Pulse Induction Metal Detector PCB Design


I've made a plan, and started work on it.
Proceed with final stabilization of the PCB design:
  1. Grounding and validation:
  • Fix all grounding issues and enforce a strict single star-ground topology at the 12V input only
  • Ensure complete separation of analog, digital, and power return paths with no unintended coupling
  • Rerun full ERC and DRC after grounding corrections and resolve all remaining violations
  1. Component placement:
  • Place the Arduino Nano centrally between the analog front-end (TL072 + LM393) and the power driver section (TC4420 + IRF3205 + coil)
  • Maintain clear physical separation between analog and power domains to minimize electromagnetic coupling
  1. Power integrity:
  • Add bulk capacitors for each power domain:
    • Analog domain: 10µF–47µF low-noise capacitor
    • Digital domain: 10µF–47µF capacitor near Arduino Nano
    • Power domain: 100µF–470µF near coil driver input
  • Ensure each bulk capacitor is placed close to its respective power entry point
  1. Final review:
  • Re-check decoupling placement (100nF at every IC power pin)
  • Verify no routing crosses between analog and power zones
  • Confirm coil driver loop remains minimal and isolated
Only proceed to final Gerber, BOM, and Pick-and-Place generation after all checks pass successfully.
I've made a plan, and started work on it.
Fix grounding and checks
Place MCU between domains
Add bulk capacitors
No schematic yet

Talk to Flux to get started.

No layout yet

When components get added to the schematic, they'll show up here.