Patent ID: 6914334

Claim:
A circuit board for carrying a differential signal comprising: first and second parallel conductive traces in a first plane disposed on a first surface of insulating material; third and fourth parallel conductive traces in a second plane parallel to the first plane and disposed within the insulating material below the first surface and separated from the first and second conductive traces by some of the insulating material; and a ground plane disposed on a second surface of the insulating material opposite the first surface and electrically isolated from the first, second, third and fourth conductive traces, wherein each of the conductive traces has a first end and a second opposite end, and wherein each of the conductive traces has a length between the first and second ends, the length being substantially greater than a width of the traces, wherein the first and third conductive traces are longitudinally aligned along their lengths and arranged in a stacked configuration to separately carry an in-phase portion of the differential signal along their lengths from their first ends to their second ends; wherein the second and fourth conductive traces are longitudinally aligned along their lengths and arranged in a stacked configuration to separately carry an out-of-phase portion of the differential signal along their lengths from their first ends to their second ends, wherein the first and third conductive traces are electrically coupled at their first ends, electrically coupled at their second ends, and electrically isolated by the insulating material along their lengths between the first and second ends, and wherein the second and fourth conductive traces are electrically coupled at their first ends, electrically coupled at their second ends, and electrically isolated by the insulating material along their length between the first and second ends.