Basic understanding of PCB Terms and Features

We must convert a circuit’s design into physical parts and physical connections to make it do something. The great majority of circuit designs are realized as Printed Circuit Board, or PCBs, however, simple schematics may frequently be realized on a breadboard.

When talking about printed circuit boards, a lot of specific terminologies is used. The terminologies we use to describe the physical structures that may be found on PCBs are provided in this section.

Connection locations for components are referred to as pads and through-holes, and a conductive connector is known as a trace. In a basic PCB design, pads and through-holes are arranged to allow for appropriate component installation, and then they are connected by traces.

Not every hole that is drilled is for a through-hole component. Using tiny, conductive holes known as vias, we may move a signal or supply voltage from one PCB layer to another, which is something we need to do frequently.

Many PCBs also feature mounting holes, which don’t require plating because they serve a mechanical rather than an electrical purpose. In this sense, plating refers to the deposition of conductive material on the interior of a drilled hole.

The Circuits Board layer that has a sizable area filled with conductive material is called a copper pour. Copper pours can be used to increase thermal performance and offer an extremely low-resistance or low-inductance connection between components.

A plane layer is a PCB layer that is made completely of a single, substantial copper pour. We typically place vias adjacent to component pins to make ground connections and act as a ground plane on an internal layer.

A through-hole or via starts as a copper circle that a drill bit goes through to create a hole. The breadth of copper that is left over after the hole has been drilled is referred to as the annular ring. A range of supplemental details that play no part in the electrical performance of the device is included on printed circuit boards. For instance, project names or serial numbers make it easier to keep track of the Printed Circuit Board that gathers in a lab. Reference designators also help components be uniquely identified, while dots show the correct component orientation. This data is referred to as the silkscreen.