Transparent Glass PCB

Transparent Glass PCB

Transparent PCB Substrate

There are two main substrates for transparent PCBs. It’s either ceramic or glass. Ceramic transparent PCB substrates have high thermal conductivity compared to glass. However, it has a slightly lower transmissivity. Its transmissivity is about 75 to 85% compared to 99.5 to 99.99% for glass.

Benefits of Transparent Glass PCBs

Already, glass material is advanced. Whenever it is utilized in making transparent printed circuit boards, it will surely add some value to constructions of circuit boards. Transparent PCBs are not exempted

Light can pass through transparent PCBs. This makes the transparent PCB versatile and better. Also, transparent glass pcbs are usually flat. This means it will have great symmetrical functionality and less flaws. This increases the efficiency and durability of these devices.

These transparent pcbs also have high heat resistance and temperature. Glass has the ability to withstand a temperature of about 1000 degrees. In addition, you can produce it easily in large quantities for PCBs and semiconductors.

Glass transparent PCBs can be manufactured easily. This is because glass can be gotten from recycled items like sand and ash. This makes glass transparent pcbs lower priced compared to ceramic pcbs. Therefore, with glass transparent pcbs, the cost of production of all your devices will be lowered.

 Thanks to heat, dust, and water resistance, the deformation rating of glass is least. This ensures that glass transparent pcbs can withstand use for a long time even in very extreme conditions.

Heat sinking isn’t necessary here to manufacture this type of transparent PCB. Therefore, it boosts the rate of production further.

Ceramic Transparent Circuit Boards

This type of transparent circuit board can either be magnesium oxide, aluminum oxide, Al-Mg , and yttrium oxide spinel. These ceramic transparent circuit boards usually come with transparent substrates, as well as solder masks (glass-based). However, there is no transparency in the conductive part.

Ceramic Transparent Circuit Boards: Advantages

Great thermal conductivity of 26+W/mK

Small and stable CTE (Coefficient of thermal expansion)

No absorption of water and great electrical insulation

So many optical features available

A high temperature resistance of over 2000 degrees Celsius

Transparent Ceramic Circuit Boards: Applications

The transparent ceramic circuit boards are applicable in the following areas.

LEDs working with high power

Infrared windows utilized in missiles, aircraft, etc.

Optical sensors

Sodium lamps with high pressure

Transparent Flexible PCBs

This type of transparent PCB can be referred to as flexible printed circuits that make use of PET thin film. These PET materials can either be white, transparent, light green, light blue, or white. Clear flexible printed circuits are usually different from the normally seen types. This is due to the PET materials that are transparent.

There are flexible PCBs, where just the substrate is transparent. Also, the pads and conductive traces are not transparent, but visible. There are transparent flexible printed circuit boards, which includes the conductive traces. They are completely clear. Here, an innovative method of manufacturing is utilized. In this case, the circuit is always clamped in-between two materials (transparent), to help protect it, thereby making it invisible when checked from outside.

Advantages of Transparent PCBs (Flexible)

Below are some benefits of the flexible type of transparent PCBs

They come with lots of great optical features

They are flexible, twistable, foldable, arbitrarily movable, and bendable in spaces of three dimensions.

Achieve thinning, miniaturization, and lightness of products

Flexible printed circuits save around 90% of the weight of the product compared with the rigid printed circuit boards having similar volumes.

This transparent PCB’s manufacturing accurateness reaches the nano or micro level.

Transparent Flexible PCB Applications

The transparent flexible circuit boards are applicable in the following areas.

Flexible transparent circuit boards are widely utilized in ABS systems, mobile phones, cameras, instrument panels, automatic control, medical devices, and places where connections are needed in spaces that are closely packed.

Flexible pcbs that are fully transparent can be utilized in electronic devices, contact lenses, as well as electronic skins.

Transparent PCB Board Design Printing

By now, the exported image, which you have designed, is with you. The OHP print’s purpose is making a mask that blocks the resist UV light exposure in regions that are not wanted. To achieve this, the OHP print’s black areas have to block light properly.

If this is not so, the light will leak though. Adding just a layer of print will not block the light effectively. Therefore, align three prints and then place them on each other. Also, glue them to keep them steady.

Gluing Your Copper Foil to Glass

Now, we will be gluing your copper foil on glass. During these final stages, the unwanted copper will have to be removed. This is achieved by dissolving it using ferric chloride. To make the whole process time expensive, choose a copper foil that is thick. One as thick as 0.05 mm is okay.