Material Considerations
The materials in your rigid PCB depend on the specifications of your project. With several material offerings, you can design your rigid PCB for your application.
Conductor
At YiYanPCB, we supply PCBs with specialized metal cores, such as aluminum, for high thermal conductivity that remains cost-effective. The metal core we use will depend on your specifications and conductivity needs.
Adhesives
Your adhesive will vary based on your project specs and conductor thickness. Some options are:
Insulators
We will provide an insulator that offers strong signal transmission and safety. Possible materials include:
- Coverlays, covercoats and solder mask layer.
- Standard FR-4 materials.
- Lead-free compatible FR-4 materials.
As the most common type for rigid PCBs,FR-4 boards use a flame-retardant fiberglass layer for greater rigidity and flame resistance. These boards are lightweight and temperature- and moisture-resistant, making them an excellent choice for many applications.
When PCBs need to operate in high temperatures, high-Tg circuit boards have a glass transition temperature (Tg) over 150 degrees Celsius. If you’re working with high-power circuit density designs, heat that is generated may overwhelm a standard PCB’s heat management methods. High-Tg boards are the practical solution in these scenarios.
Finishes
Your rigid PCB will use a copper layer for an efficient electrical current flow and will need protection against corrosion and oxidation. Possible protective finishes include:
- Electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG).
- Electroless nickel electroless palladium immersion gold (ENEPIG).
- Immersion tin.
- Hot air solder leveling (HASL).
- Immersion silver.
- Lead-free HASL.
- Wire-bondable electrolytic gold.
- Hard gold fingers.