How should Ground vias be placed?

Question

I am using vias to filter the input power. The following to pictures show two ways of placing vias. I think both of them are inappropriate since the vias are not "fully" connected with ground through all four "feet".

Is my guess correct? Could I have some comments on placing the vias?

via1 via2

@VladimirCravero - You generally don't, but if you have extremely short traces between a via and a small SMT part, the solder on one end can reflow before the other, and the part will ["tombstone"](http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/17710/should-i-worry-about-the-risk-of-tombstoning). — Connor Wolf, Jul 14 '14 at 09:27
Trying to use vias to filter input power makes absolutely no sense. — Olin Lathrop, Apr 15 '15 at 15:59
@OlinLathrop I was using vias to connect gnd with caps. Is that what you mean? — richieqianle, Apr 17 '15 at 03:23

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 15 '14 at 20:53

1

First off, the second one looks absolutely horrid. Don't do that. Secondly, you should always envelop the actual drill with the trace, whether you need to make the trace large enough to envelop the thermals of the copper via is more a result as to how much current your trace will be carrying.

answered Jul 15 '14 at 20:53

Funkyguy

3,558
1
21
45

For the second point, why is that? The outer plate of a via encloses the drill already. – richieqianle Jul 16 '14 at 02:03

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 14 '14 at 03:23

What sort of filtration are you hoping the vias will deliver to your design? I've only heard of vias used for microwave filtration.

The second design is not good from a PCB manufacture standpoint because it has sharp inside corners which are likely to be etched out, making the shape of the trace different from what you are expecting.

How should Ground vias be placed?

2 Answers2