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Different types of printed circuit boards

Over the years, printed circuit boards (PCBs) have revolutionized the electronics industry. The impact created by these components is so large that it is difficult to imagine an electronic device without them. With all advanced technologies insight, the PCB industry is growing faster than ever before. Owing to their distinct beneficial features, they find their use in a wide range of applications, where they serve as the base for the devices. Most of the circuit boards are designed for simple and regular use electronic devices, whereas the advanced devices may require multilayered and dense circuit boards, depending upon the design complexity. Printed circuit boards come with different formats that have their manufacturing properties and advantages.

Types of printed circuit boards:

  • Single-Sided printed circuit boards (PCBs): A single-sided circuit board contains a single layer of the substrate, which is coated with a thin conductor layer, usually copper which assures the best electrical conductivity. Typically, a protective solder mask is applied on top of the copper layer and a silkscreen coating is applied to mark different elements of the circuit board for easy identification. Single-sided boards are easy to manufacture and they are used in various regular use applications such as digital camera circuits, radio and stereo equipment, photocopy and printing machines, vending machine circuits, and so on.
  • Double-Sided printed circuit boards (PCBs): Unlike single-layer, double-layer printed circuit boards have metal conductive layers and components on both sides. In these printed circuit boards, the components are usually surface mounted or connected using a through-hole technique. Double-layered boards are widely used in applications such as vending machines, amplifiers, HVAC systems, automotive dashboards, LED lighting, and more.
  • Multi-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs): Multilayer PCBs are an advanced versions of double-sided boards. They have more layers on both sides than double-sided PCBs. As the name suggests, these circuit boards possess several layers of the substrate with insulating layers. The multiple layers incorporated on these circuit board designs. Multi-layer circuit boards also utilize through-hole technology or surface mounting technique to connect components on both sides. Multilayer printed circuit boards are used in GPS driven devices, data storage devices, weather analysis systems, and satellite systems.