Structuring and circuitizing printed circuit board through-holes
AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc.
InventorsDAVID D. SENK, JOE D. DICKSON
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for creating independent circuit connections within a through-hole of a substrate are described. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method includes defining a through-hole in a substrate, applying a conductive plating to a holewall of the through-hole, and selectively removing at least a first area of the plating. The through-hole has a height relative to a first axis, and the perimeter of the through-hole at each point along the first axis is approximately the same. Selectively removing the first area of the plating includes defining second areas of the plating. At least one of the plurality of second areas does not span a height of the hole.
Claims21
A method comprising:
- defining a through-hole in a substrate, the through-hole having a holewall and a height with respect to a first axis, wherein the holewall has an approximately uniform perimeter at each location along the height;
- applying a plating to the holewall, the plating being conductive;
- and
- selectively removing at least a first area of the plating, selectively removing at least the first area of the plating including defining a plurality of second areas of the plating, wherein at least one of the plurality of second areas does not span the height of the through-hole.
A system comprising:
- means for defining a through-hole in a substrate, the through-hole having a holewall and a height with respect to a first axis, wherein the holewall has an approximately uniform perimeter at each location along the height;
- means for applying a plating to the holewall, the plating being conductive;
- and
- means for selectively removing at least a first area of the plating, the means for selectively removing at least the first area of the plating including means for defining a plurality of second areas of the plating, wherein the means for selectively removing at least the first area of the plating do not remove a part of the substrate.
A substrate comprising:
- a plurality of layers;
- a first conductive trace;
- a second conductive trace;
- a third conductive trace;
- a fourth conductive trace;
- and
- an opening, the opening passing through the plurality of layers and having a holewall, the holewall having a perimeter that is approximately the same relative to each layer of the plurality of layers, wherein a first circuit connection and a second circuit connection are formed on the holewall such that the first circuit connection does not contact every layer of the plurality of layers, the first circuit connection being arranged to communicably couple the first conductive trace to the second conductive trace, the second circuit connection being arranged to communicably couple the third conductive trace to the fourth conductive trace, and wherein the first conductive trace is not communicably coupled to the third conductive trace.
A printed circuit board comprising:
- a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers including a first layer and a second layer, and a third layer;
- and
- a through-hole, the through-hole being arranged to span the plurality of layers and including a plurality of independent circuit connections, the plurality of independent circuit connections including a first independent circuit connection and a second independent circuit connection, the first independent circuit connection and the second independent circuit connection each being arranged to span the first layer and the second layer but not the third layer.
A printed circuit board comprising:
- a plurality of layers, the plurality of layers including a first subset of layers and a second subset of layers;
- and
- a through-hole, the through-hole being arranged to span the plurality of layers and to have a perimeter that is approximately the same relative to each layer of the plurality of layers, the through-hole including a plurality of independent circuit connections, the plurality of independent circuit connections including a first independent circuit connection and a second independent circuit connection, the first independent circuit connection being arranged to span the first subset of layers, the second independent circuit connection being arranged to span the second subset of layers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.