TechnoService

Annular Ring

Copper ring in the pad with the size of the half of the pad diameter and plated through hole.

AOI (Automated Optical Inspection)

Automated optical inspection of circuits, which consists in comparing an actual image of scanned PCB with a Gerber file image used in PCB fabrication.

Aperture

The term comes from the days of vector photo plotters, where film was exposed by shining light through apertures arrayed around the edge of a disk (or "aperture wheel"). Each aperture corresponded to a different D code in the Gerber data. Today, photoplotters use lasers to expose the film but the term "aperture" persists and describes the shape and size of the tool used to create a pad or track.

Aperture List / Table

A list (table) of the apertures for describing the pads and tracks used to create a pattern of a circuit board

Base laminate

Laminate type, a substrate material for PCB fabrication.

Blind via’s

A via hole that does not pass completely through the printed circuit board. It provides electrical connection between an external and internal layer of the PCB.

Buried via’s 

A via hole in multilayer PCB, which ensures electrical connection only between internal layers and is not visible on external layers.

Component Side

The name is derived from single sided technology and it is used to describe the side of a printed circuit board (without conductive pattern) on which most of the components will be mounted. In SMD mounting technology for double layer and multilayer PCB, it is the TOP side of the PCB.

Double sided PCB

The pads and traces are both on the external side of the board - component side (TOP) and soldering side (BOTTOM).

Electroplating

The electrodeposition of copper coating inside the through holes in double or multilayer PCBs.

Etching

Removing unwanted uncoated copper layer by chemical process.

FR-4 laminates

Glass reinforced epoxy resin laminates, the most commonly used PCB material.

Gerber File Viewer

Gerber files generated by CAM software can be viewed with the available free file viewers: GC Prevue, ViewMate, GerbTool, ViewPlot.

HAL (HASL)

Hot Air Levelling or Hot Air Solder Levelling -tin plating of copper areas on external layers without a solder mask.

Inner layer

A conductive pattern which is contained entirely within a multilayer printed board.

Multilayer PCB

Used in devices with complex conducting pattern, where pads and traces are on both sides and also there are traces embedded within the board. Techno-Service S.A. is able to provide 4-, 6- and 8-layer boards.

Non-Plated Through Hole (NPTH)

Through Hole which does not provide electrical connections between conductive patterns at the levels of a printed circuit. NPHT is often used for mechanical assembly of printed circuit boards.

Pads

The portion of the conductive pattern on printed circuits (regular shape, e.g. circle, rectangular, octagon) designated for the mounting or attachment of components, connectors, and wires. Pads with holes (usually round) are intended for installation of THT (Through-Hole Technology) components. Rectangular pads without holes are intended for surface mounting of SMD (Surface Mount Device) components.

Panel

A sheet of base material including a number of identical printed circuits separated into individual printed circuits after the assembly or fabrication.

PCB Design Software/Tools

CAD (Computer Aided Design) software that helps to design a PCB layout and generate files (usually Gerber format) for PCB fabrication.

There are many PCB design software packages and tools available, e.g.: ExpressPCB (free), EAGLE (free), PROTEL, CADSTAR, ORCAD, CIRCUIT MAKER, P-CAD 2000, PCB ELEGANCE, EDWIN, VISUALPC, BPECS32, AUTOENGINEER, EXPERT PCB, CIRCAD, LAYOUT, CIRCUIT LAYOUT, MCCAD, DREAM CAD, E-CAD, POWERPCB, PCB ASSISTANT, PCB DESIGNER, QCAD, QUICK ROUTE, TARGET 3001, WIN CIRCUIT 98, BOARD EDITOR, PCB, VUTRAX, CIRCUIT CREATOR, PADSPCB, DESIGN WORKS, OSMOND PPC, LAY01, SCORE, GElectronic, PRO-Board, PRO-Net, CSIEDA, VISUALPCB, WINBOARD, ULTIBOARD, EASY PC, RANGER, PROTEUS, EPD - Electronics Packaging Designer, AutoTrax Eda, SprintLayout, CADINT, KICAD, Merlin PCB Designer, FREE-PCB, TinyCAD, WINQCAD, Pulsonix and DIPTRACE

PCB fabrication process

General fabrication process of single and double sided PCBs:
Drilling -> Photolithography -> Etching -> Plating -> Solder mask -> HAL or gold plating -> Milling, scoring -> Testing -> Final inspection -> Packaging and dispatch.

General fabrication process of multilayer PCBs:
Internal layers -> Pressing -> Drilling -> Photolithography -> Etching -> Plating -> Solder mask -> HAL or gold plating -> Milling, scoring -> Testing -> Final inspection -> Packaging and dispatch.

Plated Through Hole

A hole to provide electrical connections between conductive patterns at the levels of a printed circuit board and installation of THT components.

RoHS

Restriction of Hazardous Substances, is a European legislation intended to eliminate or severely curtail the use of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBB and PBDE in products marketed in the EU and EFTA introduced on 1 July 2006 (27 march 2007 in Poland)..

Silkscreen, Legend

Coloured marks (usually white) on the PCB board to identify components on external sides of the board, coated with solder mask.

Single sided PCB

Used in devices with simple, single layer conducting pattern. The pads and tracks are on the soldering side of the board only.

Soldering Side

The name is derived from single sided technology and it is used to describe the side of a printed circuit board (with conductive pattern) on which components are soldered. In SMD mounting technology for double sided and multilayer PCB, it is the BOTTOM side of the PCB.

Surface finishing

We offer two types of end copper plating: HAL (standard) and chemical gold plating.

Via

A plated through hole (PTH) in a Printed Circuit Board to provide electrical connection between all conductive layers. Since it is not used to mount component leads, hole and pad diameters are usually small (0.2 mm - 0.5 mm).