PCB Design Guidelines (HSSI, EMIF, MIPI, True Differential, PDN) User Guide: Agilex™ 5 FPGAs and SoCs

ID 821801
Date 8/29/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents

6.1. General DDR Signal Routing Guideline on PCB

Altera recommends to route all data signals within a specific group on the same layer. Data Group signals (DQ, DM and DQS signals) are suggested to route on shallow layers (stripline or microstrip line) and use the shortest Z-height via transitions to avoid vertical crosstalk for better performance. Backdrilling can minimize the stub effect and achieve better performance, however this is not mandatory. You can run a simulation to determine whether to use backdrilling for deep layer routing. Long via stubs affects the channel ISI, however the impact of ISI is less than the impact of crosstalk for the maximum data rate performance.

Figure 52. Case A Routing is Suggested for Data Group Signals Over Case B

To minimize horizontal crosstalk between signals on the same layer, Altera recommends maintaining adequate signal trace-to-trace (edge to edge) space. Keep a minimum spacing of 3×H 4 separation distance for inner layer as illustrated in the following figure. Certain signals within same group can have smaller spacing, such as DQ to DQ. For more details on the spacing requirement, refer to the respective routing guide sections for each signal group.

Figure 53. Minimum Trace-to-Trace Separation Distance
4 H is the dielectric thickness to the closest reference plane.