Heavy copper PCBs

Heavy Copper Board does not have a certain definition per IPC. According to PCB industry use this name“heavy copper“ to identify a printed circuit board with copper conductors 3 oz – 10 oz for outer and inner layers. And Extreme heavy copper PCB refers to 20 oz to 100 oz printed circuit board.

Heavy copper normally used for a various products but not limited to: high power distribution, heat dissipation, planar transformers, power convertors, etc…

 

Benefits of heavy copper boards:

  • Increased current carrying capacity.
  • Increased mechanical strength at connector sites and in PTH holes.
  • Use of exotic materials to their full potential (i.e., high temperature) without circuit failure.
  • Reduced product size by incorporating multiple copper weights on the same layer of circuitry
  • Heavy copper plated vias carry higher current through the board and help to transfer heat to an external heatsink..
  • On-board high-power-density planar transformers

 

Heavy Copper Circuit Construction

Boards incorporating heavy copper circuits are produced in exactly the same as standard printed circuit boards, albeit with specialized etching and plating techniques, such as high-speed/step plating and differential etching. Historically, heavy copper features were formed entirely by etching thick copper clad laminated board material, causing uneven trace sidewalls and unacceptable undercutting. Advances in plating technology have allowed heavy copper features to be formed with a combination of plating and etching, resulting in straight sidewalls and negligible undercut.

Plating of a heavy copper circuit enables the board fabricator to increase the amount of copper thickness in plated holes and via sidewalls. It’s now possible to mix heavy copper with standard features on a single board, also known as PowerLink. Advantages include reduced layer count, low impedance power distribution, smaller footprints and potential cost savings. Normally, high-current/high-power circuits and their control circuits were produced separately on separate boards. Heavy copper plating makes it possible to integrate high-current circuits and control circuits to realize a highly dense yet simple board structure.

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