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SMT vs. Through-Hole Technology – Which is better in terms of cost, assembly and reliability? This debate has been going on for several years. The advantages of SMT or surface mount technology over through-hole technology are in design and manufacturing. Surface mount components or SMD components are small in size and can be mounted on either...

Basic soldering guide on how to solder electronic components to a printed circuit board (PCB). This is a detailed and complete soldering guide for both automated soldering in mass production and manual soldering in PCB rework and repair. How to Solder Electronic Components – Introduction Soldering is basically a technique of joining two metals using a...

At the heart of nearly every electronic product today is a printed circuit board (PCB), which supports and electrically connects the electronic components needed for an electronic device to function. Manufacturing a printed circuit board is a complex process that involves many steps that are different for every project. First, you need to design the board...

RO4000® hydrocarbon ceramic laminates are designed to off er superior high frequency performance and low cost circuit fabrication. The result is a low loss material which can be fabricated using standard epoxy/glass (FR-4) processes off ered at competitive prices. The selection of laminates typically available to designers is signifi cantly reduced once operational frequencies increase...

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are a fundamental component in electrical engineering. They are used to create electronic circuits by arranging components such as transistors and resistors on a copper-based wiring pattern on the surface of an insulator (typically plastic) and then soldering them. PCBs are integral to nearly all electronic devices, providing the necessary pathways for...

Key Points of Millimeter-Wave Applications—Phase Accuracy Affected by Multiple Variables From anti-collision radar systems used in autonomous vehicles to the fifth-generation (5G) high data rate New Radio (NR) networks, the application of millimeter-wave (mmWave) circuits is growing rapidly. Many applications are pushing the operating frequency bands to higher frequencies (such as >24GHz). However, for circuits with shorter...

PCB Processing The precise dimensions required for millimeter-wave circuits demand well-controlled PCB processing techniques to produce circuits with consistently excellent performance. Variations in copper plating thickness and final surface treatment on the conductor surface can impact the performance of millimeter-wave circuits. To ensure the successful fabrication of high-performance millimeter-wave circuits, both of these processes must be carefully controlled. For...

As high-density interconnect (HDI) designs with larger layer counts become more prevalent, the use of microvias is increasing. In builds with 3+N+3 or larger configurations, sequential lamination now often relies on skipped vias, staggered microvias, and stacked microvias. However, one of the key challenges is that microvias are more susceptible to failure than plated through-holes. The small...

Designing via stackups is one of the most critical aspects of HDI PCB design. Vias in HDI PCBs offer greater flexibility compared to standard boards, but they also significantly impact manufacturing costs and reliability. The choice of via style is crucial for enabling dense routing while avoiding potential failure points in the final assembly. For designs...

Customer Background: Our customer is a leading communication equipment company specializing in the development and manufacturing of high-frequency devices for 5G communication systems. Due to the high-frequency signal transmission requirements of their products, their PCB design demands extremely high signal integrity and strong anti-interference capabilities. Product Complexity: The primary challenge of this project was ensuring that the high-frequency...