Printed Circuit Boards: PIA Training Centre (PTC)

PIA
Training Centre (PTC) Module 4 ELECTRONIC FUNDAMENTALS

Category B2
MODULE 4
Sub Module 4.2
PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS
ISO:90012008Certified ForTrainingPurposeOnly
PTC/CM/B2 Basic/M04/01 Rev. 00
4.2 Mar 2014
PIA Training Centre (PTC) Module 4 ELECTRONIC FUNDAMENTALS
Category B2

Contents

WHATISAPCB?.............................................................1 TESTOFTHEROUTEDCIRCUIT........................................9
Typical...................................................................................................1 CreatingManufacturingFiles...............................................................9
TYPESOFPCBs...............................................................3 ElectromagneticCompatibilityIssues..................................................9
SingleSidedBoards...............................................................................3 MANUFACTURINGPROCESS.........................................10
DoubleSidedBoards.............................................................................4 Imaging(FormingtheConductorPattern).........................................10
MULTILAYERBOARDS...................................................5 DRILLINGANDPLATING................................................12
TECHNOLOGIESFORCOMPONENTPACKING.................5 LaminationofMultiLayerPCBs.........................................................12
ThroughHoleTechnology.....................................................................5 SolderMask,SilkScreenandPlatingOfEdgeConnectors.................12
SurfaceMountedTechnology...............................................................6 Testing................................................................................................12
DesignProcess......................................................................................6 COMPONENTMOUNTINGANDSOLDERING.................13
SYSTEMSPECIFICATION.................................................7 WheretheCostSavingsComeIn.......................................................13
SystemBlockDiagram...........................................................................7
PartitiontheSystemintoSeparatePCBs..............................................7
DeterminetheTechnologytoBeUsedandtheSizeofEachPCB........7
SchematicoftheCircuitryonAllPCBs..................................................7
SimulatingtheDesign...........................................................................7
PLACINGTHECOMPONENTSONTHEPCBs....................8
RoutingthePCBs...................................................................................8

4.2 - i Mar 2014
Category B2 Sub Module 4.2 PCBs
At the heart of the motherboards and graphics cards that we

review on this site is the printed circuit board (PCB). On one Typical PCB: The bare board (without components) is also
side, you have the cold, hard facts and data of benchmarks and referred to as a 'Printed Wiring Board'.
testing. On the other hand, you have the ingenuity of The substrate of the board itself is an insulating and non-flexible
manufacturing, coupled with the artistry of designers. The PCB material. The thin wires that are visible on the surface of the
is an instantly recognizable symbol of both the beauty of board are part of a copper foil that initially covered the whole
electronics design, and its overwhelming sophistication. The board. In the manufacturing process this copper foil is partly
following primer assumes no real knowledge of PCBs, but we've etched away, and the remaining copper forms a network of thin
tried to keep it comprehensive, and go from A to B to create a wires. These wires are referred to as the conductor pattern and
general reference for all our readers. provide the electrical connections between the components
mounted on the PCB.
WHAT IS A PCB?
A PCB is found in almost every electronic device. If you have

electronic components in a device, they are mounted on a PCB,
big or small. Besides keeping the components in place, its
purpose of a PCB is to provide electrical connections between
the components mounted on it. As electronic devices have
become more complex, and require more components, the PCB
has become more populated, and dense with wiring and
components.
Conductor Pattern
4.2 - 1 Mar 2014
actually part of the conductor pattern on the PCB. The edge
To fasten the components to the PCB their legs are soldered to

the conductor pattern. On the most basic PCBs (single-sided connector on one PCB is inserted into a matching connector
boards) the components are located on one side of the board (often referred to as a Slot) on the other PCB. In a PC, graphic
and the conductor pattern on the opposite side. This requires cards, sound cards and other similar products are connected to
holes in the PCB for the component legs to penetrate the board. the main board with the use of edge connectors.
Hence, the legs are soldered to the PCB on the opposite side of
where the components are mounted. The top and bottom side
of a PCB is therefore respectively referred to as the 'Component
Side ' and 'Solder Side'
If a component needs to be removable from the PCB after it is

manufactured, it is mounted on the board with the use of a
Socket. The socket is soldered to the board while the
component can be inserted and taken out of the socket without
the use of solder. The one shown below is a ZIF (Zero Edge Connector
Insertion Force) socket, which allows the component (here a
processor) to be inserted easily in place, and be removable.
The lever on the side of the socket is used to fasten the
component after it is inserted.
Slot
Solder Mask is an insulating and protective coat which protects

the thin copper wires and prevents solder from attaching outside
the connection points for the components. It gives the PCB its
ZIF Socket
green or Brown color. On top of this colored mask a silk screen
is printed. The Silk screen is the text and symbols (often white)
To connect a PCB to another PCB an edge connector is often printed on the PCB for labeling the locations of the different
used. The edge connector consists of small uncovered pads of
components that are to be mounted. The silk screen is also
copper located along one side of the PCB. These copper pads
referred to as the legend.
are
4.2 - 2 Mar 2014
TYPES OF PCBs
Single-Sided Boards
SSBs are the most basic boards which have the components
mounted on one side and the conductor pattern on the opposite
side of the board. Since there is only a conductor pattern on one
side, this type of PCB is called 'Single-sided' This type of board
has severe limitations when it comes to routing the wires in the
conductor pattern (since there is only one side no wires can
cross, and they have to be routed around each other), it is only
used in very primitive circuits.
Green PCB with white silk screen
Single-Sided PCB, top view
Brown PCB without silk screen
4.2 - 3 Mar 2014
Double-Sided PCB, top view
Double -Sided PCB, bottom view
Single-Sided PCB, bottom view
Double-Sided Boards
These types of boards have a conductor pattern on both sides

of the board. Having two separate conductor patterns requires
some kind of electrical connection between them. Such
electrical 'bridges' are called 'vias'. A via is simply a hole in the
PCB that is filled or plated with metal and touches the conductor
pattern on both sides. Since the surface available for the
conductor pattern is twice as large compared to a single-side
board, and that wires now can cross (by routing them on
opposite sides of the board), double sided PCBs are much more
suited for complex circuits than the single-sided.
4.2 - 4 Mar 2014
MULTI-LAYER BOARDS In multi-layer PCBs whole layers are almost always dedicated to
Ground and Power. We therefore classify the layers as Signal,
To increase the area available for the wiring even more these Power or Ground planes. Sometimes there is more than one of
boards have one or more conductor pattern inside the board. both Power and Ground planes, especially if the different
This is achieved by gluing (laminating) several double-sided components on the PCB require different supply voltages.
boards together with insulating layers in between. The number
of layers is referred to as the number of separate conductor TECHNOLOGIES FOR COMPONENT PACKING
patterns. It is usually even and includes the two outer layers.
Most main boards have between 4 and 8 layers, but PCBs with Through Hole Technology
almost 100 layers can be made. Large super computers often
contain boards with extremely many layers, but since it is The components that are mounted on one side on the board
becoming more efficient to replace such computers with clusters while its legs are soldered on the opposite side are called
of ordinary PCs, PCBs with a very high layer count are less and 'Through Hole' (THT: Through Hole Technology). Such
less used. Since the layers in a PCB are laminated together it is components take up a large amount of space and require one
often difficult to actually tell how many there are, but if you hole to be drilled in the PCB for every leg. Hence, their legs
inspect the side of the board closely you might be able count occupy space on both sides of the board, and the connection
them. points for them are also fairly large. On the other hand, THT
components are fairly good mechanically connected to the PCB
The vias described in the section about double-sided PCBs compared to Surface Mounted devices, which will be discussed
always penetrate the whole board. When there are multiple below. Connectors for cables and similar devises also have to
layers of conductor patterns, and you only want to connect withstand mechanical stress and are usually THT.
some of them, such vias waste space that could be used to
route other wires. 'Buried' and 'Blind' vias avoid this problem
because they only penetrate as many layers as necessary.
Blind vias connect one or more of the inner layers with one of
the surface layers without penetrating the whole board. Buried
vias only connect inner layers. It is therefore not possible so see
such vias by just looking at the surface of the PCB.
4.2 - 5 Mar 2014
the PCB directly underneath each other.
Through Hole Components (soldered on bottom side)
Surface Mounted Components mounted on the solder-side of a

Surface Mounted Technology PCB
SMT components are also much smaller than THT components.
The legs of components that are made using 'Surface Mounted This makes PCBs with SMT components much more dense
Technology' are soldered to the conductor pattern on the same compared to similar PCBs with THT components. Today SMT
side of the PCB as the component is mounted. This technology components are also cheaper than THT components. It is
does therefore not require a hole in the PCB for every leg of the therefore no surprise that most components on main boards
component. nowadays are SMT.
Since the connection points and component legs are so small it

becomes very hard to solder on a SMT component manually.
Considering that machines do almost all assembly, this issue
only becomes important when repairs have to be done.
Design Process
Surface Mounted Components The design of a PCB is a process that starts long before the
actual routing of the conductor pattern. These are the main
Surface Mounted Components could even be mounted on both
steps in the design.
sides of
4.2 - 6 Mar 2014
SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
Schematic of the Circuitry on All PCBs
A System Specification of the electronic device that is to be
made must be formulated. This includes specifying all functions A schematic is a detailed drawing of all connections between
of the system, cost limits, size, operating conditions, etc. the components in a circuit. This must be done for all PCBs in
the system, and is nowadays done using Computer Aided
Design (CAD). Below is an example of a schematic that was
System Block Diagram
made using CircuitMakerTM
A Block Diagram of the system's major functions must be
created. How the different blocks are related must also be
specified.
Partition the System into Separate PCBs
Both the reduction in size and the ability upgrade/exchange

separate parts of the system are advantages of dividing the
system into separate PCBs. The system block diagram gives a
good indication of how this should be done. A PC would be
divided into main board, graphic card, sound card, floppy drive,
power supply, etc.
Determine the Technology to Be Used and the Size of Each Schematic of the PCB
PCB
Simulating the Design
When the technology and amount of circuitry on each PCB is
determined, the board size must be estimated. If space To make sure the designed circuit work properly it must be
limitations apply and it turns out that a PCB will be too large, the simulated with a computer program. Such programs take the
technology must be changed or the partitioning must be redone. schematic as input, and can than display the operation of the
When choosing the technology the quality and speed of the circuit in numerous ways. This is much more efficient than
circuit must also be considered. building a prototype on a breadboard and doing the
measurements manually.
4.2 - 7 Mar 2014
PLACING THE COMPONENTS ON THE PCBs

speeds. This is referred to as proper sequencing or scheduling
How the components are placed on the board is dependent on of the components, but we will not go into detail about this here.
how they are connected. They must be placed such that the If the circuit appears to be malfunctioning, the components
wires that link them together can be routed as efficient as could be rearranged before the actual routing is done.
possible. Efficient wiring is as short as possible and uses as few
layers as possible (which also keeps the number of vias at a Routing the PCBs
minimum), but we will come back to this under Routing. Below
is a picture of busses routed on a PCB. It is important to place The connections in the schematic are now translated into a
the components such that they allow such nice routing of wires. model of the actual conductor pattern. This process is usually
automated, but manual modifications are often necessary.
Below is a screenshot from the routing of a two-layer board.
Red and blue lines respectively represent wires on the
component and solder side of the PCB. The yellow text and
rectangles are part of the silk screen that labels the locations of
the components. Holes and vias are showed as dark red dots
and circles. At the far right of the circuit we can see an edge-
connector at the solder-side of the PCB. This final model of the
PCB is often referred to as the Artwork.
Wires forming a Bus
Testing for routability and proper functionality when

running at high speeds
At this point certain computer programs can actually check if the

placement of the components will make it possible to route the Routing the PCB using CAD tools
wires such that the circuit will work when running at high
4.2 - 8 Mar 2014
For every design a set of rules that specify minimum clearance Electromagnetic Compatibility Issues
between wires, minimum wire width and similar physical
properties of the conductor pattern must be followed. These An electronic device that is designed without considering
rules depend on factors like the speed of the circuit, the power Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) is likely to radiate
of the signals that are to be transmitted, how sensitive the circuit electromagnetic energy that can cause undesirable interference
is to leakage currents and noise, and the quality of the materials in nearby electronics. EMC is a design requirement that has
and the manufacturing equipment. The thickness of a conductor maximum limits for Electromagnetic Interference (EMI),
must for example be increased the more power it is required to Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) and Radio Frequency
transmit. To reduce the cost of the PCBs as few layers as Interference (RFI). This requirement ensures both the proper
possible must be used without breaking any of these rules. If operation of the electronic device itself and other nearby
more than two layers are necessary, Ground and Power planes devices. It compels the design to limit the radiative or
are usually used to avoid routing wires carrying supply voltages conductive emission from one device to another and reduce the
on the signal layers, which can cause unwanted leakage device's susceptibility to external sources of EMF, EMI or RFI.
currents. They also act as shields for the signal layers. In other words the goal is to prevent stray electromagnetic
energy from entering or leaving a device. This is a rather difficult
TEST OF THE ROUTED CIRCUIT issue to deal with. Common techniques are the use power and
ground planes, and place the PCB inside a metal box. Power
To ensure that the circuit works properly after the wires have and Ground planes tend to shield emission to and from the
been routed, it has to pass a final check. This check will also signal layers, while a metal box also shields the components.
verify that no connections have been incorrectly routed, i.e. that We will not go more into detail about that here.
all components have been connected according to the The maximum speed of a circuit depends on how well the EMC
schematic. requirement is met. Internal EMI like leakage currents between
conductors increases in magnitude when the frequency of the
Creating Manufacturing Files circuit increases. The distance between connectors must
therefore be increased if there is a big potential difference
Since there are numerous different CAD tools for designing across them. This also tells us that it is important to avoid high
PCBs, the manufacturer needs a standardized set of files as voltages and keep the power consumption of the circuit at a
input to the machines that produces the boards. There are a minimum. The latency in the wires is also crucial, so their length
couple of different standards, but the most common is Gerber must be as short as possible. Hence, a small and well-routed
files. A set of Gerber files includes photo plots for all signal, PCB tends to be capable of running at higher speeds than a
power and ground layers, photo plots for the solder mask and large PCB.
the silk screen, drill files, and pick-and-place files.
4.2 - 9 Mar 2014
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
The process of manufacturing a PCB starts with a board of

Glass Epoxy or similar substrate. This is referred to as the base
substrate.
Imaging (Forming the Conductor Pattern)
The first step is to create the conductor pattern that provides the
electrical connection between the components. We will here
give an introduction to a 'Subtractive transfer' of the artwork into
metal conductors. This technique involves covering the whole
base substrate with a thin copper film and then removes the
superfluous copper. 'Additive Pattern transfer' is another less
common way of creating the conductors. The copper is then
only added where the wires are to be formed. We will not
discuss Additive Pattern Transfer in more detail here.
If a double-sided PCB is to be made, the base substrate is

covered on both sides with the copper film. For multi-layer
PCBs several of these boards are made and laminated together
at a later stage.
The following flowchart shows how the conductor pattern is

formed on the base substrate.
4.2 - 10 Mar 2014
The (positive) Photoresist is made of a light sensitive material The figure below illustrates how the copper wires are formed.
that dissolves when it is illuminated and developed (negative
photoresist dissolves in the development process if it has not
been illuminated). There are many ways to apply the
Photoresist material onto the copper surface, but the most
common is to heat and roll on a film containing the Photoresist
material (referred to as Dry Film). It could also be sprayed on as
a liquid, but the Dry Film offers higher resolution, resulting in
thinner wires.
The mask is just a photo plot of the layer that is to be made.

When this mask is placed over the photoresist before it is
exposed with UV light, it prevents certain areas of the
photoresist to be illuminated (assuming a positive photoresist).
The copper covered by the photoresist in these areas is later
turned into wires in the conductor pattern.
After the photoresist is developed the copper that is to be

etched away is left uncovered. The etching is done by either
lowering the board in an etching solution, or spraying the
etching solution onto the board. Common chemicals for the
etching solution are Ferric Chloride, Alkaline Ammonia, Sulfuric
Acid + Hydrogen Peroxide, and Cupric Chloride. When the
etching is complete the remaining photoresist is removed. This
is referred to as 'Stripping' the photoresist.
This process is done simultaneously on both sides of the board.
4.2 - 11 Mar 2014
DRILLING AND PLATING Solder Mask, Silk Screen and Plating Of Edge Connectors
If the manufactured PCB is a multi-layer board that contains A Solder Mask is applied over the wires on the outer layers
buried or blind vias, each layer has to be drilled and plated such that solder will not attach outside the solder pads. The Silk
before they are laminated together. If not, the layers can be Screen is printed on top of this mask to label the component
laminated together first. locations. It is important that the silk screen does not cover any
solder pads or edge connectors, something that would
After drilling holes in the boards, which is done by machines respectively reduce the solderability and electrical connection.
according to the drill-files, the inside of the holes must be The edge connectors are often plated with gold to ensure a high
'Plated' (Plated-Through-Hole technology: PTH). This quality electrical connection when they are inserted in a slot.
metallization of the holes' inner walls creates an electrical
connection through the board and to all conductors in the inner Testing
layers that the holes touch. Before the plating can start 'Drill
Smear' on the inside of the holes must be removed. This is a Testing the PCB for short circuits and breaks (broken
resinous epoxy coating caused by the heat from the drilling, and connectors) can be done both optically and electrically. Optical
must be removed because it covers the conductors in the inner tests involve scanning the layers to detect defects, while
layers. Both Drill Smear removal and Plating are done in electrical tests most often are done by a 'Flying-Probe' that
chemical processes. verifies all connections. An electrical test is more reliable when
searching for short circuits and breaks, but the optical test can
Lamination of Multi-Layer PCBs more easily detect incorrect spacing between conductors.
Single layers must be laminated together to form a multi-layer

PCB. Lamination involves gluing the layers together with an
insulating film in between. For holes that go through all the
layers the drilling and plating must be repeated. The conductor
pattern of the two surface layers of a multi-layer PCB is often
created as described above after all layers have been laminated
together.
4.2 - 12 Mar 2014
COMPONENT MOUNTING AND SOLDERING Where the Cost Savings Come In
The final step is to mount and solder the components. Both THT To make the cost of the PCB as low as possible a lot of factors
and SMT components are placed on the PCB by machines. have to be considered:
THT components are most often soldered in an automated The size of the board is of course significant. The
process called 'Wave Soldering'. This enables all components smaller the board is, the cheaper it is. Some PCB sizes
to be soldered simultaneously. Their legs are first cut near the have become standard sizes for manufacturing, and
board and slightly bent over to keep the component in place. sticking to one of these sizes helps reduce the cost. The
The PCB is then moved over a wave of liquid flux, such that the website of CustomPCB has info about some standard
bottom side strikes the flux. This removes any oxide from the sizes.
metal surfaces. After heating the PCB it is similarly moved over
a wave of melted solder. The solder attaches to the solder pads Using SMT is cheaper than THT because it makes the
and component legs, and the soldering is complete. PCBs denser (and therefore smaller).
A common way of soldering SMT components automatically is On the other hand, if the board becomes very dense the
'Over Reflow Soldering.' A solder paste containing both flux and wires in the conductor pattern must be thinner, and more
solder is then applied to the solder pads before the components high tech machines have to be used to manufacture the
are placed on the PCB. The PCB is then heated in an oven boards. Higher quality materials must also be used, and
such that the solder in the paste melts. Cooling the PCB the routing of the wires must be done more carefully to
completes this type of soldering and the PCB is ready for final avoid any leakage currents that could affect the
testing. operation of the circuit. All this could increase the cost of
the PCB more than what is gained by reducing its size.
The cost increases with the number of layers, but fewer

layers will often increase the size of the PCB.
It takes time to drill the holes, so as few vias as possible

is desirable.
4.2 - 13 Mar 2014
Buried vias are more expensive than vias that go

through all the layers. This is because buried vias makes
it necessary to drill each layer separately before they are
laminated together.
The size of the holes in the PCB depends on the

diameter of the component legs. If components with
different types of legs are required on the same board
the machine that drills the holes cannot use one single
drill to drill all the holes. The more times the drill has to
be changed while processing one board, the more
expensive the PCB is to manufacture.
An electric test with a 'Flying-Probe' is more expensive

than an optical test. Often an optical test is sufficient to
make sure that the PCB does not have any defects.
It all adds up to a significant amount of work for the

manufacturer as devices become more complex. The process
of creating a PCB is useful to understand because, it gives us
an indication of the abilities of a manufacturer when we are
comparing like boards, which may deliver similar performance,
but may vary in cost, or reliability.
A good engineer can look at a board and draw a conclusion as

to the quality of the design. You may not want to go that far, but
the next time you look at a motherboard, or graphics card, you
just might have an appreciation of the art of PCB design.
4.2 - 14 Mar 2014
NOTES:
4.2 - 15 Mar 2014

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PIA

Training Centre (PTC) Module 4 ELECTRONIC FUNDAMENTALS

PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS

At the heart of the motherboards and graphics cards that we

A PCB is found in almost every electronic device. If you have

To fasten the components to the PCB their legs are soldered to

If a component needs to be removable from the PCB after it is

Solder Mask is an insulating and protective coat which protects

Single-Sided PCB, top view

Brown PCB without silk screen

Double -Sided PCB, bottom view

Single-Sided PCB, bottom view

These types of boards have a conductor pattern on both sides

Through Hole Components (soldered on bottom side)

Surface Mounted Components mounted on the solder-side of a

Since the connection points and component legs are so small it

Partition the System into Separate PCBs

Both the reduction in size and the ability upgrade/exchange

PLACING THE COMPONENTS ON THE PCBs

Wires forming a Bus

Testing for routability and proper functionality when

At this point certain computer programs can actually check if the

The process of manufacturing a PCB starts with a board of

Imaging (Forming the Conductor Pattern)

If a double-sided PCB is to be made, the base substrate is

The following flowchart shows how the conductor pattern is

The mask is just a photo plot of the layer that is to be made.

After the photoresist is developed the copper that is to be

This process is done simultaneously on both sides of the board.

Single layers must be laminated together to form a multi-layer

COMPONENT MOUNTING AND SOLDERING Where the Cost Savings Come In

The cost increases with the number of layers, but fewer

It takes time to drill the holes, so as few vias as possible

Buried vias are more expensive than vias that go

The size of the holes in the PCB depends on the

An electric test with a 'Flying-Probe' is more expensive

It all adds up to a significant amount of work for the

A good engineer can look at a board and draw a conclusion as

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