I am using two evaluation boards in my circuit. Counting the one I'm designing, there are three. I know the impedance of tracks on Board #1 and have control over the impedance of tracks on Board #2. The input impedance of the tracks on Board #3 is unknown. There is no termination at the end of the lines on Board #3.
At the interface between Board #2 and Board #3, I need to control the impedance. To that end, I will be source matching at the driver on Board #2, but what is the best way to deal with boundary?
Would it be best to have a termination at the end of the line on Board #2? Perhaps a shunt or AC Termination? This assumes my driver can support the power drain of the shunt.
Perhaps I should use a quarter wave transform? Ending the transform right at the input header to Board #3 might be effective?
The simplest solution might be to place the connector physically close to the driver so they are lumped. If I then add source termination resistors to the driver to match it to the impedance of Board #3, would the two boards communicate smoothly?
Since I don't know the impedance of Board #3, would it be reasonable to accurately measure the track's width and its distance from the ground plane and roughly calculate it?
Specifics:
Speed
The edge rate of the data is ~750Mhz - 1GHz. I'm working with a rise time of about 1ns. I have space for a larger capacitive load if recommended. The output drivers of choice are the 74VCX245, but am open to changing them.
Board Layout Board #2 will have a solid ground plane between the output drivers and the connection to Board #3.
Connector Board #2 and Board #3 will connect via a 2x20 rectangular header. I am open to other suggestions.
Board #3 Board #3 is Texas Insrument's DAC7741 EVM. If you look at the data sheet, you'll see that there is not much information on the track design. The most I was able to extract was that the minimum track width is 10 mils, it is 1oz copper plated, and the layer (dielectric) thickness is approximately 0.014"
Physical Configuration The connection method I had in mind looks like this:
Thanks.