In our increasingly interconnected world, where data transmission and communication play a crucial role, the field of signal integrity as a profession is highly in demand. As electronic devices become smaller, faster, and more complex, ensuring the reliable and efficient transmission of electrical signals has become paramount. Recognizing the importance of this field and for continued education and innovation, Samtec proudly saw a need to sponsor 3 intriguing and unique capstone projects focused on signal integrity.
Investing in Future Engineers
For Samtec, sponsoring a capstone project aligns with our company’s mission to drive technology for industry advancements, and deliver high-quality interconnect solutions. Over the course of a year, our SI engineers supported 11 Electrical Engineering students via in person and/or virtually on signal integrity related R&D projects. Capstone projects provide students with an opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios. The projects also serve as a testing ground for students to demonstrate their skills, creativity, and innovation.
Universities and Capstones
CU Boulder University
Samtec’s Advanced Test Group worked with a team of students from CU Boulder to develop an upgrade for a piece of custom equipment that’s widely used in Samtec’s production test systems for optical products. The variable optical attenuator (VOA) is a multi-channel component that allows the optical power between a reference transmitter and a receiver under test to be attenuated. The team developed a touch screen interface for the equipment, allowing technicians and engineers to control the units during system debug and experiments without having to rely on software tools. “If successful, when fully evaluated in real-world use, we may expand the solution to control additional in-house components”, said Andy Baxter, Test Systems Architect at Samtec.
University of South Carolina
Associates at Samtec’s Columbia Design Center paired up with students from the University of South Carolina. The capstone project focused on determining if Samtec’s URSA I/O Connector signaling can be improved above 1GHz without modifying the part. The team learned basic SI fundamentals and then built and designed a basic PCB on their own.
The complete results are preliminary, but it’s clear that differential impedance of twisted pair exhibits much better control than loose single-ended cables. This translates to better performance in higher frequencies. USC’s EE capstone team successfully created a well-designed PCB, capable of investigating performance of medium-frequency designs. On top of that, they did it for a fraction of the cost of our traditional correlation studies by using a low-cost PCB manufacturer! This was Columbia Design Center’s first official capstone sponsorship and served as a learning experience for everyone.
Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg
Our SI team at Samtec Harrisburg Design Center presented their topic, “Air Cavities with Additive Manufacturing for Complex Dielectric dk and Isolation Characterization”, recently at the Capstone Design Conference. The purpose was to help identify the electrical implications of additive manufacturing as a method to introduce air cavities. The additive’s purpose is to lower overall complex electrical characteristic values and increase signal isolation on high frequency transmission systems.
“The team devised, researched, and implemented a testing strategy/environment that would be able to produce sets of “S-Parameters” used to characterize the materials response to a default VNA stimulus. After real world measurements were taken, a 3D model of the testing fixture’s middle waveguide section along with model representations of the 3D printed materials were recreated in ANSYS HFSS as closely as possible to their respective real-world counterparts. Simulations of this material placed inside the section replica (identical to how the real-world testing was conducted) were also produced as more supportive, corroborative evidence to our findings”, said Brandon Browne, Signal Integrity Applications Co-Op.
Samtec’s Co-Op Program
The Samtec-sponsored capstone project is truly a win-win scenario, enabling the advancement of signal integrity while nurturing the talents of the next generation of engineers. Knowing the significance of real-world training, Samtec, offers an exceptional Co-Op program that serves as a launchpad for young professionals. For more information on Samtec’s Co-Op Program, visit our career page.
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