Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits, is a technology for assembling electronic circuits by mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic substrates, such as polyimide, PEEK or transparent conductive polyester film. Additionally, flex circuits can be screen printed silver circuits on polyester. Flexible electronic assemblies may be manufactured using identical components used for rigid printed circuit boards, allowing the board to conform to a desired shape, or to flex during its use.
An Olympus Stylus camera without the case, showing the flex circuit assembly.
Image of Miraco flexible printed circuits prior to de-panelization.
A printed circuit board (PCB), also called printed wiring board (PWB), is a medium used to connect or "wire" components to one another in a circuit. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich structure of conductive and insulating layers: each of the conductive layers is designed with a pattern of traces, planes and other features etched from one or more sheet layers of copper laminated onto and/or between sheet layers of a non-conductive substrate. Electrical components may be fixed to conductive pads on the outer layers in the shape designed to accept the component's terminals, generally by means of soldering, to both electrically connect and mechanically fasten them to it. Another manufacturing process adds vias, plated-through holes that allow interconnections between layers.
Printed circuit board of a DVD player
Part of a 1984 Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer board, a printed circuit board, showing the conductive traces, the through-hole paths to the other surface, and some electronic components mounted using through-hole mounting
Proximity fuze Mark 53 production line 1944
Through-hole (leaded) resistors