Documentation sections

Differential Via Calculator

POSThttps://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate

Slug differential-via. Calculate the stub resonance and insertion loss of a differential via pair: the stub notch that dominates a via transition long before conductor and dielectric loss matter.

Inputs

Send every one of these in inputs, in the units shown. Most are required: a call without one is refused (400) and costs nothing; one the calculator can do without takes the default shown. An input outside its range is still computed and flagged in the provenance.

Inputs of differential-via
Name	Unit	Range	Default	Description
barrelDiameternumber	mm	0.05 … 2	0.25	Finished Barrel Diameter
antipadDiameternumber	mm	0.1 … 5	0.9	Clearance opening in the reference planes around the via
viaPitchnumber	mm	0.1 … 5	0.8	Via Pitch (centre to centre)
boardThicknessnumber	mm	0.1 … 10	1.6	Board Thickness
exitDepthnumber	mm	0 … 10	0.4	Depth from the entry surface at which the signal leaves the via. The rest of the barrel is stub.
dielectricConstnumber	none	at least 1	4.2	Dielectric Constant
lossTangentnumber	none	at least 0.0001	0.02	Loss Tangent
startFrequencynumber	GHz	at least 0.001	0.1	Band Start
stopFrequencynumber	GHz	at least 0.01	20	Band Stop

Outputs

Returned in values, by key. A value that is unbounded or undefined is null.

Outputs of differential-via
Field	Unit	Description
stubLength	mm	Stub Length
stubResonance	GHz	c/(4·L_stub·√εr), the quarter-wave resonance of the unused barrel without the planes. The planes slow the wave, so the real resonance is lower: 8–27 % lower in a field solution of three via geometries. Zero when there is no stub.
worstInsertionLossheadline	dB	Taken with the stub resonating at its unloaded upper bound; the planes lower the real resonance, so a notch above the band may fall inside it.
worstLossFrequency	GHz	Frequency of Worst Loss
insertionLossAtStop	dB	Insertion Loss at Band Stop
dielectricLoss	dB	Dielectric Loss at Band Stop
conductorLoss	dB	The dense-plane limit, R_s·(1/d + 1/D)/(π·Z_dense) times the board thickness, with Z_dense = (η₀/(π√εr))·ln(D/d): each barrel inside its own coaxial wall. Z_dense lies below every solved impedance, so the loss is not exceeded on any solved stackup. Radial currents in the planes are not modelled.
antipadsOverlap	none	1 when the two clearance openings merge into one oval. The pair’s coupling depends on this and on the pitch of the planes, which is why no impedance is reported.

Calling it

Calculate: one call, the request and response in full, and its errors.
Batch: this calculator with others, or a sweep, in one request.
Solve for a target: the value of one input that brings an output to a target.

curl -X POST https://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate \
  -H "X-API-Key: $RFTOOLS_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "slug": "differential-via",
    "inputs": {
      "barrelDiameter": 0.25,
      "antipadDiameter": 0.9,
      "viaPitch": 0.8,
      "boardThickness": 1.6,
      "exitDepth": 0.4,
      "dielectricConst": 4.2,
      "lossTangent": 0.02,
      "startFrequency": 0.1,
      "stopFrequency": 20
    }
  }'

import rftools

client = rftools.Client()  # reads RFTOOLS_API_KEY, or the key `rftools login` saved

result = client.calculate("differential-via", {
    "barrelDiameter": 0.25,
    "antipadDiameter": 0.9,
    "viaPitch": 0.8,
    "boardThickness": 1.6,
    "exitDepth": 0.4,
    "dielectricConst": 4.2,
    "lossTangent": 0.02,
    "startFrequency": 0.1,
    "stopFrequency": 20,
})
print(result.values)
print(result.warnings, result.provenance.formula_ref)

const response = await fetch("https://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "X-API-Key": process.env.RFTOOLS_API_KEY,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "slug": "differential-via",
    "inputs": {
      "barrelDiameter": 0.25,
      "antipadDiameter": 0.9,
      "viaPitch": 0.8,
      "boardThickness": 1.6,
      "exitDepth": 0.4,
      "dielectricConst": 4.2,
      "lossTangent": 0.02,
      "startFrequency": 0.1,
      "stopFrequency": 20
    }
  }),
});
console.log(response.status, await response.json());

package main

import (
	"bytes"
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
	"os"
)

func main() {
	body := []byte(`{
	  "slug": "differential-via",
	  "inputs": {
	    "barrelDiameter": 0.25,
	    "antipadDiameter": 0.9,
	    "viaPitch": 0.8,
	    "boardThickness": 1.6,
	    "exitDepth": 0.4,
	    "dielectricConst": 4.2,
	    "lossTangent": 0.02,
	    "startFrequency": 0.1,
	    "stopFrequency": 20
	  }
	}`)
	req, err := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://rftools.io/api/py/v1/calculate", bytes.NewReader(body))
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	req.Header.Set("X-API-Key", os.Getenv("RFTOOLS_API_KEY"))
	req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()
	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(res.Status, string(out))
}

application/json

{
  "slug": "differential-via",
  "values": {
    "stubLength": 1.2000000000000002,
    "stubResonance": 30.475779336627088,
    "antipadsOverlap": 1,
    "insertionLossAtStop": 2.247345403852366,
    "worstInsertionLoss": 2.247345403852366,
    "worstLossFrequency": 20,
    "dielectricLoss": 0.11938454152033894,
    "conductorLoss": 0.01113006904154332
  },
  "warnings": [
    "The planes the via passes through slow the stub, so 30.48 GHz is the unloaded upper bound c/(4·L·√εr): in a field solution of three via geometries the resonance was 8–27 % lower, up to about a quarter. The worst in-band loss is taken at the unloaded resonance."
  ],
  "errors": [],
  "provenance": {
    "method": "calculator:differential-via",
    "version": "api@3f2c1a9b04de",
    "formulaRef": "Stub loading from S₂₁ of a shunt admittance; the coaxial conductor loss α_c = R_s(1/a + 1/b)/(2η·ln(b/a)) (Pozar, Microwave Engineering, 4th ed., §2.7); the field solution of openspec fix-calculator-formulas-followup (2026-10-12). A via transition is three-dimensional — see the linked full-wave tool.",
    "assumptions": [
      {
        "code": "no-impedance",
        "text": "No impedance is reported: a via pair's differential impedance depends on the plane pitch and its common-mode impedance on the return path, neither of which is an input."
      },
      {
        "code": "unloaded-stub",
        "text": "The stub resonance and the worst in-band loss use the unloaded velocity c/√εr; the planes slow the wave, so the real resonance is lower."
      },
      {
        "code": "dense-plane-conductor-loss",
        "text": "Conductor loss is the dense-plane upper bound, each barrel inside its own coaxial wall; radial currents in the planes are not modelled."
      }
    ],
    "validRange": {
      "status": "inside",
      "bounds": {
        "barrelDiameter": {
          "min": 0.05,
          "max": 2,
          "unit": "mm"
        },
        "antipadDiameter": {
          "min": 0.1,
          "max": 5,
          "unit": "mm"
        },
        "viaPitch": {
          "min": 0.1,
          "max": 5,
          "unit": "mm"
        },
        "boardThickness": {
          "min": 0.1,
          "max": 10,
          "unit": "mm"
        },
        "exitDepth": {
          "min": 0,
          "max": 10,
          "unit": "mm"
        },
        "dielectricConst": {
          "min": 1,
          "max": null,
          "unit": ""
        },
        "lossTangent": {
          "min": 0.0001,
          "max": null,
          "unit": ""
        },
        "startFrequency": {
          "min": 0.001,
          "max": null,
          "unit": "GHz"
        },
        "stopFrequency": {
          "min": 0.01,
          "max": null,
          "unit": "GHz"
        }
      },
      "outside": [],
      "model": null
    },
    "computedAt": "2026-09-24T14:05:11.003Z",
    "inputs": {
      "barrelDiameter": 0.25,
      "antipadDiameter": 0.9,
      "viaPitch": 0.8,
      "boardThickness": 1.6,
      "exitDepth": 0.4,
      "dielectricConst": 4.2,
      "lossTangent": 0.02,
      "startFrequency": 0.1,
      "stopFrequency": 20
    },
    "seed": null,
    "elapsedSeconds": 0.003
  }
}

{
  "detail": [
    {
      "type": "float_parsing",
      "loc": [
        "body",
        "inputs",
        "barrelDiameter"
      ],
      "msg": "Input should be a valid number, unable to parse string as a number",
      "input": "abc"
    }
  ]
}

An input sent as text. Nothing was counted.

{
  "detail": "More than 120 requests in 60 seconds from this address.",
  "errorKind": "rate_limited",
  "limit": 120,
  "windowSeconds": 60,
  "upgradeUrl": "https://rftools.io/pricing/"
}

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Same inputs on the calculator pageDifferential Via Calculator, at these values