Eliminating via-plane coupling using ground vias for high-speed signal transitions

When a high-speed signal transits through a via that penetrates a plane pair, parallel-plane resonances can cause additional insertion loss for the signal. To eliminate this via-plane coupling, ground vias are added adjacent to the signal via. This paper discusses the impact of the ground vias as a function of the number of the ground vias, their locations, and the size of the plane pair. A block-by-block physics-based equivalent circuit modeling approach is used in the study. The underlying physics of the phenomenon and the design implications are also discussed in the paper. © 2008 IEEE.