THAKURI

NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

TRAI
NINGNOTES
FORWORD
UNCONTROLLEDCOPY

 ITISIMPORTANTTONOTETHATTHEI NFORMATI
ONINTHI SBOOKI SOFSTUDY/TRAI NINGPURPOSESONLY
ANDNOREVI SI
ONSERVI CEWILLBEPROVIDEDTOTHEHOLDER.
 WHENCARRYI NGOUTAPROCEDURE/WORKONAI RCRAFT/AIRCRAFTEQUIPMENTYOUMUSTALWAYSREFER
TOTHERELEVANTAI RCRAFTMAI NTENANCEMANUALOREQUIPMENTMANUFACTURER' SHANDBOOK.
 FOR HEALTH ANDSAFETY I
N THE WORKPLACE YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THE REGULATIONS/GUIDELI
NES AS
SPECIFI
ED BYTHE EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER,YOUR COMPANY,NATI ONAL SAFETY AUTHORITI
ES AND
NATIONALGOVERNMENTS.

Copy r
ightNoti
ce
© Copy ri
ght
.Allworl
dwideri
ght
sr eser
ved.Nopartoft hispubli
cat
ionmayber epr
oduced,st
oredinar et
ri
evalsyst
em or
transmitt
edinanyf
orm byanyothermeanswhatsoever:i
.e.phot
ocopy,el
ect
roni
c,mechani
calr
ecor
dingorother
wisewithout
thepriorwri
tt
enper
missi
onofThakurInsti
tut
eofAvi
ationTechnology
.
Knowl
edgeLev
els–Cat
egor
yA,
B1,
B2,
B3andCAi
rcr
aftMai
ntenanceLi
cense

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

Basi
cknowl edgeforcat egor
iesA,B1,B2andB3ar eindi
cat
edbyt
heallocat
ionofknowledgelevel
sindi
cat
ors(1,2or3)
agai
nsteachappli
cationsubject.Categor
yCappli
cant
smustmeetei
thert
hecat egor
yB1orthecategor
yB2basicknowl
edge
l
evel
s.
Theknowledgelev
elindicator
sar edefi
nedasf
oll
ows:
LEVEL1
 Afamili
arizat
ionwiththepri
ncipal
elementsofthesubject
.
Object
ives
:Theapplicantshouldbefamil
iarwit
hthebasicelementsofthesubj
ect
.
 Theapplicantshouldbeabletogiveasimpledescri
pti
onofthewholesubj
ect
,usi
ngcommonwor
dsandexampl
es.
 Theapplicantshouldbeabletousetypi
calter
ms.
LEVEL2
 Ageneralknowledgeofthetheoreti
calandpracticalaspectsofthesubject.
 Anabil
i
tytoappl yt
hatknowledge.
Obj
ecti
ves:Theapplicantshoul
dbeabl etounder standthetheoreti
calfundamental
softhesubj ect.
 Theappli
cantshouldbeabletogi v
eagener aldescr i
pti
onofthesubj ectusi
ng,asappr
opr i
ate,t
y picalexamples.
 Theappli
cantshouldbeabletousemat hematicalformulaeinconjuncti
onwithphysi
callawsdescr i
bingthesubject
.
 Theappli
cantshouldbeabletoreadandunder st andsketches,drawingsandschematicsdescribingthesubject.
 Theappli
cantshouldbeabletoappl yhi
sknowl edgei napracti
cal mannerusingdet
ail
edpr ocedures.
LEVEL3
 Adet ai
ledknowl edgeoft hetheor
etical
andpr act i
calaspectsoft hesubj ect .
 Acapaci tytocombi neandappl ytheseparateel ementsofknowl edgei nal ogicalandcompr ehensivemanner .
Objecti
v es:Theapplicantshouldknowt hetheor yofthesubj ectandi nterrel
ationshipswi t
hot hersubjects.
 Theappl i
cantshouldbeabl etogiveadet ail
eddescr ipti
onoft hesubj ectusi ngt heoret
icalfundament alsandspecifi
c
exampl es.
 Theappl icantshouldunderstandandbeabl et ousemat hemat i
cal formul aerelat
edt othesubj ect.
 Theappl i
cantshouldbeabl etoread,understandandpr eparesket ches, simpledr awingsandschemat i
csdescribi
ngthe
subject.
 Theappl icantshouldbeabl etoapplyhi
sknowl edgeinapr act i
calmannerusi ngmanuf acturer’
sinstr
uctions.
 Theappl i
cantshouldbeabl etoint
erpretresultsfrom varioussour cesandmeasur ement sandappl ycorrect
iveact
ion
wher eappr opr
iat
e.

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

Modul
e4.
2:Pr
int
edCi
rcui
tBoar
ds

Cert
if
icati
onSt
atement
TheseStudyNotescomplywit
hthesyl
labusofEASARegul
ati
on(EC)No.
2042/2003Annex(
Par
t-
66)Appendi
xI,asamended
byRegulati
on(
EC)No.1149/
2011,andt
heassoci
atedKnowl
edgeLevel
sasspeci
fi
edbel
ow:

EASA66 Lev
el
Obj
ect
ive
Refer
ence A B1 B2

Pr
int
edCi
rcui
tBoar
ds 4.
2 - 1 2

 Descr
ipt
ionanduseofpr
int
edci
rcui
tboar
ds.

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THAKURI
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TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

MODULE4.
2:PRI
NTEDCI
RCUI
TBOARDS connecti
onwhi chishi ghlydurableandeasilychangeable.
UNI
T10 Asel ectr
onicsmov edf r
om v acuum tubesandr elayst o
si
licon and integrated ci rcui
ts,the size and cost of
10.
1.I
NTRODUCTI
ON el
ect r
onic component s began t o decrease.Electroni
cs
became mor e prev alent in consumer goods and t he
Pri
ntedci rcuitboar
di st hemostcommonnamebutmay pressuretor educet hesi zeandmanuf acturi
ngcost sof
al
so becal led “
pri
nted wiri
ng boar ds”or“pri
nted wiri
ng el
ect r
onicproductsdr ovemanuf act
urer
st ol ookforbetter
cards”.Bef or ethe adv ent of the PCB ci r
cuit
s wer e soluti
ons.Thuswasbor nthePCB.
constructedt hr
oughal aboriouspr ocessofpoint-t
o-poi
nt
wir
ing.Thi sl edtofrequentfail
uresatwi r
ej uncti
onsand
shortcircui
tswhenwi reinsul
ati
onbegant oageandcr ack.

Fi
g10.
2
Fi
g10.
1
PCBi sanacr onymfor 
pri
ntedcircui
tboard.I
tisaboar d
A signi
fi
cant adv
ance was t he development of
 wire
thathasli
nesandpadsthatconnectvari
ouspoi
ntstogether.
wrappi
ng,wher
easmal lgaugewi reisl it
eral
l
ywrapped
Int he pi
ctur
e above,there ar
et r
aces t
hatelectr
icall
y
ar
oundapostateachconnect
ionpoi
nt,creati
ngagas-
tight
connectthev ar
iousconnect
orsandcomponent st oeach

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

other.A PCB al l
ows signal
s and powert o be rout
ed You wil
lfind manydi f
ferentthickness PCBs;t
he most
betweenphy si
caldev
ices.Solderisthemet althatmakes common t hi
ckness forSpar k Fun productsis 1.
6mm
theelect
ri
calconnect
ionsbetweent hesur
faceoft hePCB (0.
063")
.Someofourpr oducts-Lil
yPadboardsandArudi
no
andt heelectr
oni
ccomponent s.Bei
ngmet al,solderal
so ProMicroboards-usea.8mm thickboard.
servesasast r
ongmechanicaladhesi
ve.

COMPOSI
TION

A PCB i ssortofl
ikeal ay
ercakeorlasagna-ther
eare
alter
nati
nglayer
sofdi
ff
erentmater
ial
swhicharel
aminat
ed
togetherwit
hheatandadhesivesuchthattheresul
tisa
singl
eobject.

Fi
g10.
3

Let
’sst
arti
nthemi
ddl
eandwor
kourwayout
. Fi
g10.
4

FR4 CheaperPCBsandper fboards(shownabov e)wi

llbemade
wit
hot hermat eri
alssuchasepoxi esorphenol icswhich
The base mat erial,orsubst r
ate,is usual l
yf i
bregl
ass. l
ackt hedur
abili
tyofFR4butar emuchl essexpensive.You
Hist
ori
cally
,themostcommondesi gnatorforthi
sf i
bregl
ass wil
lknow youar ewor ki
ngwi ththisty
peofPCBwheny ou
i
s“ FR4”.Thi s soli
d cor
e gives the PCB i t
sr igi
dityand soldertoi
t-t heyhav eav erydisti
nct
ivebadsmel l
.These
thi
ckness.Therear eal
soflexi
blePCBsbui ltonflexibl
ehigh- ty
pes ofsubst rates are also typi
cal
lyf ound i
nl ow-end
temperatur
eplastic(Kapt
onort heequivalent)
. consumer electronics. Phenolics haveal ow t her
mal
decomposit
ion t emperature whi ch causes t hem t o

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

delaminat
e,smokeandcharwhent
hesol
der
ingi
roni
shel
d onl
yonesi de.Whenwer ef
ert
oa doublesided 
or 
2-l
ayer
toolongontheboar
d. boar
d weareref
err
ingt
othenumberofcopperlay
ers(2)in
ourl
asagna.Thi
scanbeasfewas1layerorasmanyas16
l
ayersormore.
COPPER
Thecopperthi
cknesscanv aryandisspecif
iedbyweight,i
n
ouncespersquarefoot.Thev astmajori
tyofPCBshav e1
ounceofcopperpersquarefootbutsomePCBst hathandl
e
veryhighpowermayuse2or3ouncecopper .Eachounce
persquaret r
anslat
es to about35 mi crometers or1.4
thousandt
hsofaninchofthicknessofcopper.

SOLDERMASK

Thel ay
eront opofthecopperfoili
scal l
edthesol dermask
l
ay er
.Thisl ayergiv
esthePCBi tsgreen( or,atSpar kFun,
red)colour.Itisoverl
aidontot hecopperl ayertoi nsul
ate
thecoppert racesfr
om accidentalcont
actwi thothermet al
,
solder,
orconduct i
vebit
s.Thislayerhelpstheusert osolder
tothecorrectplacesandpreventsolderjumper s.

Fi
g10.
5

PCBwi
thcopperexposed,
nosol
dermaskorsi
l
kscr
een.

Thenextl
ayerisathi
ncopperfoi
l,
whichi
slaminat
edtot he
boar
dwi t
hheatandadhesi v
e.Oncommon,doubl esi ded
PCBs,copperisappl
iedtobothsidesofthesubstr
ate.In
l
owercostelect
roni
cgadget
st hePCBmayhav ecopperon

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

Fi
g10.
6
Fi
g10.
7
Intheexampleabovegreensol
dermaski sappli
edtothe
majori
tyoft
hePCB,coveri
ngupthesmall
tracesbutl
eav
ing Thewhi t
esilkscreenlayerisappl i
edont opoft hesolder
thesil
verri
ngsandSMD padsex posedso theycanbe mask layer
.The si lkscreen adds lett
ers,number s,and
sol
deredto. symbolstot hePCB t hatall
ow f oreasierassembl yand
i
ndicat
orsforhumanst obett
erunder standtheboar d.We
Soldermaskismostcommonl ygr
eeni ncol
ourbutnearl
y oft
enusesilkscreenlabelstoindicatewhatt hefuncti
onof
any colouri
s possibl
e.We use r
ed foralmostallthe eachpinorLED.
SparkFunboards,whit
efort
heIOIO boar
d,andpurpl
efor
theLil
yPadboards. Sil
kscr
eenismostcommonl ywhitebutanyinkcolourcan
beused.Black,gray,r
ed,andeveny el
l
owsil
kscreencol
ours
SI
LKSCREEN arewidel
yav ai
lable;i
tis,however
,uncommont oseemor e
thanonecolouronasi ngleboar
d.

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

10.
2.TERMI
NOLOGYANDCOMPONENTS

Nowthatyou’
vegotanideaofwhataPCBst
ruct
ureis,
let
’s
def
inesomet er
mst hatyoumayhearwhendealingwit
h
PCBs:

 ANNULAR RING:Theri
ng ofcopperar
ound apl
ated
thr
oughhol
einaPCB.

Fi
g10.
9:Notsoaccur
ate,
butf
unct
ional
dri
l
lhi
ts

 FINGER:Exposedmetalpadsal
ongtheedgeofaboar d,
usedtocreateaconnect
ionbet
weentwocircui
tboards.
Commonexampl esarealongtheedgesofcomput er
Fi
g10.
8:Exampl
esofannul
arr
ings expansi
onormemor yboardsandoldercar
tri
dge-
based
vi
deogames.
 DRC:Designrulecheck.Asoftwarecheckofyourdesi
gn
tomakesuret hedesigndoesnotcontainer
rorssuchas  MOUSEBI TES:Anal t
ernati
vetov-scoreforseparati
ng
tr
acesthatincorrect
lytouch,tr
acestooskinny,ordri
ll boar
dsfrom panel
s.Anumberofdr il
lhi
tsareclust
ered
holest
hataretoosmal l
. cl
osetogether
,creati
ngaweakspotwher et
heboar d
canbebr okeneasil
yaf t
erthefact.Seet heSparkFun
 DRI
LLHI T:placesonadesi gnwher
eaholeshoul
dbe Prot
osnapboardsforagoodexampl e.
dr
il
led,orwheret heyactual
l
yweredril
l
edont
heboard.
I
naccurat
edr i
llhitscausedbydullbi
tsar
eacommon
manufactur
ingissue.

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

sever
alboardstogetheratonce,t
heypr
ocesscanbe
spedupsigni
fi
cantl
y.

 PASTESTENCI L:At hi
n,met al(
orsometimesplasti
c)
stenci
lwhi
chliesovertheboard,al
l
owingsolderpaste
tobedeposi
tedinspeci
fi
careasduri
ngassembly.

Abedoesaquickdemonstr
ati
onofhow t
oli
neupa
past
est
enci
landappl
ysol
derpast
e.

 PICK-
AND-PLACE 
:Themachi
neorpr ocessbywhi
ch
Fi
g10.
10:
Mousebi
tesonthe 
Lil
yPadProtoSnap 
all
owt
he component
sarepl
acedonaci
rcui
tboar
d.
PCBtobesnappedaparteasi
ly
Bob showsust heSparkFun My
Dat
aPi
ckand Pl
ace
 PAD :Apor
ti
onofexposedmetalonthesur
faceofa machine.I
t’
spr
ett
yawesome.
boar
dtowhi
chacomponenti
ssolder
ed.
 PLANE :Aconti
nuousbl
ockofcopperonacir
cui
tboar
d,
def
inebybordersrat
hert
hanbyapat h.Al
socommonly
cal
leda“pour
”.

Fi
g10.
11:
PTHpadsont
hel
eft
,SMDpadsont
her
ight

 PANEL :A largercircui
tboar d composed ofmany
smal
lerboardswhi chwillbebrokenapartbeforeuse.
Aut
omat edcir
cuitboardhandl
ingequipmentfrequentl
y Fi
g10.
12:
Var
iouspor
ti
onsofthePCBthathav
enot
races
hastroubl
e with small
erboards,and byaggr egat
ing buthasagroundpouri
nst
ead.

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
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ONTECHNOLOGY

 PLATEDTHROUGHHOLE :Ahol eonaboar dwhi chhas

anannul
arri
ngandwhichisplat
edal lt
hewayt hrough
theboar
d.Maybeaconnecti
onpointforat hr
oughhole
component
,avi
atopassasignalt
hrough,oramount i
ng
hole.

Fi
g10.
14:
Thepopul
ar 
pogopinwi
thpoint
edt
ip.Weuse
t
onsoftheseonourt
estbeds

 REFLOW :Melt
ingthesoldert
ocr
eat
ejoi
ntsbet
ween
padsandcomponentl
eads.
Fig10.13:A PTH r esi
storinser
tedintot he 
FabFM PCB,
readytobesoldered.Thel egsoftheresi
storgothroughthe  SILKSCREEN:Thel et
ters,number
,symbolsandimagery
holes.Theplat
edhol escanhav et r
acesconnectedtothem onacircui
tboard.Usuall
yonlyonecol
orisavai
labl
e,and
ont hefr
ontofthePCBandt her
earofthePCB. resol
uti
onisusuall
yfair
lyl
ow.

 POGO PIN :Spr i

ng-
loaded contactused t
o make a
tempor
aryconnect
ionfortestorprogr
ammingpur
poses.

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

Fig10.
16Compl exslot
scutintothe 
ProtoSnap-ProMini
.
Thereareal
somanymousebi t
esshown. Note:
 t
hecor
ners
oftheslotscannotbemadecompl etel
ysquarebecause
theyar
ecutwithacir
cularr
out
ingbit
.

 SOLDERPASTE:Smal lbal
lsofsol dersuspendedina
gelmedium whi ch,withtheai dofapast estenci
l,are
appli
edtothesur facemountpadsonaPCBbef or
et he
componentsarepl aced.Duri
ngr ef
low,thesolderi
nt he
pastemel t
s,creatingelectr
icalandmechani caljoi
nts
betweenthepadsandt hecomponent .

Fi
g10.
15:
Sil
kscr
eeni
dent
if
yingt
hisLEDast
hepowerLED

 SLOT: Anyholeinaboar dwhichisnotround.Sl
otsmay
ormaynotbepl at
ed.Slotssometimesaddt oaddcost
totheboardbecausetheyrequir
eextracut-
outti
me.

Fi
g 10.17 :Solderpaste on a PCB short
ly bef
oret he
components ar
e placed.Be suret or ead about 
paste
stenci
l
 abov
easwell.

 SOLDERPOT:Apotusedt oquicklyhandsol
derboar
ds
wit
hthr
oughholecomponents.Usual
lycont
ainsasmall
amountofmol
tensolderi
ntowhichtheboardisqui
ckl
y

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

di
pped,
leav
ingsol
derj
oint
sonal
lexposedpads. t
oit
,andwi
l
ltakeanabnor
mal
l
ylongt
imet
oref
low.

 SOLDERMASK:Al ayerofprotectiv
emat eriallai
dov er
themet alt
opr eventshortcir
cuits,corr
osion,andot her
probl
ems.Fr equentl
ygreen,al
thoughot hercolors(Spark
Fun red,Arduino blue,orAppl e black)ar e possibl
e.
Occasional
lyrefer
redtoas“resist
” .

Fi
g10. 19:Ont heleft
,asolderpadwit
ht wosmal lt
races
(t
hermals)connect
ingthepintothegroundplane.Ont he
ri
ght,aviawit
hnot hermal
sconnecti
ngitcomplet
elyt
ot he
Fi
g10.
18:
Sol
dermaskcover
supthesi
gnal
tracesbut groundplane.
l
eavest
hepadstosol
dert
o
 THIEVI NG:Hatching,gri
dli
nes,ordot
sofcopperl ef
tin
 SOLDER JUMPER :A small
,unwant
edblobofsolder areasofaboardwher enoplaneortr
acesexi
st.Reduces
connect
ing t
wo adj
acentpi
nson a componenton a diff
icult
yofetchingbecausel essti
meint hebat his
ci
rcui
tboard. requiredtor
emov eunneededcopper.
 SURFACEMOUNT:Const ructi
onmet hodwhi chall
ows  TRACE:
Acont
inuouspat
hofcopperonaci
rcui
tboar
d.
componentst obesi mpl
ysetonaboar d,notrequi
ri
ng
thatleadspassthroughholesintheboar d.Thi
sisthe
dominantmet hodofassemblyinuset oday,andall
ows
boardstobepopulatedqui
cklyandeasil
y.

 THERMAL:Asmal ltraceusedt oconnectapadt oa

plane.Ifapad i snott hermall
yreli
eved,i
tbecomes
diff
icul
ttogetthepadt oahi ghenoughtemper
atureto
create a good sol
derj oi
nt.An improperl
ythermal
ly
reli
evedpadwillf
eel“sti
cky”whenyouattemptt
osolder Fi
g 10.
20 :A smal
ltr
ace connect
ing t
he 
Reset
 pad t
o

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THAKURI
NSTI
TUTEOFAVI
ATI
ONTECHNOLOGY

elsewhereontheboar
d.Al
arger
,thi
ckert
raceconnect
sto  WAVESOLDER:Amet hodofsol
deri
ngusedonboar ds
the 5V 
powerpi
n. wit
ht hr
ough-hol
e components wheret he boar
di s
passedov erast andi
ngwaveofmol tensolder
,which
 V-SCORE:A part
ialcutthr
oughaboard,al
l
owi
ngt
he adherestoexposedpadsandcomponentleads.
boardt
obeeasi
lysnappedalongal
i
ne.

 VIA:Ahol einaboar dusedtopassasi gnalfrom one

l
ayertoanother
. 
Tented 
viasarecov er
edbysol der
mask
to pr
otectthem from being solder
ed t
o.Vi aswher e
connector
s and components aret o be at
tached are
oft
enunt ent
ed(uncover
ed)sot hattheycanbeeasi l
y
sol
dered.

Fi
g10.
24

The sur face oft he PCB has severalf eatures.You wi l

l
probabl ynot
icerightaway ,
whenpicki
ngupanyt ypi
calPCB,
thatthemaj orit
yoft hesurfaceiscover
edwi t
hgr eenstuff.
Thisi s call
ed t he soldermask,and i ti s a di el
ectri
c
(i
nsul ator).I
tactuallyhassev er
alspeci
fict asks.Fi r
st,i
ti s
theret opr eventcorrosi
on,astheoxygeni nourat mospher e
i
squi tet oxi
ct othecopperont hetopandbot tom layers.
Next ,ithast hej obofpr event
ingaccident alshor t
sf r
om
occur ring.Theexposedcopperi sveryv ulnerablet opaper
cli
pdr opsandl oosescr ews.Besttocov eritupwi thgreen
stuffthatwon’ tconduct.

Fig10.
23:Fr ontandbackoft hesamePCB showinga
tent
edvi
a.Thisviabri
ngsthesignalf
rom t
hefrontsi
deof
thePCB,t
hroughthemiddl
eoftheboard,
tothebacksi
de.

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anel ectr
icalconnect i
ont ooccurt ot hecomponentbei ng
soldered.A pl us side ist hatt he met alt i
ni s a major
componenti nmoder nsol der,sucht hatt hef l
ow ofthe
solderisf acil
it
atedbyt het i
nnedpads.Last l
y,thecolor
ed
l
ettersandmar ki
ngsseenont opoft hesoldermaskar e
call
ed the si l
kscreens.Theyar e apt lynamed si nce t
he
mar ki
ngs ar e appl i
ed t ot he sol der mask t hr
ough a
sil
kscreenpr ocess.Itisessent iall
yast encilmadewi tha
thi
nmembr ane,ontowhi chcoloredinki sapplied.Thi
slayer
all
ows t he PCB desi gnert ol abelt he component s,and
i
ndicateswi tchesandf uncti
onalit
y .

Howev er
,t her
e arethings underneat
ht he sur
face t
hat
cannotbeseenwi tht
henakedey e,butplayakeyrol
einthe
funct
ionali
tyoftheboar
d.Belowi sanexampleofa4l ayer
PCB,typical
lyver
ycheaptomanuf actur
e.

Fi
g10.
25

Thenextt hi
ngy ouwi l
lnot icear et het inyl i
nest hatr un
acr ossthesur f
aceoft heboar d( al
beitcov eredi ngr een).
Theyar ethecoppert hatresi deont opoft hePCB.Thi sis
howel ectr
icalconnect i
onsar ecreatedf rom oneel ect roni
c Fi
g10.
26
elementt oanot her.Thet erm usedt odescr i
bet hesel inesis
“signaltrace”orj ust“trace”;theydescr ibet het racet hata Onanygi venPCB,y oucanonl yseet het opandbot t
om
coppert akesf rom onepoi ntt oanother.Next ,ther ear ethe coppertraces.Underneat hhowev er,theremaybemany
pads.These ar e exposed bi t
s ofmet alcov ered i nt i
n l
ayersofcoppercreatingconnectionsbet weencomponent s.
(throughel ectr
oplati
ng).Theyar eexposedsot hatt hepi ns ThecostofaPCBi sgener al
l
ydi ctatedbyt henumberof
ony ourICsandy ourr esistorscanbesol deredont ot he l
ayer.These l ayer
si ncrease the number of possi ble
boar d.Thet indoesnotoxi dize,butisst il
lconduct ive.This connect
ionoptionsbet weencomponent sbyal l
owingt
races
proper t
ypr otectstheunder l
yingcopper ,whi lest i
llallowing tointer
sectone anot herwi t
houtshor ti
ng out.Forvery

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densecircui
tssuchasmobi l
edevices,morelayer
sareneed consi
sti
ngofonel ay
erofcopperandonel ayerofFR4,ar
e
si
ncethenumberofconnect ionperareaishigh.Oncir
cuit
s thenputtogetheronaheatedvacuum pr
ess,andall
owedto
wit
hlowerdensi t
ies,al owernumberofl ayersispr
eferr
ed meldtogetherint
oasingl
eboardstruct
ure.
si
nceitreducesmanuf actur
ingcosts.
Theroundcircl
elikethingsthatcanbeseenont hesurf
ace The goalofourmanuf acturing process is much l ess
ofPCBsar ecall
edv i
as. ambi t
ious.Wewi llbeconstruct i
ngat wol ayerboard,with
nosol dermask,nopadt inningandnosi l
kscreens.The
processi susual
lycall
ed“ barebone”sincei tonlycontains
thebar eessenti
alsofaf unctioningPCB.Asl ongast he
signal
spasst hr
ough,itcanbet echni
call
ycalledaci r
cuit
board.

Fi
g10.
27 Fi
g10.
18

Thesear edril
l
edhol esthatcreat
et heconnect i
onsbet
ween
thel ayers.Thehol esar eactuall
ydr il
ledaf t
erthecopper
traces ar e cr eat
ed, and sy nthesized t hr
ough copper
electroplat
ing.Wi t
hacombi nati
onoft racesandv i
as,the
PCB desi gner is allowed t o create circuit
sint hree
dimensi ons.

Finall
y,thel ayersbetweent hecopper( l
abelled“core”and
“prepreg”int heabov epictur
e)ar eFR4( mostoft hetime).
Theabbr ev i
ationstandsf orFlameRet ardant4,createdout
of f i
breglass and r esi
n. These i nsul ator
s createt he
struct
ureoft heboar d,andgi vesitrigidity.Thecopperon
eachoft heconduct i
v elayer
sar egrownont otheFR4,and
thenet chedof finaci dtocr eat
et het races.Eachst ack,

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