By Eric Bogatin, originally published in PCD&M Magazine, March 2000
Inductance is one of the most confusing topics in signal integrity and one of the most important. Problems such as ground bounce, the power distribution network design and many discontinuities are based on inductance effects. If you really want to finally understand what inductance is without invoking integrals or coils, this is the place to start. You will get a clear intuitive understanding of what inductance is and how geometry and physical design features affect inductance. Armed with this understanding, you immediately can see how to solve many signal integrity problems.