COVER STORY > Partitioning and Layout of a Mixed-Signal PCB By Henry W. Ott Component placement and partition- ing, combined with routing discipline, are the keys to success in laying out a mixed-signal PCB—not the isolation of the ground planes. question that Tofien_ hear is: How do I prevent digital logic ground currents from contaminating my low-level nalog cirewitey om + mixed-signal PCB? This i a good question swithoue a simple answer In our attempt 0 answer chis question, lees keep in mind two basic principles of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). One is that currents should be returned to their source as locally and compactly as poss ‘ble—that i, through the smallest possible loop area. The second fs that a system should hhave only one reference plane If we provide to references fora system, we create a dipole ancenna, If we do not return current Tocally and compactly, we create a loop antenna? Boil are undesleable resus, Some people suggest siting the ground PRINTED cRCUM DESIGN JE 2001 plane on mixed-signal boards in order to isolate the digital ground from the analog ground. Although the spit plane appeoach power plane ate one of the most common problems that I encounter a6 an EMC con sults. can he made to ‘work, it has many potential prob lems-—especially in large complex sys tems. One major problem i ehat yout ‘over the split im the plane. If you do, you will discover that both radiation and crosstalk will ‘merease dramati cally. Traces ronced cross ast or split sn a ground or oly Ged Pane Troe ig Gown ae Figure 1 - Signal tacos crossing over @ split in the ground plone. What isthe n path forthe curranl? IF you do split the ground plane and ru traces across the split as shown in Figure 1, what will be the current return path? Assuming that the two planes are con: nected together somewhere, ust ally ata single polo, the retuen cearrene will have to flow in a lage loop. High-fre. worn pednag.cmDig Grd Plane run traces across the split, you shoul firse connect the planes together at one Jocation, thus forming a bridge, as shown in Figure 3,Then, by routing all the traces so that they cross at this bridge, you will have provided a cur- rent return path directly underneath each of the traces, hereby producing 2 ‘ery small loop area Figure 2- A trace crossing over the split between the folate onalog and digital ground planes, which are connecied together only at the power supply quency euerents Rovsog in large loops pro duce radiation and high ground inductance Lexeleel analog currents flowing tn arge loops ate saiceptble co interference. An exceptionally bad configuration fs where the ground plane is split and the two planes are ceonmected together only athe power supply as shown in Figure 2. In this ate you wil Farce the return cureent wo flow all che way back othe power supply ground-—a relly big loop! In adtion, you have made avery effective dipole antenna, consvting of the analog ground and th digital ground planes (which are at different RF potentials) con- ected together with long wires The Bey 10 determining the optimum mixed-signal board layout ta understand how and where the ground return currents actly ow: Most designers only hink ahoue where the signal current flows (obs ‘ously on the signal ace), and ignore dhe path taken by the return current, (Of course, the fat that many designers think this way Ina to keep EMC engineers employed.) 1 you mot split che ground plane and Other acceprable ways of passing a signal over a split plane are with opto- isolators or with transformers In the firat case, the only thing erossing the split inthe plane is light; in the second ‘ase, a magnet field. Another possibility ‘with a true diferental signal, where the sig nal flows down one trace and returns on the ‘cher trace—in whieh ease ground is not needed for the retwmn current Before continuing, ler’ fist define the basic problem tha we are ying w solve. It ‘snot thatthe analog cireuits might inverere ‘with the digital logic, Rather ICis the poss- bility shat the high-speed digital logic might ‘nterfeve with the low-level analog circuits ‘This is a legitimate concern, so we want to make sume that the digital ground currents ddo not low in the analog section of the ground plane, Hence, we often hear the ree- ‘omumendation to isolate the analog ground plane from the digital ground plane. “To address the above concern we have understand a litle more about the character. istics of high-frequency currents. High fe queney currents want to return on a plane shreedy underneath the signal trace, since this is the Jowest impedance (lowest induc tance) path, The return current, cherefore, will low on the plane adjacent to the trace regardless of whac the plane is—power ‘or ground The current will spread out slightly in the plane, but will otherwise stay under the tac. Table 1 lists the percentage of the return ‘current cantained within a distance of 1x/h from the center of the trace, where x is the horizontal distance from the center of the wace and h isthe height of the trace above the plane. The actual distribution of the ground current under a signal crace is shown in Figure 4, From tis we ean con- ode thatthe digital ground currents have no desire to flow through the analog por sions of the ground plane and corrupt the Conor ground plane current eee cee ey te eter 70% of cen ATS of cen, 54% of cre ST Sok erent analog signa. Figure 5 shows a digital logic signal ace and a representation of its ass0- lated ground retuen euerent path ‘Why ten do we need to split the ground plane to prevent the dighal curren: from doing something that it does noc want 10 do in the firs place? The answer is we don't Therefore, I prefer the approach of using only one ground plane and patting the PB into digital and analog sections. Analog signals must be routed only in the analog section ofthe board (on all hyers). Digital signals must be routed only in the digital section of the board (on all layers). Under these conditions the digital return currents ‘will nt Now in the anaeg section of the ‘ground plane bor will remain under the dig iia signal uace as showwn in Figure 6. The A/D converters elo Gn oe | Grind Hove idee | Figure 3- Anolog and digital ground planes connected together at « single loca ei igh Gand one ‘ond Hons Cave Diba can then be pos- tioned to straddle the parstion You wil notice from comparing Figures § and 6 tha the digital logic ground ear rene follows the same path whether or not tion, thereby forming a bridge for the signal traces to cross over. The bridge provides the ‘eturn current path wvwpdnag.com Figure 4 - Ground current distibution underneath @ digital logic trace, the ground plane is split, What causes problems ss when a digital signal is routed in. PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN JUNE 2001‘COVER STORY » PARTITIONING AND LAYOUT OF MIXED-SIGNAL PCB layout. If the laye done properly, the digital ground currents will remain in the digital sec- tion of the board and will terfere with the analog signals. the analog section of the board, or vice versa. This is shown in Figure 7.The digital ground currents now do flow in the analog section of the board. Note, however, that the problem was noc caused by the fact that we slid noc split the ground plane; rather, the problem was caused by the improper routing ‘of the digital logic ACB with a single ground plane, potion into analog and digital sections, and diggin ot ing the signals can usually solve an otherwise difficult layout problem, ‘without creating any additional problems caused by 2 split ground plane. ‘Component placement and partitioning are, therefore, critical to 4 good layout. Ifthe lay lout is done properly the digital ground eur rents will remain in the digital section of the board and will not interfere with the analog signals The routing, however, must be checked carefully to assure thatthe above ‘mentioned routing restrictions are adhered to one hundred percent It only takes one Improperly routed trace to destroy an other- wise perfectly good layout Anesher problem ocouns when we con: sider where and how to connect the analog and digital ground pins of the A/D con- verter, Most A/D converter manufacturers, while suggesting the use of split ground planes, state something similar to the fal lowing in their data sheets or application notes: “The AGND andl DGND pins must be 1 Prive cincur esiGw Je 200) Dig Grund Pe Figure 5 - A digital logic race and its associated ground currenton a split ground plane, mixed-signal board connected together externally to the same low impedance ‘ground plane with ‘minimum lead length, Any extra external impedance in the DGND con nection will couple more digital noise nto dhe analog cir= cit through the stray capacitance {internal to the IC: Their recommenda- fiom is then to connect both the AGND and the DGND pins of the A/D converter to the analog ground plane. This approach bas the potential of creating & number of additional problems, One of these is where do you connect the ground side of the digital decoupling capaci tor—the analog plane or the digital plane? The above requirement can easly be satisfied if the system contains oly one A/D eon: verter You could splic che ground plane and comuect the analog and dig- Atal sections together at one place, under the A/D converter as shown in Figure 8. Ifyou use this approach, ‘you should make the bridge berween the ‘evo ground planes as wide as the IC, and remember that no taces can be routed, across the split in the plane, ‘What do you do if instead of one A/D converter, your sjs- tem has 10./D converters? IF you. connect the analog and digial ground planes together sander each con: verter, the planes are connected together at multiple points and are no longer ‘solute. Ifyou don’t connect the planes together under each Toy eon red ae Cea es Di Sein of Gund Pane Figure 6 - A digitel logic race and its cssociated ground current-—on a partioned, single grourd plane, mixed-signal board. ‘log Scion Ground Fane Figure 7 - An improperly routed digital logic trace. Logie ground current now flows in the «analog section ofthe ground plane converter, he device manutic= surer says that you must connect bth che analog and digital ground pins to the analog plane. Are you sure that Js what you wat todo? F'm not! ‘A much better way to satisly the above require- ment of connect- Ing AGND and DGND pins together, and not create additonal problems inthe process, i to use only one ground plane to begin with, ‘The ground plane can then be partitioned Inco analog and digital secions as shown in Figure 9, This layout stifles che IC manu- facturer’s requirement of connectng the analog and digital ground pins together ough 2 Tow impedance, as well as meets the EMC concerns of not creating any unin- tentional loop or dipole antennas. if you are sill skeptical about using asin tle ground plane on your mixed-signal PCBs, I suggest you do the following expert- ‘ment. Lay out the board with a sphit ground plane, but provide means for connecting the two planes together at intervals of 1/2-inch with jumpers oF zero Olam resistors. Partition and route the board properly, wth no digital races (on any Iyer) ever the ana log plane and no analog traces (on any layer) over the digital plane. in addition, no traces can be routed across the split in the ground or power planes. Build the board and rest its functionality and EMC perfor mance. Then connect the planes together with 2er0 Ohm resistors or jumpers, the board again for functionality and EMC performance. [think you will find that in almost all eases, both the functional perfor- ‘mance and the EMC performance of che board will bbe beter with the single ground plane. Should split ground planes ver be used? ean think of at least three nd test Instances where they would be appropriate, Some ww pdnegcomlog Ged ne Hoss ‘eal abe! around png ‘Geordie! Dig red Pan Figure 8 - An acceptable layout of a mixed: signal board with a single A/D converter ‘and a split ground plane. ‘medical equipment with very low leakage requirements between the power mains and the portion of the cireuit connected to the patient, some industrial process control ‘equipment where the outputs are connected to very noisy high power electromechanical equipment, and possibly when a PCB is, improperly laid out. In the first ovo cases listed above, signals that cross the split in the ground plane are usually optical or transformer coupled, thereby satisfying the requirement of no traces crossing the split inthe ground plane The last case, however, is of more interest for our present discussion, It ean clearly be ‘demonstrated that if a PCB is poorly laid ‘on its performance can ofien be improved by using a split ground plane. Consider the situation that was shown in Figure 7, where a high-speed digital wace was routed over the analog section of the board (a clear violation of the partition rales) Since dhe digital reuen current flows under the signal trace, it lows in a portion ‘of he analog ground plane. Spitting the ground plane in ths case will improve the performance of the PCB by containing the Tg Sec of God Fe board with muliple A/D converts and a single ground plone, wn peg com “Gand nen Toe Dig Scion of Goud Pine Figure 9 - A propery paritioned mixed signal digital recurn current co che digital ‘ground plane as shown in Figure 10. The real problem, howev the improper routing of the high speed signal wace. 4 better solution ‘would have been to route the digi- tal signal propery inthe first place and not split the ground plane (On a mixed-signal PCB i usu- ally is desirable to separate analog and digial power-Therefore, split power planes can and should be used, However, no trace on any /. layer adjacent to the power plane fan cross over the power plane split All esaces erasing over the power plane eplie must be on a layer adjacent to the solid ground plane, In some circumstances a split power plane can be avoided by run- ning the analog power as a nace rather than asa plane, Mixed-signal design chocklis + Partition your PCB with separate analog and dial sections as omen + sual the parton with the A/D con + Duet sth se grout flan Hine sald plank boll lead sige eetsrot Ge baie + Rowe dial signals only nthe igal section ofthe Board Thi applies i all ly- Box sng gaara in egg secon of he board Tapes ol sepa og gl per peta Da nbc bt wie ie pin pence Tacs that most go oer the power plane split mast be on layers adjacent to the toll round ple *THia about whi and Bethe ing + Use routing displ. Remember the key 1 a successfil PCB layout Is portioning and the use of | sowing espe, oc dhe isolauon of ‘ground planes. 1s almost always bewer to have only a single reference plane (ground) for your system, Footnotes 1. The magnitude of the radiation from a small dipole antenna is proportional to Aly Gendt Di Ground re Figure 10 - A mixed-signal board with o split ground plane and an improperly routed di tal logie race, Note that he split ground pplane confines the logic ground current fo the digital ground plone; however, the real prob- Jem isthe improperly routed digital trace. ‘ground retum currents are actually flow the length of che wire, the amount of cur- rent in the wie, and the Frequency 2.The magnitude of the radiation from a small loop antenna is proportional to the area of the loop, the amount of current in the loop, and the frequency squared. 3.The reason for this is because most A/D converters do not have the analog and digital grounds connected together iter nally Therefore, they have to rely on this ‘external connection between the ground pins to provide this connection. Henry W. Ottis president and principal consultant of Heary Ot Consultants, an EMC consulting ard traning organization located in livingston, NI. Prior to starting bis own business, he was a distinguished imomber ofthe technical staff ot ATAT Bell labs. Oi hos over 30 years experiance in the EMC field, ond he holds on MS.EE degree from New York University Web Resources + Henry Ott Consultants, -wwrwhoticonsultants.com + High Speed Digital Design, swwwwssigcon.com + UliraCad, wwwailtracad.com + Analog Dialogue — Ask the Application Engineer, wwwanalogcom/ ppublications/magazines/Dialogue/ Anaiversary/ 1.html PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN JUNE 2001 TH