Creating a Differential Pair in Cadence PCB Editor
What is a differential pair?
A differential pair is a pair of traces that together carry a signal between them. Because of the circuitry involved, these traces may be isolated from the surrounding circuit, and thus, it is necessary to keep them near each other. Why? Maxwell’s law says that a changing magnetic field through a loop of wire causes a current. In our cases, the pair of traces is a loop – because they are connected to each other (through circuitry) at the ends of the trace – the changing magnetic field could be from electromagnetic interference, and we are trying to keep a signal “clean” as it travels over our board.
Creating a Ground Plane in Cadence PCB Editor
What is a ground plane?
A ground plane is a large area of copper in a printed circuit board design that is connected to ground on the power supply.
Creating a Rubout in Cadence PCB Editor
How do I create a rubout in Cadence?
Creating Custom Footprints
You can try to find existing footprints for components, but most components will require custom footprints.
Exporting Gerber files from Cadence PCB Editor
What is a Gerber file?
A Gerber file (also known as artwork) is a 2-D graphical representation of a single layer of a PCB. A typical design will have individual Gerber files for each layer (e.g., top copper, bottom copper, top silkscreen, bottom silkscreen, top soldermask, bottom soldermask) of a PCB.
Exporting Solder Mask Layers from Cadence PCB Editor
What is a solder mask?
Solder mask is the thin polymer layer that is applied to a printed circuit board to insulate copper traces from unwanted connections. It is often green, red, or blue, and is put over all parts of a PCB except where components are to be soldered.
Finding existing PCB footprints for Cadence PCB Editor
Where can I find a list of existing PCB footprints for Cadence PCB Editor?
While Cadence does have some built-in footprint libraries, they are limited due to the hundreds of thousands of different parts in existence. Additionally, most companies make their own footprints to match the specific manufacturing processes that they use.
Getting Started with Cadence PCB Editor
What is a printed circuit board (PCB)?
See the What is a Printed Circuit Board? page for more information about PCBs and the general design flow for creating a PCB.
