There are three major types of printed circuit board construction: single-sided, double-sided, and multi-layered. Single-sided boards have the components on one side of the substrate. When the number of components becomes too much for a single-sided board, a double-sided board may be used. Electrical connections between the circuits on each side are made by drilling holes through the substrate in appropriate locations and plating the inside of the holes with a conducting material. The third type, a multi-layered board, has a substrate made up of layers of printed circuits separated by layers of insulation. The components on the surface connect through plated holes drilled down to the appropriate circuit layer. This greatly simplifies the circuit pattern.
Components on a printed circuit board are electrically connected to the circuits by two different methods: the older "through hole technology" and the newer "surface mount technology." With through hole technology, each component has leads, which are pushed through small holes in the substrate and soldered to connection pads in the circuits on the opposite side. With surface mount technology, stubby J-shaped or L-shaped legs on each component contact the printed circuits directly. A solder paste consisting of glue, flux, and Lead free solder are applied at the point of contact to hold the components in place until the solder is melted, or "reflowed," in an oven to make the final connection. Although surface mount technology requires greater care in the placement of the components, it eliminates the time-consuming drilling process and the space-consuming connection pads inherent with through hole technology.
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