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Quiet Power: How Much Signal Do We Lose Due to Reflections?

We know that in the signal integrity world, reflections are usually bad. In clock networks, reflection glitches may cause multiple and false clock triggering. In medium-speed digital signaling, reflections will reduce noise margin, and in high-speed serializer/deserializer (SerDes) signaling, reflections increase jitter and create vertical eye closure.

Reflections happen along an interconnect at any point where the impedance environment around the electromagnetic wave changes. Figure 1 illustrates this with a simple example using a uniform stretch of transmission line with Z₀₁ characteristic impedance between Z₀ reference impedance connections.

The formulas shown in Figure 1 for the G voltage reflection coefficient are generic and express the complex ratio of reflected and incident waves. We can apply the formula to steady-state impedances—something we could measure with a vector network analyzer—or to transient impedances, which would be the case when we use time-domain reflectometry. In general, the impedances that go into the formula—and as a result, the voltage reflection coefficient itself as well—are complex numbers with magnitude and phase or real and imaginary parts.

To read this entire column, which appeared in the October 2019 issue of Design007 Magazine, click here.