Printed Circuit Board (PCB)

What is a PCB?

           A printed circuit board (PCB) is the board base for physically supporting and wiring the surface-mounted and socketed components in most electronics.

         PCB Stands for "Printed Circuit Board." A PCB is a thin board made of fiberglass, composite epoxy, or other laminate material. Conductive pathways are etched or "printed" onto board, connecting different components on the PCB, such as transistors, resistors, and integrated circuits.

        PCB s are used in both desktop and laptop computers. They serve as the foundation for many internal computer components.

Materials in a PCB:

        The substrate most commonly used in printed circuit boards is a glass fiber reinforced (fiberglass) epoxy resin with a copper foil bonded on to one or both sides. PCB s made from paper reinforced phenolic resin with a bonded copper foil are less expensive and are often used in household electrical devices.

        The printed circuits are made of copper, which is either plated or etched away on the surface of the substrate to leave the pattern desired.
        The copper circuits are coated with a layer of tin-lead to prevent oxidation.
        Contact fingers are plated with tin-lead, then nickel, and finally gold for excellent conductivity.
        The purchased components include resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, integrated circuit chips, and other.

Manufacturing Process Overview:  

• Making the substrate 

• Drilling and plating the holes

• Creating the printed circuit pattern on the substrate

• Attaching the contact fingers

• Fusing the tin-lead coating 

• Sealing, stenciling, and cutting the panels

• Mounting the components 

• Packaging 

  
  

 Types of PCB Boards:

General Types:

• General purpose PCB s

• Single Sided Board

                     This is the least complex of the Printed Circuit Boards, since there is only a single layer of substrate. All electrical parts and components are fixed on one side and copper traces are on the other side.

• Double Sided Board

                     This is the most common type of board, where parts and components are attached to both sides of the substrate. In such cases, double-sided PCB s that have connecting traces on both the sides are used. Double-sided Printed Circuit Boards usually use through-hole construction for assembly of components.

• Multi Layered Board

                       Multi layered PCB consists of several layers of substrate separated by insulation. Most common multi layer boards are:  4 layers, 6 layers, 8 layers, and 10 layers. However, the total number of layers that can be manufactured can exceed over 42 layers. These types of boards are used in extremely complex electronic circuits.
       

Based on Product Range:

Double / Single Sided

Flexi

High Layer Count Multi layer

Flexi-Rigid

Buried & Blind Via's

Controlled Impedance

Sequential builds

Copper / Invar / Copper

Microwave / RF

Metal backed (Aluminum) (Copper) (Brass) (IMS)

Heat sink Bonding

Micro Via's

Copper Plating on Ceramics / Alumina / AIN