Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate thermal properties of printed circuit board (PCB) made with use of new materials and technologies. Design/methodology/approach – Four PCBs with the same layout but made with use of different materials and technologies have been investigated using thermal camera to compare their thermal properties. Findings – The results show how important the thermal properties of PCBs are for providing effective heat dissipation, and how a simple alteration to the design can help to improve the thermal performance of electronic device. Proper layout, new materials and technologies of PCB manufacturing can significantly reduce the temperature of electronic components resulting in higher reliability of electronic and power electronic devices. Originality/value – This paper shows the advantages of new technologies and materials in PCB thermal management.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to show physical limitation of embedding standard packaging components into printed circuit board (PCB) which is more reasonable technology for small series productions which is popular in industrial products. Embedding electronic components inside a PCB FR-4 substrate leads to significant size reduction and better heat management. Embedded chip technology is already known in many consumer electronics applications, but it is focused on high volumes and required to order components ready to be embedded. Design/methodology/approach – Highly integrated DC/DC converter with standard-package electronic parts (passive and active) was embedded inside a PCB structure. The design and the manufacturing process was based on standard PCB FR-4 technology. Sandwich solution was used to integrate all layers together; one of the main investigations was to focus on how to fill space around components to keep internal stresses on very low level. Findings – There were few considerations during choosing the right concept. The first, which occurred during the first producing round, was the distance between thick copper and inner layer. The second one was the way how to fill space between mounted components on inner layer and isolation laminate. A few trials took place and it is decided that it is impossible to fill this space with resin from prepregs; therefore, a casting compound was used. Originality/value – Design and manufacturing process which brings 37 per cent of size reduction of complete DC/DC voltage converter PCB with 28.5 W output power comparing to a reference design with standard surface mounted devices (SMD) and copper layout implementation has been achieved during research project.

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