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Call it a “vanity” publishing project if you will, but Charles Pfeil’s book, BGA Breakouts & Routing, published by his employer, Mentor Graphics, is more than worth the price of admission. Pfeil, who is the engineering director of Mentor’s System Design Division, is an acknowledged industry expert in the black art of printed-circuit board (PCB) routing, and he brings his expertise to bear on this densely-packed and richly-illustrated volume.

The book explores the impact of dense ball-grid-array (BGA) packages with high pin counts on PCB designs and digs deeply into how to solve the problems these packages can spawn. Yes, Pfeil is a Mentor guy, and yes, the book’s illustrations are all screen captures from Mentor’s Expedition PCB design suite, of which Pfeil himself was the original architect. But don’t let that lead you to believe the book is a pitch for Mentor’s tools—it’s not that at all.

Rather, the book explores all of the issues related to PCB design involving dense BGA packages and offers practical information and advice in a clear, straightforward manner. The book’s copious, colorful illustrations guide the reader. It should serve as a valuable industry resource for designers struggling with PCB designs.

To obtain a copy of BGA Breakouts & Routing, visit Mentor’s Web site or contact the author directly at: bga_info@mentor.com. Mentor Graphics
www.mentor.com/go/bga