PCB Layout when Using Through-Hole Components on a Double-Sided

Board without Through-Hole Plating

25 Feb 2008

Boards without through-hole plating, whether they are milled or etched, need to be layed out
slightly differently than boards with plate-through holes. This arises because without through-
hole plating there is no guarantee of connection between the top and bottom copper trace layers
unless both the top and bottom layers have a soldered connection between them.

Rule of thumb: when routing traces around parts that obscure the through-hole footprint, be
sure to start the copper trace on the bottom (solder) layer. You may make a connection to the
top layer using a separate via which will need to be soldered in by hand.

Outline of IC Socket

IC socket

Trace on top side

Trace on top side

PCB substrate
A A
Pad on bottom side
Solder joint
IC socket pin
Top View Cross Section View A−A
Fig. 1 – A representation of the problem that arises without through-hole plating. As shown in the cross-
section view, the trace on the top side cannot be soldered to the IC socket pin since the socket obscures the
hole. As a result, there is no connection between the socket pin and the trace on the top side.

Trace on bottom side Pad on top side

Via

A A

Wire
Trace on bottom side
Top View Cross Section View A−A
Fig. 2 – The problem repaired by appropriate signal routing. The signal is brought to the top side for
further routing by taking the signal off the IC socket pin on the bottom layer and routing to a via that can
be soldered on both bottom and top sides. Note that this via could actually be implemented using a non-
obscured through-hole component, such as a resistor.