Understanding the importance of signal integrity

For today's high-speed boards and ICs, signal-integrity performance is as important to specify as digital functionality or clock speed. Signal-integrity problems, including delays, ringing, crosstalk, and EMI, can be identified through careful use of simulation. Once potential problems have been identified, layout can be constrained to improve performance, and termination strategies can be applied to minimize the impact of signal integrity on the overall performance of a high-speed design. By addressing signal-integrity problems early, a high-performance product can be produced with higher reliability and lower cost.