The copper coin is inserted into the PCB and can be incorporated in different forms and configurations. This is of course without passing through the PCB buildup materials which historically have caused a thermal dissipation bottleneck.
The concept is based on getting a copper coin press fit into a premade cutout in the board right under an area that is identified as a hot spot, allowing the heat to be transferred directly to a heat sink through the PCB stack-up. Copper coin is providing the ultimate heat transfer solution in a localized fashion on a PCB regardless of the number of layers or the PCB material. Copper’s thermal conduciveness is on average 30-200 times better than any conductive dielectric prepreg out there.Ĭopper coin technology is best suited when there is a specific or a small number of components on a PCB that are responsible for most of the heat generated. And instead of using thermally conductive material, the copper coin can provide direct contact between the heat-generating component pad to the heat sink. Copper coin can provide about twice the cooling compared to a via farm. The copper coin PCB is simply a piece of solid copper inserted onto or into the PCB, typically under the component(s) which need cooling. But, who wants to use diamonds in their PCBs? Copper is one of the best ways to manage heat while keeping electrical and or thermal conductivity. Copper is extremely conductive offering upwards of 400 W/mK, as is for example other materials like diamonds, which can be up to five times more thermal conductive than copper.
Heat transfer occurs at a higher rate when materials of high thermal conductivity are used. The growing technology of copper coin PCBsįor this article we want to dive deeper into the growing technology of Copper Coin PCBs. For a higher thermal conductivity an alternate technology such as copper pedestal or copper coin is our recommended solution. This can offer thermal conductivity of up to 12 W/mK but at present this solution cannot offer any better results than this. MCPCB technology can be accomplished as a single layer over a metallic base or as a multilayer on the top and bottom sides of the metallic base.īelow is a 2 layer MCPCB construction that shows the transfer of heat from the surface mount component through the buildup to the base metal. MCPCBs works by utilizing a thermally conductive prepreg between the copper routing layers which draws the thermals down to the metal core or base and away from the componentry. This will significantly increase the thermal performance of a PCB. MCPCB technologyĪ simple way to manage heat is switching from FR4, the standard material used in multilayer PCBs, to utilize different thermally conductive dielectric materials bonded to a solid sheet of base metal, metal core (MCPCB).
Better heat transfer will usually translate to lower mean time between failures (MTBF) and at times will be a deciding factor at meeting product design specifications. The overall goal of thermal management at the bare board and assembly level is to move the heat away from the heat-generating components to an external heat sink for dissipation. Whether it is high brightness LED applications, high power transmitters or a high voltage power supply, the demand for better heat transfer and cooling is also increasing. As technology continues to advance at an exponential rate, thermal management is becoming an ever increasing issue at the bare PCB and assembly level.