Over the past five years, the development of true analog CMOS processes has led to the use of high-speed analog devices in the digital arena. System speeds of 150 MHz and higher have become common for digital logic. Systems that were considered high end and high speed a few years ago are now cheaply and easily implemented. However, this integration of fast system speeds brings with it the challenges of analog system design to a digital world. This document is a guideline for printed circuit board (PCB) layouts and designs associated with high-speed systems. “High speed” does not just mean faster communication rates (e.g., faster than 1 gigabit per second (Gbps)). A transistor-transistor logic (TTL) signal with a 600-ps rise time is also considered a high-speed signal. This opens up the entire PCB to careful and targeted board simulation and design. The designer must consider any discontinuities on the board. The “Time-Domain Reflectometry” and “Discontinuity” sections explain how to eliminate discontinuities on a PCB. Some sources of discontinuities are vias, right angled bends, and passive connectors. The “Termination” section explains about terminations for signals on PCBs. The placement and selection of termination resistors are critical in order to avoid reflections. As systems require higher speeds, they use differential signals instead of single-ended signals because of better noise margins and immunity. Differential signals require special attention from PCB designers with regards to trace layout. The “Trace Layout” section addresses differential traces in terms of trace layout. Crosstalk, which can adversely affect single ended and differential signals alike, is also addressed in this section. All the dense, high-speed switching (i.e., hundreds of I/O pins switching at rates faster than 500-ps rise and fall times) produces powerful transient changes in power supply voltage. These transient changes occur because a signal switching at higher frequency consumes a proportionally greater amount of power than a signal switching at a lower frequency. As a result, a device does not have a stable power reference that both analog and digital circuits can derive their power from. This phenomenon is called simultaneous switching noise (SSN). The “Dielectric Material” section discusses how to eliminate some of these SSN problems through careful board design.