12.1 Layout Guidelines

Circuit board layout and stack-up for the Ser/Des devices should be designed to provide low-noise power feed to the device. Good layout practice will also separate high frequency or high-level inputs and outputs to minimize unwanted stray noise pickup, feedback and interference. Power system performance may be greatly improved by using thin dielectrics (2 to 4 mils) for power / ground sandwiches. This arrangement provides plane capacitance for the PCB power system with low-inductance parasitics, which has proven especially effective at high frequencies, and makes the value and placement of external bypass capacitors less critical. External bypass capacitors should include both RF ceramic and tantalum electrolytic types. RF capacitors may use values in the range of 0.01 µF to 0.1 µF. Tantalum capacitors may be in the 2.2-µF to 10-µF range. Voltage rating of the tantalum capacitors should be at least 5X the power supply voltage being used.

Surface mount capacitors are recommended due to their smaller parasitics. When using multiple capacitors per supply pin, locate the smaller value closer to the pin. A large bulk capacitor is recommend at the point of power entry. This is typically in the 50-µF to 100-µF range and will smooth low frequency switching noise. It is recommended to connect power and ground pins directly to the power and ground planes with bypass capacitors connected to the plane with via on both ends of the capacitor. Connecting power or ground pins to an external bypass capacitor will increase the inductance of the path.

A small body size X7R chip capacitor, such as 0603, is recommended for external bypass. Its small body size reduces the parasitic inductance of the capacitor. The user must pay attention to the resonance frequency of these external bypass capacitors, usually in the range of 20 to 30 MHz. To provide effective bypassing, multiple capacitors are often used to achieve low impedance between the supply rails over the frequency of interest. At high frequency, it is also a common practice to use two vias from power and ground pins to the planes, reducing the impedance at high frequency.

Some devices provide separate power for different portions of the circuit. This is done to isolate switching noise effects between different sections of the circuit. Separate planes on the PCB are typically not required. Pin Description tables typically provide guidance on which circuit blocks are connected to which power pin pairs. In some cases, an external filter many be used to provide clean power to sensitive circuits such as PLLs.

Use at least a four layer board with a power and ground plane. Locate LVCMOS signals away from the differential lines to prevent coupling from the LVCMOS lines to the differential lines. Closely-coupled differential lines of 100 Ω are typically recommended for differential interconnect. The closely coupled lines help to ensure that coupled noise will appear as common-mode and thus is rejected by the receivers. The tightly coupled lines will also radiate less.

Information on the WQFN style package is provided in TI Application Note: AN-1187 Leadless Leadframe Package (LLP).