Board-to-board (BTB) connectors are used to connect
printed circuit boards
A printed circuit board (PCB; also printed wiring board or PWB) is a medium used in electrical and electronic engineering to connect electronic components to one another in a controlled manner. It takes the form of a laminated sandwich struct ...
(PCB), electronic components that contain a conductive pattern printed on the surface of the insulating base in an accurate and repeatable manner. Each terminal on a BTB connector is connected to a PCB.
A BTB connector includes housing and a specific number of terminals.
The terminal is made from a conductive material (mostly
copper alloy
Copper alloys are metal alloys that have copper as their principal component. They have high resistance against corrosion. The best known traditional types are bronze, where tin is a significant addition, and brass, using zinc instead. Both of t ...
), and plated to improve conductivity and antirust.
Terminals transmit the current/signal between PCBs connected by BTB; the housing is made of insulating material (mostly plastic).
BTB connectors are divided up into four mounting types:
#
Through-hole technology
In electronics, through-hole technology (also spelled "thru-hole") is a manufacturing scheme in which leads on the components are inserted through holes drilled in printed circuit boards (PCB) and soldered to pads on the opposite side, either by ...
#
Surface-mount technology
Surface-mount technology (SMT), originally called planar mounting, is a method in which the electrical components are mounted directly onto the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB). An electrical component mounted in this manner is referred ...
# Plug-in technology
#Solderless stacking mezzanine technology
BTB connectors are selected by considering the mounting method,
pin pitch
Integrated circuits are put into protective packages to allow easy handling and assembly onto printed circuit boards and to protect the devices from damage. A very large number of different types of package exist. Some package types have standa ...
, number of the rows (aka number of the ways), pin length, stacker height etc.
See also
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Pin header
A pin header (or simply header) is a form of electrical connector. A male pin header consists of one or more rows of metal pins molded into a plastic base, often apart, though available in many spacings. Male pin headers are cost-effective du ...
*
Signal integrity
Signal integrity or SI is a set of measures of the quality of an electrical signal. In digital electronics, a stream of binary values is represented by a voltage (or current) waveform. However, digital signals are fundamentally analog in nature, ...
References
Printed circuit board manufacturing
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