A measurement based comparison of full-wave and quasi-static methods for baseband modeling of plated through hole via structures

As signaling rates increase, the usable bandwidth of modern telecommunication and storage systems is bounded by parasitic elements within the signal path. To improve data throughput, system designers use cascaded combinations of equivalent circuit models obtained through component level simulation and measurement to evaluate the communications channel. The analytical methods used to create these models have frequency dependent limitations and restrict applications. To this end, a measurement based comparison of quasi-static and full-wave simulation methodologies was performed on plated through hole via structures in a printed circuit board over a frequency range of 0.1GHz to 20GHz. Test fixtures and calibration standards, which isolate the behavior of the component under test from the measurement set-up, are required to establish performance metrics used for the evaluation. In this study, a printed circuit board was designed and fabricated to contrast two different calibration methodologies as applied to plated through hole via structures. The results of this study will describe the usable bandwidth associated with equivalent circuit models derived from quasi-static electromagnetic simulations while demonstrating strong correlation between the full-wave electromagnetic models and measured scattering parameters of a plated through hole via structure