The Causes of Ground Bounce and How To Avoid It

Figure 1: This cross section of a 100-MHz microstrip
transmission line shows us how a return path should look

We've been discussing the topic of ground bounce on digital I/O lines as well as an effective way to diagnose and analyze it. We've also run through a detailed example of how to measure it using a quiet-low I/O driver as a sense line. Now, let's take a step back and examine the root causes of ground bounce, and also discuss some best design practices for avoiding it altogether.

More on Quiet-Low I/O Drivers and Ground Bounce

Figure 1: To configure an I/O driver as a quiet-low line, its
output is connected directly to Vss on the die

Ground bounce can plague digital I/O lines with bit errors and turn your hair grey trying to uncover the cause in the process. But there is a trick you can use to make the analysis a little easier: using a quiet-low I/O driver as a sense line to reveal the existence, and magnitude, of ground bounce in your system.

About Ground Bounce and How to Measure It

Figure 1: Shown are five I/O drivers
within a package driving signal
lines on a PC board

Designing and/or troubleshooting a system with, say, an MCU driving signals across transmission lines, can be an interesting exercise in patience and diligent sleuthing. Perhaps you're seeing an inordinate amount of bit errors at the receive end of I/O lines but having some difficulty nailing down the source. In many cases, the problem is ground bounce, an issue that can be tough to diagnose and cure. Let's begin an examination of the ground-bounce phenomenon by explaining how it arises and then outlining an approach for finding it.

Measuring Shared On-Die Power Rails

Figure 1: This schematic represents the signal paths
in typical, general-purpose I/Os

If you're taking power-rail measurements on a semiconductor die that is appropriately instrumented with sense lines and a direct connection to the die's core PDN, you're in pretty good shape. But what if that's not the case? If the die's I/O power rails are shared by the core power rails, here's a way to get your core power-rail measurements anyway.

Setting the Stage for On-Die Power-Rail Measurements

Figure 1: Measuring on-die Vdd rail noise requires
a suitably instrumented die and package

Armed with a suitable oscilloscope and active voltage-rail probe, you're now ready to make some power-rail measurements on a semiconductor die. Of course, making measurements on a die is a little different than making measurements on a printed-circuit board. This is where careful design-for-test at the die level comes in, because the chip, its packaging, and the board on which it will be mounted must be instrumented so as to make the on-die measurements possible.