Prediction of computation errors due to ignoring coupling between signal traces

This paper deals with the coupling between traces on printed circuit boards (PCB). In particular, a method is presented which allows one to estimate the deviation of the current distribution on an active trace due to the omission of recoupling by an adjacent trace. An effective characteristic impedance for the active trace is deduced by the use of the model of capacitive coupling. The comparison with the characteristic impedance of a single trace enables the estimation of the maximum error of the current distribution. The method is examined with real-life configurations on an actual PCB.