Polar enhances PCB transmission field solvers

XFE (Xhatch Flex Enhancement) is designed to be an easy-to-use 2D field solver with the capability of modelling crosshatched (meshed) ground return paths on a variety of stripline, microstrip and embedded stripline structures.

Martyn Gaudion, chief executive officer at Polar Instruments, said: 'Flex and Rigid flex designers and fabricators have long asked for additional field-solver capability to enable modelling of PCB transmission lines with meshed or crosshatched ground return planes.

'XFE is an extension to the Polar Si8000m and Si9000e that enables the rapid modelling of lossless transmission lines with this type of ground return structure.

'This will also benefit other PCBs where crosshatching is deployed in order to keep impedance-controlled line widths at reasonably manufacturable geometries - as for example on interposers,' he added.

XFE employs Polar's proprietary multipass 2D boundary element field-solving technology to model the impedance of transmission lines with crosshatched return planes.

Modelling from 10 per cent to 100 per cent returns on impedance tracks is now as simple to implement as traditional impedance-controlled structures, Polar added.

The broader geometrical variations of flex base materials compared with rigid materials mean it is even more important to model the correct design dimensions in order to reduce the amount of prototype turns needed to guarantee yields.

Si8000m and Si9000e with the optional XFE crosshatch modelling capabilities are available now.