Using an electromagnetic simulation tool for a course on electronics packaging

SPEED97, an electromagnetic simulation program for electronics packaging developed by Sigrity, Inc., has previously been used to present concepts in signal integrity to a graduate level packaging course offered in an electrical engineering department. The demonstrations conducted by the instructor were judged to be informative and interesting by students and a professor who sat in the class. Sigrity has subsequently released a demonstration version of the SPEED97 program (and more recently a demonstration version of an updated program, SPEED2000) that is available at no cost from the Sigrity web site. Students therefore have access to the basic program themselves and not just viewing examples presented by the instructor. The simulation tool was used in homework assignments to illustrate ideas, reinforce learning, and to develop advanced topics in signal integrity