Control Impedance

We design and manufacture controlled impedance PCBs of all types. A controlled impedance PCB is a circuit board which is manufactured to achieve specified impedance (ohms) on specific track features relative to a particular ground-plane. This requires consideration of the major variables, being the track-width, the Z axis spacing between specified tracks and an associated ground-plane, and the dielectric constant (Dk) of the insulating material.

The dielectric constant (Dk) is a measure of the extent that electrostatic flux is concentrated in a given insulating material. It is also known as the relative permittivity (Er). It is a dimensionless ratio of the electrostatic flux concentration exhibited by the material compared with that of a vacuum. In other words, it is the ratio of the capacitance of a given capacitor using the particular insulating material compared with a vacuum insulating material.

Controlled Impedance should be considered for PCBs used in fast digital applications such as:

• Telecommunications
• Computing 100MHz and above
• High Quality Analog Video
• Signal Processing
• RF Communication