Iceberg®: uniform surface level over the entire conductor pattern
Iceberg® printed circuit boards are partial Thick copper printed circuit boards. In a wiring level, there are areas with 50 to 70 µm copper for the control and areas with up to 400 µm copper for the load. The thick copper is largely recessed in the PCB. This creates a uniform surface topography over the entire conductor pattern, which simplifies the assembly of the PCB.
The "sinking" of two thirds of the copper thickness in the base material enables a minimum copper thickness of the entire conductor pattern outside the base material. Advantage: The conductor flanks can be reliably covered with solder resist in just one casting process.
Iceberg®structures are also suitable as heat sinks for power components and can be combined with plated-through holes (vias) to optimize thermal management.
HSMtec® uses solid copper elements in the inner layers
With HSMtec® solid copper elements are selectively laid in the inner layers and under the outer layers of the FR4 multilayer and ultrasonically bonded to the base copper of the etched conductor patterns. After pressing the layers, the copper profiles are located under the outer layers and/or in the inner layers of the multilayer. The rest of the PCB remains unaffected. The multilayer is manufactured in the standard production process and further processed in the usual assembly and soldering process.
The solid copper profiles inside the multilayer also enable three-dimensional designs. Notch milling perpendicular to the copper profiles allows segments of the PCB to be bent by up to 90°. This cleverly utilizes installation space and transports high current and heat via the bending edge. The design is laid out as a two-dimensional PCB, manufactured in the panel and assembled. After assembly, the PCB is bent into its three-dimensional shape.
The table summarizes the possibilities of the three methods:
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