ALUMINUM BACKED METAL CORE PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARDS

Base metals are used as an alternative to FR4 or CEM3 boards for the ability to dissipate heat away from critical board components and to less crucial areas such as the metal heat sink backing or metallic core technologies. The dielectrics used are typically 5 to 10 times as thermally conductive as conventional epoxy-glass and a tenth of the thickness resulting in thermal transfer exponentially more efficient than a conventional rigid PCB. This is so effective that lower copper weights than suggested by the IPC heat-rise charts can be used.

The metal core of the thermal PCB can be aluminum (aluminum clad PCB), copper (copper clad PCB or a heavy copper PCB) or a mixture of special alloys. The most commonly used is an aluminum clad PCB.

Metal core or IMS (Insulated Metallic Substrate) circuit boards are an excellent alternative to standard circuit boards, if the circuit boards are exposed to large mechanical loads, or a high level of dimensional stability is required, or high temperatures must be conducted away from power components or LED's.

The thermal conductivity assisted by the aluminum cores in the circuit boards makes higher packing densities, longer operating times, and improved security against failure possible, such as for LED technology and for high power transistors.