PCB material and potted coils. To increase efficiency, we investigated different coil geometries at different frequencies. A low-cost design consisting of two Qi charging coils mounted on one PCB is compared with our integrated PCB transformers manufactured from a four-layer PCB with ferrites applied on the outside. With this new design, high isolation voltages are possible while reaching high transformer efficiency of up to 90%.

Alternative Materials for Printed Circuit Board Production: An Environmental Perspective

This article investigates the potential environmental impacts of four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) production from cradle to grave. The study starts with a lifecycle assessment of conventional PCB production. Then, the alternative materials of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA)/glass fiber composite and paper are investigated for the substrate. A conventional PCB adopts copper as the conductive material and requires an etching process. The environmental impacts of changing the conductive deposition method to an additive method by printing silver nanoparticles is studied. In a conventional PCB, electricity generation contributes 41% of the global warming potential (GWP) and 38% of the abiotic resource depletion (ADP), in the fossil category. By applying an additive manufacturing method, the GWP of PCB manufacturing can be reduced to 14% of that of the conventional method. A sensitivity analysis of silver recycling illustrates that a 40% higher silver recycling rate would decrease the GWP of silver material by about 48–60%. Uncertainty in the energy consumption of PCB production would alter the environmental impacts; however, even with the most conservative energy consumption in a conventional PCB production method, the environmental impacts of the additive method are about five times lower than those of conventional PCB production.

A two‐turn loop active magnetic field probe design for high sensitivity near‐field measurement

This paper develops an active magnetic near field probe (H-field probe) by using a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) technique. Two-turn detection structure and a low noise amplifier are used to improve probe's frequency response. The two-turn detection structure can maximize the use of PCB stack resources, and a 14.5 dB gain amplifier can increase signal output capability. The probe can then be used for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) test from 150 kHz to 3 GHz. Compared with traditional active shielded-loop H-field probe (TAHP) with loop area of 500 μm 2 , the frequency response of the proposed probe can improve 20 dB at 0.5 GHz. Different from the method of comparing the sensitivity of the probe only through the frequency response, this paper measures and analyzes the real sensitivity of the probing device composed of the proposed probe. Under the condition of the same receiver parameter setting, the sensitivity at 0.5 GHz is increased by 11.7 dB compared with commercial passive probing device and 20.2 dB at 0.5 GHz compared with the probing device with TAHP device. It reaches −32.4 dB μA. In addition, the proposed probe has acceptable spatial resolution of 1.28 mm at 1 GHz, which is more suitable for printed circuit board level EMI analysis.

Radio frequency mixing modules for superconducting qubit room temperature control systems.

As the number of qubits in nascent quantum processing units increases, the connectorized RF (radio frequency) analog circuits used in first generation experiments become exceedingly complex. The physical size, cost, and electrical failure rate all become limiting factors in the extensibility of control systems. We have developed a series of compact RF mixing boards to address this challenge by integrating I/Q quadrature mixing, intermediate frequency/LO (local oscillator)/RF power level adjustments, and direct current bias fine tuning on a 40 × 80mm2 four-layer printed circuit board with electromagnetic interference shielding. The RF mixing module is designed to work with RF and LO frequencies between 2.5 and 8.5GHz. The typical image rejection and adjacent channel isolation are measured to be ∼27 dBc and ∼50 dB. By scanning the drive phase in a loopback test, the module short-term amplitude and phase linearity are typically measured to be 5 ×10-4 (Vpp/Vmean) and 1 ×10-3 radian (pk-pk). The operation of the RF mixing board was validated by integrating it into the room temperature control system of a superconducting quantum processor and executing randomized benchmarking characterization of single and two qubit gates. We measured a single-qubit process infidelity of 9.3(3) × 10-4 and a two-qubit process infidelity of 2.7(1) × 10-2.

Temperature stable rare earth magnetic powder Sm-Fe-N based micro magnets with remanence enhanced by easy axis alignment and its application in MEMS actuator

In this paper, we report an actuator with a magnet made of novel rare earth magnetic powder Sm-Fe-N with diameter of 2 µm to 5 µm. Micro magnets were fabricated by mixing the magnetic powder with wax at temperature of 90 °C. Alignment of the easy axis process was employed to enhance the remanence of the micro magnets. A 8 T strong pulse magnetic field was utilized to magnetize the micro magnets. The properties of magnetic powder were revealed with vibrating sample magnetometer by measuring micro magnets with various magnetic powder weight loading percentages. In the best condition, the remanence reaches 0.9 T and the energy product reaches 70 kJ m−3. After that, the electromagnetic actuator was fabricated by embedding the magnetic powder in deep-reactive-ion-etched Si cavity with wax binder and parylene capping. The completed microelectromechanical system structure was mounted on a four-layer printed circuit board with embedded coils. Upon the application of a direct current for actuation, a displacement of 180 μm was obtained from a device volume of only 1.5 mm3 with a low actuation power consumption of 11.5 mW.

Symmetrical double‐loop H‐field probe with floating shield for improving sensitivity and electric field suppression

A magnetic near-field probe (H-field probe) with dual output has been developed using a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) technique. To achieve the improvement of detection sensitivity, the symmetrical double-loop is adopted to double the detection signal while suppressing the electric field coupling, which is also illustrated in a circuit model. The calibration factor (defined as the ratio of the external magnetic field to the induced response voltage of the probe) of the proposed H-field probe reaches 37.74 [dB (A/m)/V] at 0.5 GHz with the loop area of 0.8 mm2, resulting in a better sensitivity than the single-loop probe. For the suppression of unwanted electric field a floating shield is added to the bottom of the probe, leading to an excellent common electric field suppression ratio of 29 dB in the frequency range up to 10 GHz. The probe is also characterised by parameters such as high differential electric field suppression, spatial resolution and probe influence on the device under test.

Analysis and design of defected ground structure for EMC improvement in mixed‐signal transceiver modules

In this research, the return path discontinuity (RPD), located under the power amplifier (PA) substrate, of X-band transceiver module (Base), mounted on a four-layer printed circuit board (PCB), is investigated to improve the signal integrity by reducing the difference in the reference potential. This study is performed by initially employing the wirebond method, through the assessment of both numbers and sizes of bondwires by advanced design system (ADS). Six bondwires of 25 µm are added, producing an improvement of 6.82 dB for the reflection coefficient and 1.19 dB for the isolation and insertion loss. For further improvement, spiral shape defected ground structure (DGS) is implemented in the inner ground layer (layer 2) without using bond wires. The DGS simulation results illustrate an improvement of 3 dB for S11 and 0.6 dB for S12. To improve the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), the authors propose combination and integration of both wirebond and DGS methods, called wirebond–DGS method, which results in an improvement of 11.86 dB for S11, 1.34 dB for S12 and S21, and 12.03 dB for S22. Finally, the wirebond–DGS RF module was fabricated and the measurement results exhibit an improvement of 8.07 dB for S11 and 9.39 dB for S22 in comparison with the fabricated Base module. In addition, 0.53 dB improvement for both S12 and S21 is also achieved.

Entire Magnetic Integration Method of Multi-Transformers and Resonant Inductors for CLTLC Resonant Converter

An entire magnetic integration methodology of high efficiency printed circuit board (PCB) winding transformer for CLTLC (capacitor-inductor-transformer-inductor-capacitor) resonant converter is presented. All magnetic components in the converter, including two resonant inductors and two transformers, are integrated into an improved EIE (E-type and I-type and E-type) core structure. According to the matrix transformer concept and uneven winding distribution, the novel structure can be obtained by introducing an air gap to the center core leg. Thus, the magnetizing inductance and leakage inductance of the transformer can be controlled easily through adjusting the air gap reluctances. In addition, both the detailed mathematical analysis and the reluctance model of the transformer have been studied. Furthermore, a four-layer printed circuit board winding structure is chosen. The related winding arrangement is also discussed in depth. Finally, a 1 kW prototype with the presented structure is implemented to verify the validity of the theoretical analysis. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed structure guarantees high efficiency within the entire load range. Peak efficiency of 96.62% can be ensured.

Design and Implementation of a Wideband Antenna Subarray for Phased-Array Applications

A wideband antenna subarray with a hybrid feeding network is proposed for phased-array applications. The subarray is a multilayer structure, where the top four-layer printed circuit board (PCB) is for antennas, middle two-layer metallic waveguides are for interconnections, and bottom eight-layer PCB is for the transition between the feeding network and active circuits. The middle metallic waveguides can not only improve the isolation between the antenna and active circuits but also serve as the heat dispersion structure of the active circuits and a low-loss power distribution network. Two kinds of novel transitions with bandpass filtering function and a technique for broadening the impedance bandwidth of the antenna element are proposed. Besides, a subarray with the SIW feeding network is proposed focusing on the wideband characteristic. The experimental results of the subarray prototypes show that the impedance bandwidths of 26.7%, 19%, and 51% are achieved. An array with 16 subarrays is fabricated and the beam-scanning characteristic is measured for validating the phased-array applications of the subarray. A phased-array system can be designed with such subarrays followed with transceivers and phase shifters. Combined with a low-accuracy mechanical tracking system, it can be efficiently used for the dynamic intersatellite communications.

Integrated Rogowski Coil Sensor for Press-Pack Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor Chips.

Recently, the press-pack insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) has usually been used in direct current (DC) transmission. The press-pack IGBT (PPI) adopts a parallel layout of boss chips, and the currents of each chip will be uneven in the process of turning on and off, which will affect the reliability of the device. To measure the currents of each chip, based on the analysis of the principle and equivalent model of the Rogowski coil, this paper puts forward the design scheme and design index of multi-layer printed circuit board (PCB) Rogowski coil with good high-frequency performance, strong anti-interference ability and sufficient sensitivity. With the simulation analysis of Altium Designer and ANSYS softwares, a 1 mm thick, 76-turn integrated four-layer PCB Rogowski coil is designed. Then, adding a composite integrator, an integrated Rogowski coil sensor for measurement of PPI chips currents is designed. The Pspice simulation and the experiment results show that the sensor is fully satisfied with the chip current measurement.