Techno-Service S.A.
80-222 Gdańsk, ul. Siedlicka 6
Customer Service Office - PCB Plant
Tel.: (0-58) 340-42-22, (0-58) 340 42 54
fax: (0-58) 341-54-13
E-mail office@technoservice.com.pl
PCB Glossary
AOI (Automated Optical Inspection)
Automated optical inspection of circuits. It compares 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.
Electroplating
The electrodeposition of copper coating inside the through holes in double or multilayer PCBs.
HAL (HASL)
Hot Air Levelling or Hot Air Solder Levelling - tin plating of copper areas on external layers without a
solder mask.
Base laminate
Laminate type, a substrate material for PCB fabrication.
FR-4
Glass reinforced epoxy resin laminates, the most commonly used PCB material.
Aperture List / Aperture Table
A list (table) of the apertures for describing the pads and tracks used to create a pattern of a circuit
board.
Single sided PCB
Used in devices with simple, single layer conducting pattern. The pads and traces are on the soldering
side of the board only.
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.
Double sided PCB
The pads and traces are both on the external side of the board - component side (TOP) and soldering
side (BOTTOM).
PCB Design Software/Tools
Software that helps to design a PCB layout and generate files (usually Gerber format) for PCB
fabrication.
TECHNO - SERVICE S.A., ul. Siedlicka 6, 80-222 GDAŃSK
REGON 190543954, NIP 584-030-42-88, KRS 0000054168 District Court in Gdańsk, 12th Economic Division
Management Board: Jan Mioduski, Ryszard Markowski, Andrzej Wałachowski
Bank PeKaO S.A. III O/Gdańsk 20124012551111000015230454
Techno-Service S.A.
80-222 Gdańsk, ul. Siedlicka 6
Customer Service Office - PCB Plant
Tel.: (0-58) 340-42-22, (0-58) 340 42 54
fax: (0-58) 341-54-13
E-mail office@technoservice.com.pl
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.
Plated Through Hole (PTH)
A hole to provide electrical connections between conductive patterns at the levels of a printed circuit
board and installation of THT components.
Non-Plated Through Hole (NPTH)
Non-Plated 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.
Silkscreen, Legend
Coloured marks (usually white) on the PCB board to identify components on either or both sides of
the board, coated with solder mask.
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.
Annular ring
Copper circular ring with the size of the half of the pad diameter and plated through hole.
Surface finishing
We provide 2 default surface finishing processes: HAL (standard) and chemical gold plating.
PCB fabrication process
− A general process for single and double sided PCB:
Drilling -> Photolithography -> Etching -> Plating -> Solder mask -> HAL or gold plating ->
Milling, scoring -> Testing -> Final inspection -> Packaging and dispatch.
−
A general process for multilayer PCB:
TECHNO - SERVICE S.A., ul. Siedlicka 6, 80-222 GDAŃSK
REGON 190543954, NIP 584-030-42-88, KRS 0000054168 District Court in Gdańsk, 12th Economic Division
Management Board: Jan Mioduski, Ryszard Markowski, Andrzej Wałachowski
Bank PeKaO S.A. III O/Gdańsk 20124012551111000015230454
Techno-Service S.A.
80-222 Gdańsk, ul. Siedlicka 6
Customer Service Office - PCB Plant
Tel.: (0-58) 340-42-22, (0-58) 340 42 54
fax: (0-58) 341-54-13
E-mail office@technoservice.com.pl
Internal layers -> Pressing -> Drilling -> Photolithography -> Etching -> Plating -> Solder
mask -> HAL or gold plating -> Milling, scoring -> Testing -> Final inspection -> Packaging
and dispatch.
Gerber File Viewer
Gerber files generated by CAM software can be viewed with the available free file viewers: GC Prevue,
ViewMate, GerbTool, and ViewPlot.
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).
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.
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.
Blind via
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.
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
UE and EFTA introduced in 1 July 2006 (27 march 2007 in Poland).
Inner layer
A conductive pattern which is contained entirely within a multilayer printed board.
Etching
Removing unwanted uncoated copper layer by chemical process.
Buried via
A via that connects two or more inner layers but no outer layer, and cannot be seen from either side
of the board.
TECHNO - SERVICE S.A., ul. Siedlicka 6, 80-222 GDAŃSK
REGON 190543954, NIP 584-030-42-88, KRS 0000054168 District Court in Gdańsk, 12th Economic Division
Management Board: Jan Mioduski, Ryszard Markowski, Andrzej Wałachowski
Bank PeKaO S.A. III O/Gdańsk 20124012551111000015230454