High Fidelity PCB Design for Multichannel Beamformers—Part 1: Return Loss

This article discusses how to design and manufacture highly accurate RF PCB transmission lines and connector transitions with excellent return loss that route signals onto and off of the PCB through the transmission lines connecting to high count RF input and output BFICs. While the focus is on BFICs and phased array applications, the material applies equally to any high frequency circuit design where good impedance matching is important. While multiple design techniques will be presented, the important topic of design for manufacturing will also be covered. Note that this article provides dimensions primarily in mils (1000 mil is equal to 1 inch). To convert from mil to mm, multiply by 0.0254.