Propagation Delay Analysis by Employing Various PCB Manufacturing Process

With the continuous increase in the data rate of high-performance memory modules, signal propagation delay has become a dominant factor in determining system performance, such as timing margin. As propagation delay is determined mainly by the dielectric constant of the material and PCB processes, it is of utmost importance to control the type of dielectric material and fabrication process used in production. However, different PCB vendors adopt different materials and processes, resulting in timing mismatching among vendors. In this paper, we investigate the factors leading to signal timing mismatch, and propose methods to control the timing difference caused by various manufacturing environment and material properties.