Electrical Characteristics of Unilayer II A Discrete Wire Alternative to Multilayer PWBs

As the speed, density, power dissipation, and overall performance of semiconductor chips continue to improve, electronic equipment designers are finding that their ability to utilise new, high performance ICs is limited by the electrical performance, cost and turnaround time associated with the higher levels of packaging and interconnection. With the evolution of silicon foundries, CAD systems, logic array and standard cell technology, the designer now has the ability to develop and implement custom IC functions rapidly at a fraction of the cost and time associated with full custom IC development. The driving force for this evolution is the need for reduction of product development time and cost. As electronic product life cycles continue to decrease, so must the development time. Although the need to reduce component development times has been acted on first by the semiconductor manufacturers, suppliers of packaging and interconnection components are also feeling the need to provide customised designs rapidly and at low cost. Unilayer II is a discrete wire circuit board technology with a wiring density capability approximating that of multilayer printed wiring boards. However, since the wiring is defined in software and implemented on a numerically controlled wiring machine, the time and cost associated with development, and also with wiring changes, is greatly reduced. This paper presents the results of extensive electrical testing performed to characterise the electrical performance of the discrete wire Unilayer II transmission lines. Characteristic impedance, propagation velocity, capacitance, inductance, and crosstalk are discussed in detail.