VOLTAGE IN THE GHZ WORLD

Published: 08 May 2018

by Ralph Morrison

Understand what is happening to the

energy moving around in a circuit board.
I want to challenge your understanding of electricity. My intentions
are honorable. Technology is asking us to move more and more
data, which in turn requires the use of more and more bandwidth.
The tools we use have evolved from circuit theory, where we were
very comfortable using lumped parameter models. Today, the
interconnecting structures on logic circuit boards are just as
important as the components. How a board is laid out controls
delays, radiation and bit rates. I feel the meaning of voltage when
it involves fast logic needs to be given a closer look. That is the
subject of this article.
The measurements we make in circuits involve voltage
differences. Logic is usually the presence or absence of voltage
on a transmission line. We also measure radiation levels using
antennas, which convert fields to voltage. We are totally
immersed in describing electrical activity in terms of voltage. As
we add bandwidth, it is important to review what a voltage
measurement might imply. It is our window into electrical activity. I
think I’m going to surprise you.
I often tell engineers that nature does not read labels. I might add
that nature does not read our textbooks or equations. It turns out
engineers need voltage, but nature pays no heed to this concept.
For many practical reasons, voltage is a tool that’s here to stay.
There is no way to make progress without understanding what a
voltage difference can imply when wave action is involved. We
can predict what the voltage patterns might be, but unfortunately
we cannot connect to most of the conducting surfaces that are
involved. On a practical basis, we can observe only one point-pair
at a time. On top of all this, things happen at the speed of light. If
you really want to be impressed, there are relativistic effects to be
considered.

Voltage – The Definition and the Problem

To define voltage, it is necessary to introduce the idea of field. We
all live in a gravity field that attracts our body mass. Fields store
energy. As an example of energy storage, the moon/earth system
stores the energy that give us our tidal action. Fields inside an
atom form the nucleus. The energy in the nucleus of the atom is
enormous.
A collection of surplus electrons on a small mass creates an
electric field. Voltage is defined as the work required to move a
unit test charge in this field.
Voltage is not a point concept. There are only voltage differences.
Voltage differences can exist between points in space, as well as
between conductors.
On a dry day, the friction of shoe leather on a rug allows the body
to pick up a charge that causes an arc from a key to a door lock.
This excess charge is measured as a voltage between the body
and the door. The rubbing shoe leather does the work that moves
the electric charge to the body. When the voltage gradient is high
enough, there is arcing in air. On a grand scale, rain pulls charge
from the air to earth. When the voltage gradient is high enough,
lightning results.
“Understanding energy is key to designing boards that function
without radiation at increasing clock rates.”
In a typical logic circuit, a logic switch connects a voltage source
to a short transmission line. This can be a trace over a conducting
plane. The presence of a voltage difference means there is an
electric field between the two conductors. This field stores energy.
When current starts to flow, it creates a coupled magnetic field
that uses this same space. A full explanation of what happens is
complex and requires several chapters in a book. After all wave
activity has stopped, the capacitance of this conductor geometry
is fully charged, and the voltage along the transmission line is
constant. This means the work required to move a test charge
along any path between the two conductors is a constant. You will
notice I didn’t discuss the time it takes to make this measurement.
One thing for sure is a measurement of work cannot be made in
zero time. In the time it takes to make a measurement, wave
action may have changed the answer. This is the problem when
picoseconds are important.
The difficulty is voltage is not a point concept. Any measure of
voltage involves a loop area. This in turn means a voltage
measurement depends on lead dress, as well as lead position.
This also means many sources can contribute to one observation.
The physics of electricity involves point concepts, and this avoids
the issue of doing work. The parameters used in physics cannot
be observed directly, and this poses a fundamental problem in
engineering. Voltage has served us well, but progress requires we
get closer to the fundamentals of electricity. We still require
voltage, but at the same time we must understand what is
happening to the energy moving around in our circuits.

Moving Energy
Nature has one main objective and that is to reduce potential
energy. It is why a rock falls, sound propagates, ocean waves
travel, and why a voltage source will charge a capacitance.
Energy is never lost. It simply takes on new forms. On a logic
board, a logic level is a voltage on the capacitance of a trace over
a ground plane. This voltage implies energy storage. This energy
cannot be returned to the power source. To return the voltage to
zero, stored energy must be converted to heat, radiated or moved
out of the way. Moving energy into position or dissipating energy
takes time, and this is the problem encountered in fast logic.
A circuit board trace over a ground plane is an opportunity for
nature to reduce potential energy. This reduction in potential
energy usually implies spreading the energy out over a larger
volume of space. Recognizing this one fact is important in circuit
board design. We are interested in manipulating voltages, and
nature is only interested in reducing potential energy. What we
need to recognize is that when there are voltage differences,
there is energy present. At any one point in space, energy can be
stationary, in transition, in motion or perhaps all three at once. We
are asked to deduce what is happening over an entire
transmission line from a limited set of observations. Fortunately,
circuit board operations are very repetitive. Once we see the
patterns, the work has been done.

Voltage Observations
To illustrate the problem of interpreting voltage, consider a
transmission line just after a switch connects a voltage source to
the line. Assume a finite rise time. Behind the wave front, the
voltage is constant. In the space between the two conductors
there is both energy flow and energy storage. The stored part of
the energy is in the capacitance of the line. The energy that is
moving involves both the static electricity and magnetic fields. The
voltage alone does not tell this story. The voltage in transition at
the leading edge is where magnetic field energy is converted to
static electric field energy. After a reflection at an open gate, the
voltage doubles. What is happening is energy is still moving
forward on the line. Energy is not reflected at the open end of the
line. The reflected wave front continues to convert arriving field
energy into electric field energy. This is why the voltage doubles
on the return wave. This is an example of where the energy flow
and wave action are moving in opposite directions.
What I have described is a typical problem in moving energy on a
logic circuit board. We know what is happening, but it is not
obvious by simply observing voltage. A static voltage difference
can represent either energy flow or storage or both. Wave
direction and energy flow direction may be opposites.

Fast Circuit Boards and Energy

Management
This article is intended as an introduction to what takes place on a
logic circuit board. Energy is stored and moved in spaces and
directed by conductor geometry. This understanding is key to
designing boards that will function without radiation at increasing
clock rates. Logic by its very nature implies treating transient
behavior while carrier systems use sine waves, and this implies a
steady-state behavior. Transmission line theory is usually taught
in terms of sine waves, where measurement is a well understood
discipline. Logic implies transient behavior, and the motion of
energy is not that obvious.
John Wiley has published my latest book titled Fast Circuit Boards
and Energy Management. The principles outlined in the book help
designers meet performance requirements. Basic physics is
presented along with simple explanations. This subject of voltage
is carefully treated.
RALPH MORRISON has 50 years of experience in electronics
engineering and is author of eight books, including Solving
Interference Problems in Electronics, Grounding and Shielding
Techniques in Instrumentation, and The Fields of Electronics:
Understanding Electronics Using Basic
Physics; RALPHMORRISONEE@GMAIL.COM.
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