Choosing the right high frequency PCB design manufacturer is an important decision. A good provider will help you develop the best possible design to maximize performance while minimizing costs.
Plan your floorplan
Using a high frequency PCB design manufacturer to plan your floorplan is a sure fire way to maximize performance and minimize headaches down the road. A floorplan is a visual guide to interconnecting sub sections on a PCB. A good floorplan will minimize noise and eliminate loops. In addition to the usual suspects, it will also help you minimize the amount of PCB space your components take up.
A floorplan will also help you choose the optimum components, and ensure they're routed correctly. For example, a designer should choose components that are placed on the top side of a PCB rather than the bottom side, which would be more susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Floorplanning can also help you identify the best place to place your components, particularly in the power constrained design arena. For example, it's best to place power conditioning, signal conditioning, and other RF circuitry close to each other, rather than haphazardly placing them all at the same time. Likewise, it's wise to place your through hole components on the top side of a PCB, not the bottom, which would entail placing all of them in a single plane.
A floor plan will also show you the best way to connect a PCB's ancillary components, which may include power, ground, and RF circuitry. A good floor plan will also ensure your PCB is built in a fashion that enables easy swapping of components, which saves money in the long run.