Resistance of a Circuit Board Trace

Instructions: Specify the frequency, length, width and thickness of the trace. The resistance of the trace is calculated using the equations in the figure on the right. At low frequencies, where the trace thickness is less than two skin depths, the resistance is approximately equal to the DC resistance, R_LF. At frequencies, where the skin depth is small compared to the trace width and thickness, the equation for R_HF is employed.

Note that the resistance of the return trace or plane is not included. Return traces or planes that are very close to a signal trace can increase the high-frequency resistance of the trace due to the proximity effect.