Symbolic solution of the multiconductor transmission-line equationsfor lines containing shielded wires

The multiconductor transmission line equations that characterize crosstalk in a multiconductor transmission line containing a shielded wire are solved in symbolic form, that is, the resulting crosstalk voltages are determined in terms of symbols rather than numerical values. The resulting solutions show the frequency range for which the widely used, low-frequency, inductive-capacitive coupling model is a valid representation. The solution shows that the inductive-capacitive coupling model is an adequate characterization of crosstalk for lines that are electrically short and whose termination impedances do not differ substantially from the characteristic impedances of the lines that are involved. For lines whose termination impedances differ drastically from the line characteristic impedances, the inductive-capacitive coupling model is valid only for frequencies where the line is extremely short, electrically. For higher frequencies of excitation, the model may give predictions that are substantially below the true crosstalk even for frequencies where the line is electrically short     

Simulation and modeling-simulating crosstalk and field to wirecoupling with a SPICE simulator

The simulation of two electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems, namely crosstalk and field-to-wire coupling, using SPICE are described. These modeling techniques for simulation of EMC of multiconductor transmission lines allow calculation in the time domain, as well as the frequency domain. Nonlinearities, protective devices, and even complex circuitry can be included at both ends of the transmission line. Disturbing voltages can also be studied at any node in a susceptor network. The techniques also offer the possibility of including arbitrary sources of radiated disturbances, which could allow the simulation of aperture coupling in an enclosure     

Isolation effects in single- and dual-plane VLSI interconnects

The issue of interline coupling in high-speed VLSI interconnects is addressed. A full-wave-based technique is used to numerically solve for the modes and hence the line voltages and currents for multiconductor microstrip. The accuracy of these results is compared with time-domain experimental data. Isolation lines placed between signal lines and grounded at both ends are considered as a means of significantly reducing crosstalk. It is shown that the performance of such lines depends on several factors such as relative mode velocities, signal rise and fall times, and line length. These points are illuminated by considering the effects of isolation lines in two geometries of interest in high-speed integrated circuits. On the basis of these results one can determine the usefulness of isolation lines for a given geometry     

Time-domain response of multiconductor transmission lines

Evaluation of the time-domain response of multiconductor transmission lines is of great importance in the analysis of the crosstalk in fast digital circuit interconnections, as well as in the analysis of power lines. Several techniques for the computation of the line response, starting from the known circuit-theory parameters, are presented and evaluated. These methods are: time-stepping solution of the telegrapher equations, modal analysis in the time domain, model analysis in the frequency domain, and a convolution technique which uses line Green's functions. The last method can treat the most general case of lossy transmission lines with nonlinear terminal networks. Numerical and experimental results are presented to illustrate these techniques and to give insight into the crosstalk problems in fast digital circuits.     

Calculation of the characteristics of two-wire lines in multiconductor cables

A rigorous method is proposed for calculating the parameters of two-wire lines (twisted pairs) surrounded by a single metal shield and the mutual coupling between these lines. It is shown that coupling between the lines in multiconductor cables results in electromagnetic interference (crosstalk) in communications channels and that inphase currents in the lines are caused by the asymmetry of excitation and loads. The stray voltages induced across the impedances placed at the beginning and the end of an adjacent line are determined at a given power in the main line. The effect produced by the loads placed between the wires and the shield is considered. The proposed method allows generalization of the obtained results to the case of lossy multiconductor cables.     

Finite element method applied to modeling crosstalk problems onprinted circuit boards

In modeling crosstalk on printed circuit boards, the distributed parameter transmission line model is applied to include the effects of electromagnetic coupling between tracks. Starting with a finite element approach, a computer model for predicting crosstalk voltages and currents in a general n+1 multiconductor configuration is outlined. After the currents on each track are calculated by using the finite element method and modal analysis, a simple radiation model is used to calculate the radiated field produced by the printed circuit boards for a frequency range of 30-1000 MHz. The algorithm presented was implemented in a series of Fortran programs, and the results obtained using this procedure compare very well with available theoretical and experimental data     

Transposing conductors in signal buses to reduce nearest-neighborcrosstalk

A conductor layout technique is described that reduces nearest-neighbor crosstalk for multiconductor signal buses with applications in high-speed digital and microwave pulse integrated circuits. Periodic transposition of conductors in a bus increases the average spacing of formerly nearest neighbors and thus decreases their capacitive and inductive coupling compared with ordinary parallel conductors. A conductor transposition pattern is evaluated for crosstalk, propagation delay, and chip area. SPICE simulations demonstrate that conductor transposition reduces, in certain situations, near- and far-end nearest-neighbor crosstalk by roughly 40% compared with parallel conductors. Quantitative guidelines are developed for reducing nearest-neighbor crosstalk in a transposed five-conductor bus, including effects of signal rise time, source resistance, load capacitance, and bus length     

The finite-difference time-domain solution of lossy MTL networkswith nonlinear junctions

We describe a numerical technique to solve lossy multiconductor transmission line (MTL) networks, also known as tube/junction networks, which contain nonlinear lumped circuits in the junctions. The method is based on using a finite-difference technique to solve the time-domain MTL equations on the tubes, as well as the modified nodal analysis (MNA) formulation of the nonlinear lumped circuits in the junctions. The important consideration is the interface between the MTL and MNA regimes. This interface is accomplished via the first and last finite-difference current/voltage pair on each MTL of the network and, except for this, the two regimes are solved independently of each other. The advantage of the FDTD method is that the MTL equations may contain distributed source terms representing the coupling with an external field. We apply the method to previously published examples of multiconductor networks solved by other numerical methods, and the results agree exceptionally well. The case of an externally coupled field is also considered     

Analysis of a shielded transmission line containing circular cylindrical conductors and coplanar lines on a grounded shield

For the first time, a method is proposed for numerical calculation of a monolithic multiconductor shielded transmission line integrated with planar coupling circuits. Formulas for the matrix of the per-unit-length capacitance of coupled conductors are derived. The electric parameters of fundamental modes are calculated in the quasi-static approximation. The computation results can be used for designing monoblock microwave filters.     

Prediction of Crosstalk in Ribbon Cables: Comparison of Model Predictions and Experimental Results

The prediction of crosstalk in ribbon cables is investigated. Experimental results are obtained for a 20-wire ribbon cable and compared to the predictions of the multiconductor transmission line (MTL) model. Based on the experimental configuration tested, it would appear that accurate predictions of crosstalk can be achieved in these controlled-characteristic cables. The prediction accuracies are typically within ±1 dB for frequencies such that the line is electrically short and ±6 dB for frequencies such that the line is electrically long. It was found that the parasitic wires in the cable can have a significant effect (as much as 40 dB) on the coupling between a generator circuit and a receptor circuit in the cable. Therefore, to achieve accurate predictions in ribbon cables, one must consider the interactions between all wires in the cable. The wire insulation evidently cannot be ignored for frequencies such that the line is electrically long. The impedance of the reference wire cannot be ignored for low frequencies where the common-impedance coupling dominates the electromagnetic-field coupling.     

Echo-Free and Crosstalk-Free Transmission in Particular Interconnections

We explore several designs for implementing the special ZXtalk method for completely degenerate interconnections, capable of providing reduced echo and internal crosstalk in multiconductor interconnections. Transmission circuits comprising a MIMO series-series feedback amplifier are adequate to obtain a wide bandwidth. The external crosstalk may also be reduced, using an additional conductor to obtain a pseudo-differential scheme.     

一种含同轴电缆的线束内部串扰高效分析方法

为了高效分析含同轴电缆的线束内部串扰,提出了一种新的简化电缆束模型的方法. 该方法把简化电缆束的过程分为两步:首先,为了解决同轴电缆编织屏蔽层难以仿真的问题,利用内外传输线转移矩阵简化同轴电缆,将含同轴电缆的电缆束转化为全由单芯线组成的三维电缆束模型;然后,使用等效线束法将全单芯线的电缆束进一步简化,减少需要分析的单芯线数量. 简化后的模型可用于任何三维电磁仿真软件中的电缆束内部串扰仿真分析,而无需考虑基于经典传输线理论的等效电路法的局限性. 将提出的方法与等效电路法分别应用于电缆束内部串扰的分析,两者的仿真结果一致性良好,说明文中提出的方法是准确可行的,能够实现含同轴电缆的线束内部串扰的高效分析.     

Single Event crosstalk shielding for CMOS logic

With advances in technology scaling, CMOS circuits are increasingly more sensitive to transient pulses caused by Single Event particles. Hardening techniques for CMOS combinational logic have been developed to address the problems associated with Single Event transients, but in these designs, Single Event crosstalk effects have been ignored. In order to complement the Single Event upset (SEU) hardening process, coupling effects among interconnects need to be considered in the Single Event hardening and analysis of CMOS logic gates due to technology scaling effects that increase both SE vulnerability and crosstalk effects. As technologies advance, the coupling effects increasingly cause SE transients to contaminate electronically unrelated circuit paths which can in turn increase the “Single Event susceptibility” of CMOS circuits. Serious effects may occur if the affected line is a clock line or an input line of voters in triple-modular redundancy (TMR) circuit. Hence, this work first analyzes Single Event crosstalk on recent technologies and then proposes hardening techniques to reduce Single Event crosstalk. Hardening results are demonstrated using HSpice Simulations with interconnect and device parameters derived in 90 nm technology.     

Equivalent Transformations for Mixed-Lumped and Multiconductor Coupled Circuits

Distributed circuits consisting of a cascade connection of m -port stab circuits and multiconductor coupled transmission lines are equivalent to ones consisting of cascade connections of multiconductor coupled transmission lines whose characteristic impedances are different from original ones, m-port stub circuits, and an m-port ideal transformer bank. Because of the reciprocity of the circuit, values of transformer ratio must be identified. In the special case of a one conductor transmission line, these equivalent transformations are equivalent to Kuroda's identities. These extended equivalent transformations may be applied to mixed-lumped and multiconductor coupled circuits. By using these equivalent transformations, equivalent circuits and exact network functions of multiconductor nonuniform coupled transmission lines can be obtained.     

Coupled-mode formulation of multilayered and multiconductortransmission lines

A novel coupled-mode formulation for multilayered and multiconductor transmission lines is developed. In this formulation, the solutions to the original multiconductor system are approximated by a linear combination of eigenmode solutions associated with the isolated single conductor line located in an appropriate reference dielectric medium. The reciprocity theorem is used to derive the coupled-mode equations. The coupling coefficients are expressed in terms of the simple overlap integrals between the eigenmode fields and currents of the individual conductor lines. As a basic application, the dispersion characteristics of two identical coupled-microstrip lines are analyzed using the proposed coupled-mode theory. It is shown that the results are in very close agreement with those obtained by the direct Galerkin's moment method over a broad range of weak to strong coupling     

Sensitivity analysis of multiconductor transmission lines andoptimization for high-speed interconnect circuit design

Sensitivity analysis of multiconductor transmission lines is derived from a new, all-purpose multi-conductor transmission line model in both frequency domain and time domain. Computer implementation of this new model as well as the sensitivity analysis has been completed. It enables efficient, accurate simulations of interconnect circuit responses as well as sensitivity analysis with respect to both electrical and physical transmission line parameters. By applying sensitivity analysis to high-speed interconnect circuit design, design variables are optimized to achieve simultaneous minimization of crosstalk, delays and reflections at desired nodes in the circuit without violating any indispensable design rules. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed sensitivity analysis and illustrate its application to the optimization of high-speed interconnect circuit design     

Experimental Characterization of Multiconductor Transmission Lines in the Frequency Domain

Although a number of papers have been published on the experimental characterization of multiconductor transmission lines, they are limited to the time domain for lossless multiconductor lines in homogeneous media. This paper presents a method for the characterization of multiconductor transmission lines in inhomogeneous media. The experimental technique for the measurement of multiconductor line parameters is presented and the appropriate multiconductor line equations are solved to obtain these parameters. The experimental method involves only the short-and open-circuit impedance measurements for different configurations. The experimental results for a four-conductor line are found to be in good agreement with computed results and a low-frequency lumped model.     

A new method for the reduction of crosstalk and echo in multiconductor interconnections

Crosstalk and echo can be reduced in multiconductor interconnections, using (truly) matched terminations and a different modal variable for each transmission channel. We first study a conventional technique for reducing reflections, using grounded linear two-terminal circuit elements. Using the concepts of modal voltages and modal currents, we define a new method for the reduction of crosstalk and echo, which involves specific terminations, specific transmitting circuits to send signals, and specific receiving circuits to receive signals. We establish the design equations and show that the new method is related to a particular choice of eigenvectors, called associated eigenvectors. Simulations of two examples of implementation of this method confirm that it provides reduced crosstalk and echo. We also discuss the implementation of the new method with an interconnection having identical propagation constants for all modes. Finally, we compare the new method with a different concept based on modal variables and unspecified terminations.     

Crosstalk and transient analyses of high-speed interconnects andpackages

A multiconductor interconnect is modeled using resistors and linear-dependent current and voltage sources. The analysis of a high-speed circuit including lossy interconnection buses is then reduced to simulation of the circuit together with the equivalent circuits of the interconnects. The authors present a new method for the crosstalk and transient analysis of lossy interconnects with arbitrary termination circuits. In order to analyze an interconnect containing N signal conductors, they derive closed-form formulas to determine its transfer functions, and they apply the inverse Fourier transform to obtain its time-domain pulse response functions. Two types of equivalent circuit models can be formulated once the pulse response functions of the interconnect are found. The circuit schematics of the models depend on the number of the signal conductors, irrespective of the physical parameters of the interconnect. These models are compatible with standard circuit simulation tools since they consist of linear resistive networks and linear-dependent sources only. Two example circuits are studied to examine the accuracy and efficiency of the method     

基于串扰与干扰源相位同步的减小串扰研究

基于串扰信号相位改变与干扰源信号相位改变具有同步的特性,提出了一种在干扰线中点利用信号反相来减小串扰的方法。n条总线系统中,在编号为奇数(或者偶数)的传输线中点插入反相器,使每条传输线在前二分之一耦合长度和后二分之一耦合长度上获得的远端串扰信号幅度相等、相位相反,前后两部分耦合长度所产生的串扰信号经过自动叠加后,传输线上的远端串扰就会被抵消。仿真结果表明:所提出的方法能够明显抵消串扰。