The Polar Application Note library includes a comprehensive resource of information on stackup design and build. Use the search engine below to locate your subject of interest.

Exploring "What-if" scenarios with Speedstack's Virtual Material Mode

The new Speedstack VMM allows you to experiment with stackup concepts (for example, to examine the effects of different trace widths or dielectric heights) without reference to a materials library. You can pass your completed stack concept to your fabricator for editing with available materials or, for more specialized applications, perform material allocation in house.

Introduction to the Stackup Design System

Installing the Stackup Design System

Using the Stackup Design System  

Using the Speedstack Coupon Generator

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Audience: Will interest you if you want to offer initial training on how PCB fabrication effects impedance, this presentation is valuable to technicians starting training in PCB fabrication, and new designers who need an initial insight into aspects of PCB fabrication. The note is also of interest to companies involved in assembling PCBs as it sheds some light on the processes a PCB undergoes before it is populated.

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With PCB manufacturing supply chains becoming longer, increasing in distance both in time and geography — and modern circuit board designs increasingly complex — there is now great potential for communication error between PCB procurement specialists, PCB field application engineers and front end teams. This note describes how Speedstack technical reports provide a flexible and high quality communication tool for PCB fabricators and brokers.

Speedstack 2008 v3.2 includes parameter unit switching (between microns, mils, millimeters and inches). This note describes the upgrade and unit conversion processes when Speedstack 2008 v3.2 is started for new installations, upgrades from earlier versions and subsequent launches.

This application note describes a simple FLEXLm server-side installation for both the Polar SI8000m and for OEM products that incorporate the Polar Impedance Calculation engine. 

The "node locked" version of the SB200 looks for its license file on the machine containing the SB200 software. This application note outlines the installation process for licenses locked to the local ethernet address or USB or parallel keys.

Customers may request a free time limited evaluation licence for the SB200 Stackup Design System for evaluation. This application note outlines the installation process for evaluation licenses.

Customers may request a free12 month licence for  the SB200 Stackup viewer. This application note outlines the installation process for viewer licenses.

This application note discusses upgrading from earlier versions of the SB200 — resetting configuration settings, backing up old libraries and converting version 5.x stackups.

This note outlines the process of converting SB200 v5.x library, stackup and project files to v6 format using the SB200 File Converter.

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Exploring "What-if" scenarios with Speedstack's Virtual Material Mode

The new Speedstack VMM allows you to experiment with stackup concepts (for example, to examine the effects of different trace widths or dielectric heights) without reference to a materials library. You can pass your completed stack concept to your fabricator for editing with available materials or, for more specialized applications, perform material allocation in house.

Using Speedflex to document a stack with coated and uncoated areas

In this note we demonstrate Speedstack's versatility, using the Speedflex Navigator to document a stackup where the board includes areas that are coated with photoresist and surface traces that remain exposed.

A powerful tool for creating and and documenting flex-rigid PCB layer stackups, Speedflex for Speedstack is equally powerful at documenting the press cycles in sequential lamination/HDI.

With Speedflex OEM designers create accurate, efficient, fully documented flex-rigid PCB stackups in just a few minutes. Fabricators can quickly calculate the impact of substituting materials to improve manufacturability and reduce cost while maintaining the specified parameters and performance. In this application note we introduce Speedstack's Flex Navigator and briefly walk through the process of adding a flexible core to a pre-built stack.

1 View article: (Happy Thoughts)

2. Stack up file  download (here) - can be viewed in SB200

3. Monte Carlo analysis - (requires a full licence or licensed evaluation of Si8000m) - download (here)


Hint: Once you have downloaded you will need to save the spreadsheet in a suitable folder then open the Si8000 Expert version. Once Excel has loaded open the Monte Carlo spreadsheet - use the F9 key in Excel to run the Monte Carlo analysis for yourself.

Thanks to Westwood PCB for the permission to use the above resources and Circuitree for the article.

PCBs are made from materials that stretch, shrink, twist and bow. During fabrication laminates are exposed to high temperatures and pressures and many chemical processes; other variables – etch factor, board thickness and dielectric (Er) values must also be taken into account. With these in mind this note provides some general guidance on tolerances for PCBs.

PCB designers often wish to verify that the stack design to be sent to a PC fabrication company is manufacturable. Speedstack 2008, with its  "Remake Stack with Autostack" facility, makes it easy for PCB designer and fabricator to share builds and verify that the stack can be realised with the fabricator's available materials.

A common challenge for PCB fabricators is taking an existing FR4 stack and redesigning it for lead- free builds. Speedstack 2008 offers a powerful and automatic solution to this tedious process. In this note we change the core and prepreg materials from standard FR4 to material with a higher performance with only a few mouse clicks. 

Polar's Speedstack PCB Stackup Builder incorporates a comprehensive Design Rules Check (DRC) function that includes checks for symmetry, copper balance, minimum trace and gap widths and excess resin, etc. Values for excess resin may be added to the material libraries for prepregs. This application note discusses how to calculate the excess resin value for the Polar Speedstack library field.

This short note provides a graphical explanation of base thickness, finished thickness and isolation distance as used in Speedstack.

Speedstack is fully integrated with the Si8000 Controlled Impedance Quick Solver/Si9000 PCB Transmission Line Field Solver to allow easy addition of controlled impedance structures to  layers in the stackup. The H Value (the effective height of a dielectric substrate after the pressing of the stack) calculation produces the dielectric heights required for the Polar SI8000/9000 field solvers.

The SB200 Symmetrical Build function provides dramatic reductions in stackup creation time. With just a few mouse clicks you can create a design-rule checked symmetrical stackup in minutes.  

Calculating impedance accurately on striplines depends on the relative positions of prepreg and core in the stack. This presentation explains graphically how to ensure your calculations are as accurate as possible.(Download)

The SB200 incorporates the facility to add controlled impedance structures to a layer in the stackup. Structure parameters may be copied to the Si8000 Quick Solver for processing (for example by the Si8000 Goal Seeking function) and calculated values pasted back to the SB200 for insertion into the stackup.

This application note outlines the process of exchanging controlled impedance parameters between the SB200 and the Si8000 to add a controlled impedance structure with the correct impedance value to a stackup layer.

The new SB200a Professional edition is designed to communicate and share layer stackup information with the Si8000m controlled impedance field solver. Together they form a powerful unified system for documentation and design of complex high speed PCB layer stackups and associated transmission line structures.

To realise communication between the two packages Si8000m existing customers need to update to Si8000 Version 3.00 or above.  Version 3.xx includes the links between the two products and supports some additional typical impedance controlled structures for multiple dielectric stackups.

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The Speedstack Coupon Generator product will quickly and easily generate controlled impedance test coupons from existing Speedstack projects. Download this Introduction to the Coupon Generator (PDF).