Douglas Brooks Articles

	UltraCAD Design, Inc


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Doug Brooks, president of UltraCAD, has written numerous articles and papers. A great many of them have appeared in Printed Circuit Design Magazine. His columns have appeared under the banner "Brookspeak" and later in a column called "Rise Time."

Doug has also written a series of articles in cooperation with Mentor Graphics. The articles are published first on Mentor's web pages, and are reprinted here after that. Watch for them throughout the year (or get them first on Mentor's site!)

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Why Do Authors and Seminar Leaders Disagree?
One of the more confusing things students and inexperienced designers run into is disagreements among authors or seminar leaders regarding why certain design guidelines should or should not be followed. I often got those types of questions in seminars (I am mostly retired now), and I just recently got another one> Here is my response.

Statistics:
See about Brooks' new booklet "The Sampling Distribution and the Central Limit Theorem" here.

Trace Impedance:
	PCB Impedance Control: Formulas and Resources
	Differential Impedance: What's the Difference
	Slots in Planes: Don't Use 'Em!
	Impedance Terminations, What's the Value?
	What's All This Critical Length Stuff, Anyhow??
	Embedded Microstrip
	Differential Signals, The Differential Difference
	Differential Signals: Rules to Live By
	Basic Transmission Lines; Why Use 'Em At All? *
	Propagation Times and Critical Length: How They Interrelate *
	Transmission Line Terminations: It's the End That Counts *
	Termination Placement: How Much Does It Matter? *
	Controlling Impedances When Nets Branch Out: *

Differential Signals:
	Differential Impedance: What's the Difference
	Differential Signals, The Differential Difference
	Differential Signals: Rules to Live By
	Crosstalk, EMI, and Differential Z
	Differential Design Rules: Truth vs Fiction *

Crosstalk:
	Crosstalk, Parts 1 and 2
	Slots in Planes: Don't Use 'Em!
	Crosstalk, EMI, and Differential Z
	Crosstalk Part 1; Understanding Forward vs Backward *
	Crosstalk Part 2; Simulating Crosstalk Effects * Crosstalk Coupling: Single-ended vs. Differential. *

Bypass Caps/Power Conditioning:
	ESR and Bypass Capacitor Self Resonant Behavior: How to Select Bypass Caps.
	Ground Plane 101
	Ground Bounce, Parts 1 and 2

	Bypass Capacitors, an Interview With Todd Hubing
	Splitting Planes for Speed and Power
	ESR and Bypass Capacitor Self Resonant Behavior: How to Select Bypass Caps *

EMI (Electromagnetic Interference):
	Loop Areas, Close 'Em Tight!
	Slots in Planes: Don't Use 'Em!
	Where's the Loop?
	Crosstalk, EMI, and Differential Z
	Electromagnetic Fields; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly *

Trace Current/Temperature/Power/Resistance:
	How Many Volts IS This: The RMS Role
	Temperature Rise in PCB Traces
	Fusing Current: When Traces Melt Without a Trace!
	Gauging Traces
	IPC Trace/Temperature Curves
	Current Carrying Capacity of Vias; Some Conceptual Observations
	Skin Effect

Other and Misc:
	The Effects of Vias on PCB Traces
	90 Degree Corners: The Final Turn
	This Month's Quiz
	Propagation Time
	Splitting Planes for Speed and Power
	When Signal Integrity Matters
	Lessons Learned Along the Way: RFI Control

	Adjusting Signal Timing (Part 1) *
	Adjusting Signal Timing, Part 2 *
	Electromagnetic Fields; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly *
	Microstrip Propagation Times; Slower Than We Think * What is This Thing Called "Current:" Electrons, Displacement, Light, or What? * Controlling Radiated EMI Through PCB Stackup --- Rick Hartley.

Mentor Graphics Article Series: *
	ESR and Bypass Capacitor Self Resonant Behavior: How to Select Bypass Caps
	Basic Transmission Lines; Why Use 'Em At All?
	Propagation Times and Critical Length: How They Interrelate
	Differential Design Rules: Truth vs Fiction
	Transmission Line Terminations: It's the End That Counts
	Microstrip Propagation Times; Slower Than We Think
	Termination Placement: How Much Does It Matter?
	Electromagnetic Fields; the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
	Crosstalk Part 1; Understanding Forward vs Backward
	Crosstalk Part 2; Simulating Crosstalk Effects
	Adjusting Signal Timing, Part 1
	Adjusting Signal Timing, Part 2
	Controlling Impedances When Nets Branch Out: Crosstalk Coupling: Single-ended vs. Differential. What is This Thing Called "Current:" Electrons, Displacement, Light, or What?

Back Pages (Light Hearted):
	Flying Electrons!
	Digital Food and Low Fat Electrons!
	Government Subsidies to Designers!
	Going In and Going Out Electrons!
	Smart Electrons!
	Recounting Electrons!

* These articles are part of the Mentor Graphics article series

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