Investigation on power distribution plane resonance in multilayer printed circuit boards using a transmission-line model

This paper describes the power distribution plane resonance in multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs), which causes circuit malfunction and high level radiated emissions. The resonant characteristics of four-layer PCBs are investigated experimentally and theoretically by treating the power distribution planes as a parallel plate transmission line. The analytical results show that the resonant frequencies are determined by phase delay due to wave propagation in the power planes and phase progress at the interconnect inductance of the decoupling circuits.