Do you need thick copper layers in PCB for high currents? Are you sure? | Steve Sandler

Discussion about designing boards with high-current power supplies ranging from hundreds to thousands of amps.

Explanation of current levels starting from 500 amps with state-of-the-art processors reaching up to 1,000 amps.

Factors to consider in power supply design including copper thickness, decoupling capacitors, and ASIC placement.

Discussion on using water-cooled printed circuit boards, heat dissipation methods, and benefits of water cooling.

Explanation of inductance's impact on decoupling capacitors, impedance flatness, and reducing the number of capacitors needed.

Discussion on optimizing power rail impedance, target impedance, and the role of inductance and capacitance.

Importance of decoupling capacitors placement, vias arrangement, and minimizing inductance for effective power distribution.

Discussion on thermal management strategies for high-current boards, including copper heat dissipation and electrothermal simulations.

Discusses the importance of stability in control loops and how feedback loops are converted using NISM to a stability factor.

Introduces the NISM method for assessing stability and explains the role of impedance sensors in the feedback loops.

Explains the process of tuning multiple feedback loops simultaneously and the use of ADS to achieve stability factors above 0.85.

Discusses the complexity and cost of designing high-power systems like ASICs and the importance of stable power planes.

Explores the advantages of gallium nitride technology in power applications and its efficiency and faster switching capabilities.

Discusses the challenges of testing power distribution networks and the use of specialized tools like VR test tools for dynamic switching testing.

Explains the use of water-cooled probes for testing high-power systems and the need to dissipate heat efficiently.