Hi there – whether you‘re an electronics engineer or simply a gadget lover, printed circuit boards (PCBs) play a profoundly important role enabling all the amazing tech devices you know and love like smartphones, game consoles, and self-driving cars. But you‘re probably not very familiar with what PCBs are and how these humble pieces of technology became indispensable to the most cutting-edge systems today.
In this guide meant for technology enthusiasts like you, I‘ll be your friendly neighborhood tech analyst exploring everything you should know about the fascinating hidden history of printed circuit boards – from their surprisingly basic origins in 1930s radio kits to how they quietly unlocked the consumer electronics revolution you‘re now enjoying every day!
An Overview: What Are Printed Circuit Boards and Why Do They Matter?
Before jumping into their rich backstory, let me provide a quick 101 overview for those less familiar with electronics hardware. A PCB refers to the base platform or surface holding interconnected electronic components in most devices today. To power functionality, components must link together through conductive metal pathways that channel electricity – think wires.
Traditionally, engineers manually connected parts with individual wires in a painful, slow process. However, printed circuit boards integrate these conductive pathways directly "printed" onto an insulating substrate base using copper foil with chemicals. This allows speedy automation for electronics manufacturing.
While they now come extraordinarily complex, supporting advanced computing chips and thousands of connections, PCBs originated from very simple beginnings in the 1930s amateur radio scene. Advancements over decades enabled the explosion of gadgets you know today – just one PCB powers everything from processing to display in your iPhone!
So let‘s travel back nearly 100 years to uncover the surprisingly dramatic untold history that made the electronics era possible…
The Revolutionary Spark: Paul Eisler Invents the First PCB (1936)
Our story begins in 1936 with an ambitious Austrian Jewish engineer named Paul Eisler. After dabbling in Austrian media, Eisler became fascinated with radio technology upon moving to London in 1936.
According to the Engineering and Technology History Wiki, Eisler cleverly wondered if he could adapt the principles of printing press techniques to lay down copper wiring onto an insulating board base. This would allow constructing radios through an automated process similar to printing books or newspapers!
Eisler tested his idea using photochemical "etching" techniques -Tracing out conductive copper pathways on boards with an acid resistant material. Later stripping away untreated areas left just the desired printed circuit wiring! Eisler filed the world‘s first PCB patent in the UK in 1943 outlining this method.
Early Military and Telephone Uses (1940s-1950s)
While initial industry interest in his invention proved cool, World War II would catalyze dramatic investment. The British military saw potential for lightweight portable radios and other devices using Eisler‘s boards for soldiers. Military spending then fueled rapid PCB process refinements over the 1940s, writes IEEE member Ron Schneiderman.
Civilian telephone systems also made up early PCB demand. However, the electronics industry remained skeptical until shifting to embrace the technology in the 1950s. The world would soon see their transformational influences play out.
Driving 60 Years of Electronics Revolutions (1950s-Today)
As techniques for etching smaller traces evolved from 1950s single-sided boards to much more sophisticated multilayer boards in the 60s, PCBs became indispensable for advanced systems. Let‘s analyze how printed circuit boards enabled breakthrough innovations decade-by-decade:
1950s:
Early PCBs gain traction for hearing aids and radios by enabling assembly automation. This supports new consumer electronics sector growth.
1960s:
The PCB-powered Minuteman II system spearheads US nuclear arms miniaturization and Silicon Valley begins exploiting PCB scalability for integrated circuits (ICs) in new devices.
1970s:
doublesided PCBs with components on both sides allow radical miniaturization for the nascent personal computer industry led by the Apple II released in 1977.
1980s: The PC revolution accelerates with IBM PCs reaching 20 million sold by 1987 supported by quickly advancing PCBs. By the late 80s, PCB layer counts increase past 12 layers.
1990s:
Multilayer PCBs with 20+ layers become commercially viable and densities hit over 100 million transistors per board. This propels the "dot com" internet boom.
2000s:
PCBs enable the accelerating mobile revolution from feature phones to smartphones like the 2007 Apple iPhone. High density flex PCBs also appear in smaller wearables.
2010s:
Electronics march into the internet-of-Things era on the backs of PCB scaling, even powering driverless car systems like those from Tesla using custom AI accelerator boards.
2020s: The industry eyes new milestones like PCBs on cutting-edge US military hypersonic missiles traveling over 15,000 mph!
Diving Into Details: How Did PCB Manufacturing Processes Progress Over Time?
Now that you appreciate the indispensable role PCB technological leaps played lifting electronics capabilities over recent history, let‘s analyze key milestones in their manufacturing evolution to deliver ever-greater functionality:
PCB Era Timeframe Key Manufacturing Milestones
First Generation 1950s – Single-sided boards with components only on one side
- Basic thru-hole insertion assembly
- Typical trace/space width: ~200 microns
- Typical layers: 1
Second Generation 1960s – Double-sided boards introduced
- PCB "plated through holes" for connections between sides
- Typical trace/space width: ~100 microns
- Typical layers: 2
Third Generation 1980s – Solder masks introduced for easier soldering
- Higher 4+ layer counts
- Typical trace/space width: ~50 microns
- Typical layers: 4-16
Fourth Generation 2000s – Very high complexity designs with 10,000+ components
- Very high layer counts exceeding 16
- Trace/space dropping below 5 microns
- Typical layers: 16-30
Fifth Generation 2020s – Rigid-flex PCB combinations
- Embedded passives/actives components
- HDI technology with microvias
- Optical and RF materials introduced
- Typical layers: 16+
As you can appreciate from the table above, manufacturing progressions that higher volumes further fueled massively increased PCB densities and complexities over the years. State of the art processes today would surely make Paul Eisler‘s head spin!
The PCB Production Powerhouse Today and Into the Future
Now stepping back to view the modern printed circuit board industry‘s sheer economic size, you can truly appreciate how this once humble radio part altered history. PCB manufacturing has exploded into a nearly $75 billion market globally as a recent TechSci Research market report found!
China leads production by far with over one third share as factories churn out exponentially increasing volumes of boards annually powering technologies from iPhones to high performance computing AI. And printing intricate boards only grows more vital even beyond electronics as applications stretch into sophisticated sensors for automotive or advanced medical devices using flexible PCB materials.
So while you can‘t physically see those unassuming fiberglass squares underlying every bit of technology in your life, I hope you now have a newfound appreciation for the astonishing innovation trajectory printed circuit boards launched from Paul Eisler‘s first radio prototype back in 1936!
Anytime you pick up your smartphone or use a computer, take a moment to think fondly on those masterful maneuvers of electrons dancing along intricately traced copper pathways thanks to nearly a century of momentous PCB progress!
