How Does RF Reflection Affect Signal Integrity? This is the phenomenon known as RF reflection. Any discontinuity in the impedance will result in the RF wave bouncing back to the driver. In order for a driver to fully transfer the RF signal to the load, the characteristic impedance must be equal and matched along the transmission line. Characteristic impedance is not defined by the resistance or the trace length but rather determined by the dielectric, trace width, and the separation between the trace and the plane. One of the basic principles of transmission lines is to ensure that the characteristic impedance of the driver, traces, and load are matched. RF reflection must be considered when discussing transmission lines. The reflection occurs because the wave encounters a discontinuity of the medium that it’s traveling, and that’s the same for reflected RF waves. It’s also analogous to waves of water crashing and bouncing back. RF reflection functions similarly to how sound is bounced back and creates an echo. At such high frequencies, engineers need to start worrying about signals reflecting back onto the trace. These concerns change when working with signals that are in the regions of hundreds of MHz or GHz. When designing low-speed signals, engineers are mostly concerned with how signals are moving from the source to the destination. In this article, we will discuss what RF reflection is, how it impacts signal integrity, and ways to suppress it. While reflections are fascinating to my son, they can be a source of frustration to engineers who have to deal with RF reflection in electronics. I tried to demonstrate this phenomenon to him by manually generating waves in a pail of water and showing him that they were eventually reflected.ĭuring this visual demonstration, I was reminded that reflection isn’t confined to sound and water. It’s hard to explain to him how soundwaves bounce back at the end of the corridor and result in an echo. My young son is so fascinated by his voice echoing in a long empty corridor. RF reflection occurs when there’s a discontinuity in characteristic impedance, functioning similarly to how a soundwave is reflectedĬhildren are a curious lot. Learn how RF reflection affects signal integrity.
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