Articles by Steve Sandler

In the final installment of this blog series, Benjamin Dannan, Heidi Barnes, and Steve Sandler continue their discussion of how to calculate the minimum CMRR with a PDN impedance measurement using a 2-port probe, demonstrating how to measure a sub-40 µΩ impedance when using an isolator that has sufficient CMRR using two different VNAs, the Bode 100 and E5061B. Achieving sub-40 µΩ impedance measurements is challenging, but completely realistic with the proper test equipment. 

Having determined the amount of CMRR needed for 2-port measurement in the previous installment of this blog, Steve Sandler and  Benjamin Dannan return with a demonstration of how to create a DUT and make a 40 µΩ impedance measurement with the 2-port probe.

In this blog, Steve Sandler and Benjamin Dannan demonstrate how to determine how much CMRR is needed when introducing a ground loop isolator to correct the error in a 2-port measurement. 

This paper addresses the challenge of how to simulate the power integrity ecosystem and include the feedback loop and switching noise of a switch mode power supply (SMPS) without waiting days for the simulation results. The solution presented here uses control loop theory state space equations to create a behavioral model of an SMPS that allows for fast simulation.

Kenneth Wyatt and Steve Sandler are inclined to recommend a solid return plane be used for all DC-DC power conversion. Read on to find out why. 

In this power-electronics article, we focus on noise measurement of 48 V range voltage regulators (VRs), up to a maximum of 65 V. We propose a noise measurement setup and examine this method.

Steve Sandler was recently asked to measure a 25 mH inductor. Read on to find out what happened next.

Do I really need to use a power rail probe to measure ripple and noise? Power rail probes are single ended, so does that mean I can only monitor one power rail at a time? Are there other, more affordable options available? In this blog post, Steve Sandler answers to these questions and more.

In this Extreme Measurement story, the goal was to determine the dynamic current of the FPGA by measuring the AC current in an external VRM using a transformation of the PCB S-parameters and the simultaneous measurement of the AC voltages across the PDN.