The Flooring Expert

Aluminum based circuit board：

Aluminum substrate circuit, also known as circuit board, is a unique metal clad copper plate with good thermal conductivity, electrical insulation performance and mechanical processing performance. It is composed of copper foil, thermal insulation layer and metal substrate. Its structure is divided into three layers: Circuit layer: Copper clad equivalent to ordinary PCB, circuit copper foil thickness is 1oz to 10oz. Insulation layer: The insulation layer is a layer of thermal insulation material with low thermal resistance. Thickness: 0.003 “to 0.006″ inch is the core technology of aluminum clad laminate, which is UL certified. Substrate: a metal substrate, usually aluminum or copper substrate. 

Aluminum clad laminate and traditional epoxy glass cloth laminate, etc. In general, the circuit layer is required to have a large current-carrying capacity, so a thicker copper foil with a thickness of 35um~280um should be used. Thermal insulation layer is the core technology of aluminum based circuit board. It is generally composed of special polymer filled with special ceramics. It has small thermal resistance, excellent viscoelastic ability, thermal aging resistance, and can withstand mechanical and thermal stress. The thermal insulation layer of high performance aluminum based circuit boards, such as IMS-H01, IMS-H02 and LED-0601,It’s using of this technology, so that it has excellent thermal conductivity and high strength electrical insulation performance. 

Metal base is the support component of aluminum substrate which requires high thermal conductivity. Generally, it is aluminum plate, but copper plate can also be used (copper plate can provide better thermal conductivity), which is suitable for drilling, punching and shearing, cutting and other conventional mechanical processing. Compared with other materials, aluminum substrate PCB has incomparable advantages. Suitable for SMT process of power module surface mount. No radiator, greatly reduced volume, excellent heat dissipation effect, good insulation and mechanical properties. 

A material is not only cheap, heat dissipation and good PCB substrate. In general, considering the cost and technical performance, aluminum plate is an ideal choice for this using of PCB board. Available aluminum plate are 6061,5052,1060, etc. Copper, stainless steel, iron and silicon steel can also be used if higher thermal conductivity, mechanical properties, electrical properties and other special properties are required.  It is commonly seen in LED lighting products, with positive and negative sides.

The white side is welded LED pins, while the other side shows the original color of aluminum. Generally, the thermal conductive paste will be applied and then contact with the thermal conductive part. Compared with the traditional FR-4, the aluminum substrate can reduce the thermal resistance to the minimum, so that the aluminum substrate has excellent thermal conductivity. Compared with ceramic substrate, its mechanical properties are excellent. In addition to good heat dissipation performance, aluminum substrate has the following advantages: Comply with RoHS environmental requirements More suitable for SMT process Higher current carrying capacity In the circuit design scheme, the thermal diffusion is treated very effectively, so as to reduce the operating temperature of the module, extend the service life, and improve the power density and reliability. Reduce the assembly of radiators and other hardware (including thermal interface

materials), reduce the volume of products, and reduce hardware and assembly costs; Optimize the combination of power circuit and control circuit; Replace fragile ceramic substrate for better mechanical durability. One of the biggest advantages of aluminum substrates over conventional FR-4 plates is that they can carry a higher current. Like FR-4, copper foil is used as the wire layer for connection. Compared with traditional FR-4, aluminum substrate is of the same thickness and line width and can carry higher current. The core technology of aluminum substrate is the intermediate insulating layer material, which mainly plays the functions of bonding, insulation and heat conduction.  Aluminum substrate insulation layer is the largest thermal barrier in power module structure. 

The better the thermal conductivity of the insulation layer is, the more conducive it is to the diffusion of the heat generated during the operation of the device, and the lower the operating temperature of the device, so as to increase the power load of the module, reduce the volume, extend the life, and increase the power output. In addition to satisfying good thermal conductivity, it should also have high voltage insulation capability.

Classification of aluminum substrates

Aluminum clad laminates are divided into three categories:

Universal aluminum-base copper-clad plate, insulation layer is composed of epoxy glass cloth bonding sheet;

High heat dissipation aluminum clad with insulating layer made of epoxy resin or other resin with high thermal conductivity;

Aluminum clad plate for high frequency circuit, insulation layer is composed of

polyolefin resin or polyimide resin glass cloth binder.

The main application

Lamps and lanterns, high-power LED lamps and lanterns. Audio equipment, preamplifier, power amplifier, etc. Power equipment, DC/AC converter, rectifier bridge, solid state relay, etc. Communication products, high frequency amplifiers, filter appliances, transmitter  circuits.