Serpentine traces serve three main purposes:
 
1. Delay matching: In high-speed signal transmission, different signals need to reach their destination simultaneously. If the traces are of unequal lengths, different signals will arrive at the destination with delays, which affects the accuracy of data transmission. To ensure that signals reach the shorter trace at the same time, serpentine traces are used to increase the length of the signal, allowing different signals to arrive at the receiver simultaneously.
2. Reducing interference: In some complex circuits, serpentine traces can avoid interference between signals, just like each signal is assigned its own lane. This reduces collision losses and improves the quality of signal transmission.
3. Filtering: In RF circuits, serpentine traces can form an LC circuit, which has a filtering effect on signals of specific frequencies, filtering out unwanted signals and retaining the required ones.
 
So, do you know in what situations serpentine traces should not be used?