Advanced PCB Engineering (APE) – Fall 2026

Instructor: Aidan Rickert    Lecture: 8-10PM Tu, Cory 125

Week Topic Helpful Links Lab Lab Checkoff Due Project Checkpoint
1
9/8		 Intro to Altium

Intro to the class, logistics, and overview of Altium. 		Lab 1: Intro to Altium Schematics

Keybind Cheatsheet
2
9/15		 PCB Parasitics and Noise

PCB parasitics, trace and via sizing, EMI, ground planes, crosstalk, reflections, switching noise 		Lab 1: Intro to Altium Schematics
3
9/22		 Intro to Analog Design

Passive and active filters, selecting op-amps based on their characteristics, voltage references, charge pumps 		Lab 3: Simulating Analog Filters Lab 2: Introduction to Altium Layout
4
9/29		 Analog/Digital Interface and Intro to Power

Understanding key principles to develop systems designed to accommodate high power draws. 		No lab! Work on project proposals. Lab 3 checkoff due 9/29
5
10/6		 Advanced Schematics, Digital Design, Data Buses and Protocols

Advanced PCB Engineering lecture on advanced digital layout and via management. 		Lab 4: Power Electronics Proposal Review
6
10/13		 Advanced Digital Layout and Via Management

How to route high-speed signals, differential pairs, and implications of vias, board parasitics, and other physical factors on signal integrity. 		Lab 5: Digital Communication Protocols Lab 4: Power Electronics DUE 10/13
7
10/20		 RF Circuits and Schematics 1

Introduction to transmission line theory, differential pairs, impedance matching and other key topics. 		Lab 5: Digital Communication Protocols DUE 10/20 Schematic Due
8
10/27		 Advanced Layout RF Design

Exploration of practical RF design. 		Project Work Session
9
11/3		 Project Work Session

 Layout Due 11/3
10
11/10		 Design Reviews

In-class review of APE student projects

 Project Design Review in Class FINAL PCB files due [11/10] (Tuesday)
11
11/17		 Advanced Mechanical Design Constraint and Weight-Based Design
12
11/24		 TBD

Exploring other advanced design topics, such as maybe Altium AutoRoute, Ethernet, RS485, PCB Antenna Design, DDR Memory, Flex PCB Design, and kW Power Designs

 Project Assembly
13
12/1		 Project Presentations