A reflection can occur when a PCB trace turns a corner at a 90° angle. A reflection occurs primarily because of the change of width of the trace. The trace width increases to 1.414 times the width at the apex of the turn. This increase upsets the transmission-line characteristics, especially the distributed capacitance and self–inductance of the trace which results in the reflection. Not all PCB traces can be straight and therefore some traces must turn corners. Figure 10-1 shows progressively better techniques of rounding corners. Only the last example (BEST) maintains constant trace width and minimizes reflections.

Figure 10-1 Trace Example

Route high-speed signals using a minimum of vias and corners which reduces signal reflections and impedance changes. When a via must be used, increase the clearance size around it to minimize its capacitance. Each via introduces discontinuities in the signal’s transmission line and increases the chance of picking up interference from the other layers of the board. Be careful when designing test points, through-hole pins are not recommended at high frequencies.

Figure 10-2 and Figure 10-3 illustrate an example of a PCB layout with the TMUX7234. Some key considerations are:

• Decouple the supply pins with a 0.1 µF and 1 µF capacitor, placed lowest value capacitor as close to the pin as possible. Make sure that the capacitor voltage rating is sufficient for the supply voltage.
• Keep the input lines as short as possible.
• Use a solid ground plane to help reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise pickup.
• Do not run sensitive analog traces in parallel with digital traces. Avoid crossing digital and analog traces if possible, and only make perpendicular crossings when necessary.
• Using multiple vias in parallel will lower the overall inductance and is beneficial for connection to ground planes.