What is a copper core PCB?

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Copper core PCB can be called MCPCB, copper-based PCB, or Copper PCB. It is a specialized electronic material and is widely used in high-power circuits, power converters, LED lighting, and other applications. They consist of the main layers, like the metal layer, an insulating layer, and the circuit layer. The copper core PCB has excellent heat dissipation and high precision.

The types of copper core PCB

Copper core PCB can be categorized into different types: Single-sided copper base PCB, Double-sided copper-based PCB, Multilayer copper metal core PCB, and High-frequency copper PCB. The high-frequency copper PCB is designed for high-frequency PCBs, and it can be widely used in wireless communications, radar systems, microwave technology, etc.

Copper Core PCB Manufacturing Process

The copper base PCB production process includes the design, copper foil lamination, drilling, plating, etc. The copper foil lamination is the most critical process, which needs to bond the copper foil to the substrate. It can meet the interlayer connections with drilling, plating, and other technologies.

Why need to choose Copper as the PCB material?

  • Excellent Dimension Stability

The elastic modulus of copper is approximately 121,000 MPa, while that of Aluminum is only 72,000 MPa. Thus, the copper core PCB has much lower warpage and thermal expansion than the Aluminum PCB and Iron PCB, and it can ensure the overall stability during operation.

  • Better Thermal Conductivity

Copper base PCB has much better thermal conductivity than Aluminum PCB or iron PCB. The thermal conductivity is normally 1- 3W/MK for Alu PCB, while copper core PCB can reach 400W/MK (It depends on the manufacturing process). The higher the thermal conductivity is, the better efficient heat transfer and dissipation will be. Meanwhile, it has a greater heat-bearing capacity due to the copper’s high density, which can make the design smaller and more compact

  • Can do the pillar/raised pad on the surface (Sinkpad boards)

A copper core PCB can produce a complex circuit through an etching process, and it can also fabricate the raised pad/pillar on the surface. LED chips can be directly mounted onto this raised pad to meet the connection of ground and heat dissipation performance. This kind of copper base PCB can normally be called a Sinkpad board or thermally efficient separated copper substrates.

  Suggestions on selecting the copper core PCB

When selecting the copper base PCB, we should consider the following factors:

  1. Board thickness: Different thicknesses are suitable for various applications, the standard size is 1mm, 1.2mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, etc
  2. Copper Foil Thickness: The thicker the copper is, the better the heat dissipation will be. And there are 1oz to 10oz copper thicknesses you can choose from
  3. Surface Finish: For the copper core PCB, we suggest that customers use OSP, ENIG, and immersion tin as the surface treatment

What is thermally-electrically separated copper PCB?

The Thermal refers to the thermal pad/raised pad/pillar on an LED copper substrate, while electrical means the electrodes on the LED circuit. These two components are isolated by the insulation material. The thermal pad’s function is to conduct heat, while the electrodes are used for electrical conduction. This kind of package can be called thermally-electrically separated copper PCB

The difference between a normal copper core PCB and a thermally-electrically separated copper PCB