Hello all,
I've been using Circuit Studio for a little while now and I'm doing a PCB for a design that uses a Microchip PIC32MZ2064DAA288 MPU and a Micron 1Gb DDR2 memory. There are other less complicated ICs in the design, but the MPU and memory are the most critical. The MPU operates at 200MHz and the DDR2 at 400MHz. Many of the default settings for the DRC are set too tight for this design. I'm doing this for a personal project, so I'm not a pro designer, but I am an Electrical Engineer, so I do know the basic principles of PCB design. I just need some advice on where to set the DRC so it's not too restrictive, but won't allow traces, etc. to be too close. Below are some of the defaults I've changed. Could someone let me know if I'm headed for trouble or if I'm on the right track? Thanks in advance:
- reduced all electrical clearances to 5mil
- trace minimum and preferred width to 5mil
- via hole size minimum to 7mil, preferred to 10mil
- via diameter minimum and preferred to 19mil
- how close can components be? Is this a function of the fab shop limitations?
- I started with a silk screen around all components, but now have removed it for the smaller parts to fit them closer together. Is this correct/acceptable?
Any advice on other recommended DRC settings or layout advice would also be appreciated.