Glossary Definition for Printed Circuit Board

Definition

A printed circuit board, or PC board, or PCB, is a non-conductive material with conductive lines printed or etched. Electronic components are mounted on the board and the traces connect the components together to form a working circuit or assembly.

A PC board can have conductors on one side or two sides and can be multi-layer — a sandwich with many layers of conductors, each separated by insulating layers.

The most common circuit boards are made of plastic or glass-fiber and resin composites and use copper traces, but a wide variety of other materials may be used. Most PCBs are flat and rigid but flexible substrates can allow boards to fit in convoluted spaces.

Components are mounted via SMD (surface-mount) or through-hole methods (see links below).

Synonyms

• Circuit Board
• PC Board
• PCB

Find a term alphabetically:

0-9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Comment on This Term (Corrections, Suggestions, etc.)

Suggest Another Term We Should Add