A circuit board is an electronic system designed to move electric signals along particular paths, amplify or process these signals, and then use them to control physical devices. It is the fundamental building block of most electronic systems. Circuit boards are made up of a variety of components. What’s inside a circuit board, and how does it function?
IC
An Integrated Circuit is the fundamental building block of most electronic systems. They are the brain of the circuit board, performing all of the calculations and operations necessary to make the signals function properly. They are composed of logic gates that have been etched into silicon, fabricated by a process called “lithography,” which involves vacuum evaporation. They are then etched using a similar process to metal printing plates used in metal casting processes.
Tracks
These are metal paths etched into the circuit board that is used to move electrons. The metal tracks, sometimes called “leads,” have a certain amount of resistance. They heat up when the current is applied to them. When they heat up, they become less resistive and allow more current to flow along the track (this is called positive temperature coefficient, or PTC). It is important because cooling mechanisms such as heat sinks and fans dissipate excess energy from ICs running at high speeds. Pcb solutions provide the highest level of quality assemblies.
Resistors
Resistors are components that impede current flow by converting some of the energy flowing through them into heat. A resistor arm’s two leads are closely spaced around a single wire that has been coated with a non-conductive material such as ceramic or plastic. It has a series of closely spaced resistance holes through which electrons flow, creating a path for current to flow with less resistance than if it were not present. As electrons move through the holes, some of their energy is converted into heat; hence the resistor heats up.
Capacitors
Capacitors work in the opposite way to resistors, converting energy from flowing through them into heat rather than impeding it. A capacitor is constructed of two conductive plates called “plates” or “diodes” separated by a thin insulator material called the “dielectric.” As current flows through the capacitor, its plates become negatively charged with respect to one another, since electrons from one plate are attracted to those on the other.
By combining these components, engineers can build sophisticated electronic devices that can measure light, sound, and motion, govern control systems for machinery and appliances, and perform a wide range of other tasks.
