How long is that trace?

What’s important when matching PCB traces?

Printed circuit board traces are often required to be very closely matched in delay. This is accomplished by making the trace routes the same length and the via spans cover the same number of layers. But there are other impairments lurking in the vias that can change the actual time it takes a signal to propagate from transmitter to receiver. In this paper, we will explore aspects of a via that can change the total delay of a trace.

Bruce Caryl, Senior Product Specialist, Siemens EDA