PCB Structures

UltraScale Architecture PCB Design User Guide (UG583)

Document ID
UG583
Release Date
2023-11-14
Revision
1.27 English

PCB technology has not changed significantly in the last few decades. An insulator substrate material (usually FR4, an epoxy/glass composite) with copper plating on both sides has portions of copper etched away to form conductive paths. Layers of plated and etched substrates are glued together in a stack with additional insulator substrates between the etched substrates. Holes are drilled through the stack. Conductive plating is applied to these holes, selectively forming conductive connections between the etched copper of different layers.

While there are advancements in PCB technology, such as material properties, the number of stacked layers used, geometries, and drilling techniques (allowing holes that penetrate only a portion of the stackup), the basic structures of PCBs have not changed. The structures formed through the PCB technology are abstracted to a set of physical/electrical structures: traces, planes (or planelets), vias, and pads.