Circuit board

A circuit board comprising:

• a substrate including an insulating material;
• a plurality of mounting electrodes;
• and
• a protective layer;
• wherein
• the substrate includes:
• a first section and a second section each including a first principal surface, positions of the first principal surfaces of the first and second sections being different in a thickness direction;
• and
• a step surface provided by a difference between the position of the first principal surface of the first section and the position of the first principal surface of the second section in the thickness direction and exposed toward the first principal surface of the first section;
• the plurality of mounting electrodes include a group of mounting electrodes to mount a component;
• the group of mounting electrodes is provided on the first principal surface of the first section and correspond to an arrangement of terminals of the component;
• the protective layer is disposed over the first principal surface of the first section, the step surface, and the first principal surface of the second section;
• for two mounting electrodes of the group of mounting electrodes, a separation distance between one of the two mounting electrodes nearer the step surface and the step surface is greater than or equal to a distance between the two mounting electrodes;
• the substrate is a collective board including a plurality of product portions, each of the plurality of product portions including a section on which the group of mounting electrodes on the first section is provided;
• the step surface is positioned outside the product portion;
• and
• in neighboring ones of the plurality of product portions, the first sections include portions continuous and flush with each other.