9.2.1 Design Requirements

As with any high speed design, there are many factors which influence the overall performance. Below are a list of critical areas for consideration and study during design.

• Use 100 Ω impedance traces. Generally these are very loosely coupled to ease routing length differences.
• Place AC-coupling capacitors near to the receiver end of each channel segment to minimize reflections.
• The maximum body size for AC-coupling capacitors is 0402.
• Back-drill connector vias and signal vias to minimize stub length.
• Use Reference plane vias to ensure a low inductance path for the return current.