From: Tadashi ARAI ([email protected])
Date: Tue Aug 08 2000 - 18:57:46 PDT
Hi All,
Every time I saw such a thieving pattern, I wonder why they use many
periodical dots or diamonds instead of copper pour (or "flood") into the
large gap.
Yes, I know that a large shape makes bad effect to EMI from its own
resonance frequency, but if the structure is small enough, the frequency
is too high to be worried about.
I make my recent design to be filled with copper pour, expecting some
effect to reduce radiation noise and to stabilize power supply.
Though this takes our layout designer some extra time and the effects
are not yet ascertained, I believe it may be good not only mfg. issue.
I have run into such idea after reading a Japanese book;
Kennichi Itoh,"Talking about Noise and Not-wanted Radiation",Nikkan
Kogyo Shinbun, 1998.7 ISBN4-526-04206-4 (Japanese)
shows an experimental result that radiation noise was reduced when they
add copper pour into large gaps of surfaces.
He said with decreasing "Transparency"(You can see it to see lights
through the films of surface layers wrapped over each other), we can
reduce radiation noise.
I think the pour of copper will works as capacitance effective to high
frequency to lower the impedance of power/ground plane, too.
In my opinion, copper pour or even if thieving pattern may be good for
EMI and power integrity with carefully design, such as keeping separation
to signal traces or placing a number of vias, and so on.
But I have no evidence to back it up.
Does anyone have any calculated or measured result to support it or to
be contrary to it?
Regards,
//// /// // / / / / / / / / / /
Tadashi Arai//Platform Developing Dept.,Desktop Prd Div. Fujitsu Limited
[email protected] TEL:+81-42-370-7624 Inagi-shi, Tokyo, Japan
/ / / / / / / / / / / // ///
On Tue, 8 Aug 2000 18:09:21 -0400 (EDT)
Mail from [email protected] described as below:
> Ray, all,
>
> From what I understand, many PCB fab suppliers use
> HASL (Hot-Air Solder Levelling) to plate the top and bottom
> layers (from 1/2 oz copper to 1 oz, typically.)
> HASL depends on uniform PCB thickness to work well.
> To achieve uniform thickness, grids of small copper filled square
> or circular "thieving pads" are added to layers that would
> otherwise have large areas free of copper signals or plane shapes.
> "Thieving pads" prevent too much copper from being thieved-away
> during etching.
>
> From an EMI standpoint, I believe the effect of thieving pads
> depends on the grounding philosophy--whether chassis ground
> is isolated from logic return as advocated by Henry Ott
> or whether multi-point or hybrid grounding is used.
>
> I have separated chassis ground from logic return with occasional
> single-point grounds very successfully (again per Ott,) and thieving pads
> have been a big EMI problem for me several times.
> You could say this is a pet peeve of mine.
>
> Here's a example--for a typical I/O board layout, chassis ground
> is provided from the I/O sheet metal to the connector shields
> to a chassis ground shape on the PCB that surrounds the I/O connectors.
> All power and logic return (GND) planes and non-I/O signals
> are cut back away from the I/O area, leaving a gap where only
> EMI filter components are placed and I/O signals are routed.
> I use 100 mils minimum spacing (rule-of-thumb by Stan Woo)
> to prevent capacitive coupling of RF noise from the inside
> to the quiet chassis ground.
>
> Thieving pads are then added by the PCB supplier, which can
> make very good stepping stones for capacitive coupling across
> this gap. To prevent this, I specify a thieving pad keep-out
> area in this gap on the fab drawing.
>
> Regards,
> Dan
>
>
> > From: "Greim, Michael" <[email protected]>
> > To: "'Ray Anderson'" <[email protected]>, "Greim, Michael"
> <[email protected]>
> > Cc: SI LIST <[email protected]>
> > Subject: RE: [SI-LIST] : Effects of thieving on SI and EMC.....
> > Date: Tue, 8 Aug 2000 14:45:55 -0400
> > MIME-Version: 1.0
> >
> > A thieving pattern is a bunch of very small shapes
> > added to a layer that helps equalize the plating
> > across a given layer (increases manufacturability).
> > An auto thieving utility or program uses a set of
> > criteria to determine how and where to put these
> > shapes. Unfortunately these programs are almost
> > exclusively focussed on mfg issues and not SI or
> > EMC issues.
> >
> > Usually if you see a bunch of 1/16" width diamonds
> > on an artwork layer, this is thieving.
> >
> > FYI
> >
> > MG
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ray Anderson [mailto:[email protected]]
> > Sent: Monday, July 31, 2000 11:12 AM
> > To: Greim, Michael
> > Cc: SI LIST
> > Subject: Re: [SI-LIST] : Effects of thieving on SI and EMC.....
> >
> >
> > OK, I'll bite. Educate me, what is a thieving pattern,
> > and an auto-thiever ????
> >
> >
> > -Ray
> >
> >
> > > Does anyone out there have a tool or reference
> > > that would allow one to calculate the effects of
> > > thieving patterns on signal integrity and EMC.
> > >
> > > I am trying to come up with appropriate rule sets
> > > for driving an auto-thiever utility.
> > >
> > > Thanks for the help.
> > >
> > > MG
> > >
> >
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> >
>
>
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