Propagation time measures how long an electrical or electromagnetic signal takes to traverse a physical medium, such as a copper trace on a PCB or a coaxial cable. It depends on the distance and the dielectric constant of the surrounding materials. In high-speed routing, engineers must match the propagation time of parallel traces to ensure signals arrive simultaneously.
Heard on the job
We need to meander the clock trace to match the propagation time of the data lines.
Also heard as
- flight time
Do not mix it up with
- Propagation delay: Propagation time usually refers to the physical transit duration across a medium, while propagation delay specifically refers to the time a component takes to process and output the signal.
Related terms
Propagation delay
The time it takes for a logic signal to travel through a gate and change its output state.
Time alignment
The intentional delaying of audio signals to synchronize the arrival of sound waves from different drivers.
Setup time
The required duration a data signal must remain stable before a clock edge triggers.