Metal Core PCB

Metal core PCB (also MCPCB) is kind of PCB with metal base material instead of woven glass FR4, FR3 or others. There is single sided, double sided, multilayer and COB. The common used metal core is aluminum, copper and alloy. Aluminum is the most frequently used among them due to its good heat transfer ability, dissipation ability and relatively cheaper cost than copper, although which may has a better performance. Single sided metal core printed circuit board consists of a metal base (aluminum or copper alloy), dielectric layer, and copper conductor layer. The single layer MCPCB can be used with surface mount and chip & wire components. It provides much lower thermal resistance than FR4 PCB. And the metal core provides lower cost and allows much larger areas than ceramic substrates.

Metal Core PCB is used to replace traditional FR4 or CEM3 PCBs because of the ability to efficiently dissipate heat away from the components. This is achieved by using a thermally conductive dielectric layer. The prepreg dielectric provides excellent heat transfer from the foil and components to the base plate, while maintaining excellent electrical isolation. The base aluminum or copper plate gives the single-sided substrate mechanical integrity, and distributes and transfers the heat to a heat sink, mounting surface or directly to the ambient air.

Metal Core PCB feature:

• Effective treatment of thermal diffusion in PCB circuit design
• Reduce operating temperature, increase power density and reliability, extend the life of product
• Smaller footprint, lower hardware and assembly costs
• Replace the fragile ceramic substrates PCB with better mechanical durability

Metal Core PCB applications:

• Lighting : LED Light is the biggest user of Aluminum PCB
• Power module: Power Converters ,Inverters, solid state relays, power rectifier bridges
• Power supply: switching regulator, DC / AC converter, SW regulator
• Communication electronic equipment: high-frequency amplifier, filter appliances, transmitter circuits
• Audio equipment: input, output amplifiers, balanced amplifiers, audio amplifiers, preamplifiers, power amplifiers
• Computer: CPU boards, floppy disk drives, power supply devices
• Office automation equipment: motor drives…
• Power module: Inverters, solid state relays, power rectifier bridges
• Car: Electronic regulator, ignition, power controllers…

Capability