IEEE 370-2020 PDF Download

The IEEE 370-2020 standard provides guidelines and recommended practices for ensuring the quality of measured data for high-frequency electrical interconnects on printed circuit boards (PCBs) at frequencies up to 50 GHz. This includes recommendations for designing test fixtures and methods for ensuring the accuracy and consistency of measured data for signals with frequency content up to 50 GHz. The standard can also be applied to frequencies higher than 50 GHz, although the validation of methods and techniques has only been done up to 50 GHz at the time of writing.

The scope of the standard includes addressing the quality of measured S-parameters for PCB and related interconnects at frequencies up to 50 GHz. It covers test fixtures, methods, and processes for controlling the accuracy and consistency of measured data for broadband signals in high-speed digital applications. The standard is applicable to various industries using such interconnects and covers major measurement approaches (Time Domain or Frequency Domain) for collecting S-Parameter data. It also includes significant methods of removing or de-embedding fixture and instrumentation effects.

The purpose of the standard is to define methodologies for obtaining high-quality scattering parameters (S-parameters) for electrical interconnects operating at microwave frequencies (up to 50 GHz). It outlines requirements for designing test fixtures, evaluating measured data, removing test fixture and instrumentation effects, and verifying the quality of the S-parameters. The focus is primarily on measured S-parameters, but the methodology can also be applied to simulated S-parameters. The standard defines metrics to be calculated and reported in the S-parameter data file, but the determination of pass/fail status is left to the recipient of the data. While the standard sets the highest frequency of interest at 50 GHz, the methodologies can generally be applied to higher frequencies, although validation has only been done up to 50 GHz.