So I have a design in Eagle with a few SMD components that have pads that should be grounded. I've done a copper pour (draw polygon->name GND->Ratsnest) to create a top ground plane. On some of my components the ground plane connects to the SMD pad, but only by four narrow traces (such as below):
I would like the entire SMD pad to connect to the ground plane. It's an RF design so grounding is fairly important. Has anyone experienced a similar problem?
Best Answer
These are called "thermals" and they make soldering easier/possible. You can disable them in the properties window for the polygon.
If grounding is really important you might be better off with vias in the pad connecting it to a ground plane on the next layer down.