What Are PCBs Made Of? | Leadsintec

A printed circuit board, often known as a PCB, is a board used to connect electrical parts. It is made up of layers that alternate between sensitive copper and quasi-insulating material.

A PCB can be straightforward with a few attached components or complex, requiring significant design work, with hundreds of small elements attached. Circuit boards differ in their features.

As you can see from the image above, this is a sophisticated circuit board with the capability of receiving and sending high-frequency signals. In this article, I will take like to divulge to you what PCBs are made of.

What Are PCBs Made Of?

PCB boards are made up of different materials. Here I will give you a list of what PCBs are made up of.

1. Copper Layer

A thin copper foil forms the copper layer. With the use of heat and glue, it is bonded to the board. On a double-sided printed circuit board, it is frequently applied to both sides. A board that is two-layered or double-sided has two copper layers throughout the construction. PCBs can include as few as one copper layer or as many as 16 layers!

2. Substrate

FR4, metal, or ceramic can be used as PCB substrates. The most frequently utilized is the reinforced epoxy laminate material known as FR4. It serves as the printed circuit boards’ fundamental substrate. It is a very strong substance, and there are several thickness varieties. Some PCBs, especially the less expensive ones, are constructed using materials other than FR4 and lack FR4 resilience.

3. Solder Mask

Have you ever considered the green color of the PCB boards? due to the layer of the solder mask. The printed boards’ green hue comes from this layer, which is on top of the copper foil. This layer’s primary function is to protect the copper traces from unintentionally meeting any solder or metal. Although green is the most typical hue, the solder mask can be produced in almost any shade.

4. Silkscreen

Afterward, a white silkscreen layer is put on top of the solder mask. To help users comprehend the board better, it is utilized to enter any numbers, symbols, or letters as instructions or guidelines. Any color can be utilized, and there are PCBs with silkscreens in yellow, red, and even black.

5. Laminates

The laminates are made by applying a thermoset resin to layers of cloth and curing them at extreme heat and pressure. This procedure creates the PCB’s necessary uniform thickness. For dimensional stability, a laminate constructed of woven glass is required if your board has a high layer count.

Contact Us For a Unique PCB Boards

Simple circuits are made with the use of PCBs. PCBs are a design tool for electronics, but engineers and artists have also utilized them to make sculptures and works of art.

Making a PCB involves several procedures and can be challenging and time-consuming. Having gone through what PCBs are made up of, why not contact us for a quality PCB board?