How do chip design engineers make sure that there is no interference between different circuit modules due to electromagnetic fields, given that every circuit component is very close to each other?

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How do chip design engineers make sure that there is no interference between different circuit modules due to electromagnetic fields, given that every circuit component is very close to each other?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

They dont really.

There are some designs that are required to protect from EM and ESD, but you cant get 100 % confidence in protection, so after that comes tests on prototypes. Even that cant give a 100% answer, because you end up testing one prototype chip, and the manufacturing process is different, meaning you also have to test chips once you start producing them with a different method.

This is why critical systems that must not fail have multiple redundancies. A critical system needs to be able to work when crippled. It does not means its parts should never break down; it means it is engineered to have the least possible failures, but if and when they happen, it still works as a whole.

Typically, modern CPU can have defects when built, so they can be partially disabled. That 12 cores CPU with a defect on 2 cores will have them disabled and will be sold as a 10 cores CPU.

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