Introduction

Power integrity (PI) is a measure of the quality (impedance) of PDN (Power Distribution Network).

Product trends continue to demand reduced signal swing amplitude, while requiring even more power. Power Integrity analysis is more important than ever. The impedance of PDN can cause components in your board to fail to work as designed due to power problems. The PI tool is used to analyze and mitigate these impairments.

Power Integrity Analysis menus allow you to validate the design decisions throughout the design process including the selection board layer stack-up, placing decoupling capacitors on the board, and routing power/ground nets.

PollEx PI is a fast, accurate, and easy-to-use power integrity validation program for analyzing complex, multi-layer, multi-reference power delivery networks (PDNs) in PCB designs. It uses ultra-fast full-wave electromagnetic field solver and allows you to detect and correct power integrity problems during design stage so that costly design iterations are eliminated or significantly reduced.

PollEx PI can be used at any stage of PCB design including the pre-design, pre-route, and post-route stages. To run PI, at least the material, layer stack, via pad-stack, part, component, and net data must be available in the PCB design. Upon selection of power and signal nets to analyze, you can do power integrity analysis.
Figure 1.

What is PollEx PI

  • Analysis of power/ground distribution system performance. Evaluation of different layer stackup and decoupling capacitor placement:
    • Package and PCB model extraction, PDN impedance optimization.
    • PCB Core PDN and I/O SSN simulation for noise waveform.
    • PCB IR-Drop Analysis.
  • Ultra-fast full-wave electromagnetic field solver.
  • Advanced pre- and post-layout analysis of power and signal distribution systems.
  • Automated, ensures both speed and accuracy:
    • Effective utilization of automated meshing technique.
    • 3D FEM Full Wave Analysis (Edge effects included).
    • Employs structure simplify technique for larger simulation.
  • Easy to use interface:
    • Direct import Database from all major ECAD tools.
    • Implemented as a new design type in the PollEx Design Enclosure and PollEx PCB.
    • Shares same modeler interface and similar analysis setup.
    • Minimal user training required for existing users of PollEx PCB.
  • Major features:
    • Handles multi-layer and multi-reference power-ground planes of arbitrary-shape.
    • Modular, comprehensive finite element modeling.
    • Models for skin effect loss and board/package edge radiated emissions.
    • 3D model of via discontinuity.
    • Model of split plane discontinuity effects to allow for handling multiple reference planes.
    • Interface with comprehensive RLC, SPICE and S-Parameter models for voltage regulator modules.
    • Outputs multi-port impedance matrix network for PDN with and/or without decoupling capacitors.
    • Accounts for noise couplings between SDN and PDN.
  • VIA modeling feature:
    • Fast, electromagnetic analysis of signal/power/ground via interactions in multiple-layer boards and packages.
    • Supports large number of vias.
    • Supports vias with both regular and irregular anti-pads.
    • Supports single and differential signaling.
    • Outputs single-ended and/or mixed mode S-parameters.
    • Supports three types of the edge boundary conditions: Radiation, PMC, and PEC.
    • Supports up to twenty+ layer boards.
  • Limitation:
    • If a via is located on the edge of a plane or the spacing between vias is very narrow, causing anti-pads to overlap, errors may occur in PI analysis.
    • The decoupling capacitors are only valid when they are placed on the plane.
    • Supports only DC-IR Drop Analysis for composite net.
    • Not support the thermal via.
    • Not support the via back-drilling.