Home - Blog

PCB Substrate-What You Should Know About It

PCB Substrate During the early stages of the printed circuit boards, the circuit boards were made from Bakelite.

It was a cheap dielectric material with good electrical and physical properties then.

After the evolution of radios, the circuit was shifted to the classic glass fiber PCB substrate.

With the advancement in technology, it was cheaper.

And more suited than most other materials due to their unique properties.

PCB substrate1.png

1. Requirements of PCB Substrate

A mass-produced commercial PCB must comply with various standards. The PCB substrate material must have some basic requirements for making a quality PCB.

The selection should include the analysis of chemical, electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties.

2. Chemical properties

The PCB substrate must be chemically stable to use in the circuit board. The material should be fireproof.

Underwriters Laboratories and various other institutes determine the fire safety levels of the material.

In simple terms, the substrate must resist high temperatures and stop burning immediately if it catches on fire.

PCB substrate must also be resistant to moisture and chemical reactions.

PCB substrate2.png

3. Electrical properties

They must have high electrical resistance to prevent current leakage. The dielectric material must not change its conductance with exposure to various environments.

The substrate is analyzed for surface and volume resistance to ensure the board’s conductive nature stays below the requirements.

The material must be stable in case of a power surge and high-voltage sparks.

4. PCB SubstrateThermal properties

The critical property of the substrate is its thermal conductivity.

The material must conduct thermal energy produced by the components on board.

The material must also resist thermal shocks and overheating of the components.

The thermal coefficient must remain constant with exposure to various environments.

PCB substrate3.png

5. Mechanical properties

They must have sufficient mechanical strength and vibration resistance to avoid damage to the circuitry. The material must also be reasonably flexible to compensate for the stress and thermal expansions.

6. PCB SubstrateGlass epoxy

Glass epoxy laminate is the most used PCB substrate. It is made by compressing multiple glass fiber sheets with a temperature-activated epoxy-based adhesive in between them.

Present so of glass makes the substrate harder and offers the maximum resistivity.

Glass epoxy is available in various thicknesses for a variety of applications.

PCB substrate4.png

7. PCB SubstrateAluminum

Power electronics and high-power dissipation applications use aluminum as a substrate for heavy house components and have excellent thermal conductivity.

High-power LED circuits mostly use aluminum to have good thermal conductivity as they are susceptible to temperature changes.

Having bare aluminum also avoids the need for a heatsink in various applications.

Aluminum
Avatar photo
Emma Lu
Our professional engineering support saves our customers a lot of trouble and loss. >>>>>> After you place the order, our engineer will conduct technical reviews to make sure the parts can be mounted well/correctly on the boards. We will check if the component packages match well with the Gerber footprints, if the part numbers you provided match well with the descriptions, and if the polarity is clearly marked. >>>>> When your design is ready, please send your Gerber and BOM so we can quote and start!

Services