Clear as a bell

摘要

Designers are aware of several approaches to reduce crosstalk, such as the use of shields or differential links, that require a particular structure for the interconnection. This article discusses known crosstalk mitigation methods and presents a different technique applicable in various situations, which provides a drastic reduction of crosstalk. Electronic designers must often fight the phenomenon of crosstalk in interconnections: a signal intentionally injected on a conductor of the interconnection gives rise to an unwanted crosstalk signal, which may degrade the performances of a given system or make it inoperative. Since the old telegraph days, engineers have fought crosstalk, because it takes place in various types of interconnections such as telecommunication cables, local area networks, printed circuit boards, and on-chip interconnects. The increase of speed and bandwidth on the one hand and of circuit and interconnection density on the other hand worsen this phenomenon, so that crosstalk is sometimes the limiting factor for the use of the most advanced technologies. Crosstalk also depends on the length of the interconnection.