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| Printed circuit board | |
|---|---|
| Name | Printed circuit board |
| Caption | Multilayer printed circuit board |
| Type | Electronic component substrate |
| Invented | 1940s |
| Inventor | Paul Eisler |
| Materials | FR-4, copper, solder mask |
| Used | Electronics, aerospace, automotive |
Printed circuit board A printed circuit board provides mechanical support and electrical connections for electronic components on a laminated substrate. It evolved through innovations in manufacturing and design by inventors and firms during and after World War II and underpins devices from consumer electronics to spacecraft.
Early experiments in conductive interconnection trace to inventors and firms in the United Kingdom and United States during the 19th and 20th centuries, with commercial adoption accelerated by wartime production requirements and patents held by individuals such as Paul Eisler and companies including RCA and Bell Labs. Postwar expansion in consumer electronics and the rise of semiconductor manufacturers like Fairchild Semiconductor, Intel, and Texas Instruments drove demand for multilayer boards and surface-mount technology, while standards bodies such as IPC (association) and agencies like the United States Department of Defense formalized specifications. Landmark products from firms such as Sony, IBM, and Motorola showcased PCB-driven miniaturization, paralleled by research at universities like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University into automated assembly and photolithography techniques.
PCB layout engineers use electronic computer-aided design tools developed by companies like Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, and Altium to translate schematics from designers at Intel or NVIDIA into board geometries. Design rules incorporate signal integrity, power distribution, and thermal considerations influenced by standards from IPC (association), regulatory requirements such as those enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, and manufacturing constraints set by contract manufacturers like Foxconn and Jabil. High-speed designs reference work from research groups at Bell Labs and Bell Telephone Laboratories on transmission line effects and from laboratories at Bell Labs and Bellcore on electromagnetic compatibility, while layout teams coordinate with suppliers including 3M and DuPont for material selection.
Common substrates include glass-reinforced epoxy laminates such as FR-4 produced by manufacturers like Dupont de Nemours, Inc. and specialty ceramics supplied by firms such as Murata Manufacturing. Copper foil from producers like Nippon Mining & Metals is laminated to dielectric cores, and surface finishes from companies like Heraeus and MacDermid provide solderability. Solder masks, silkscreen inks, and prepregs from suppliers including Rogers Corporation and Isola Group determine thermal and dielectric properties, while conductive finishes such as HASL, ENIG, and immersion silver follow specifications influenced by industry consortia and certification regimes in regions including the European Union and Japan.
PCB fabrication combines photolithography techniques pioneered in semiconductor fabs like Intel and IBM with mechanical processes used by contract manufacturers including Flextronics and Sanmina. Key steps—panel lamination, drilling by companies using CNC systems from Haas Automation or FANUC, imaging, etching, and plating conducted by fabricators such as TTM Technologies—reflect advances from research at Bell Labs and process control concepts from National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multilayer registration, controlled impedance routing, and via technologies (through-hole, blind, buried, and microvias) were refined through collaborations among industry leaders including IPC (association) and academic programs at Carnegie Mellon University.
Component procurement involves distributors like Arrow Electronics and Avnet supplying parts from manufacturers including Samsung, Infineon Technologies, and STMicroelectronics. Assembly lines employ surface-mount placement machines from Panasonic and ASM Assembly Systems, solder reflow ovens from BTU International, and wave soldering equipment developed by firms such as Vitronics Soltec. Techniques like surface-mount technology and through-hole insertion interoperate with test-oriented placements influenced by system designers at Boeing and Lockheed Martin for aerospace assemblies.
Electrical and mechanical verification uses automated optical inspection systems from Koh Young Technology and flying probe testers from ATEC-Group alongside in-circuit test equipment made by Keysight Technologies and Teradyne. Standards-driven qualification tests derived from committees at IPC (association) and aerospace specifications from MIL-STD-883 or RTCA ensure reliability for clients including NASA, European Space Agency, and automotive OEMs like Toyota and General Motors. Failure analysis laboratories at universities such as Georgia Institute of Technology and commercial labs employ X-ray, scanning electron microscopy, and thermal cycling per guidelines from organizations including ASTM International.
PCBs are central to products from consumer firms like Apple Inc., telecommunications equipment by Ericsson and Huawei, medical devices from Medtronic and Siemens Healthineers, and defense systems by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies. Industry standards from IPC (association), certification programs in the European Union such as CE marking, and environmental regulations like RoHS and REACH shape materials and process choices, while trade shows and conferences hosted by organizations including Electronica (trade fair) and SEMICON facilitate technology transfer among manufacturers, designers, and research institutions.
Category:Electronics