The development of the modern circuit board really began in the early 20^th century. It was German inventor Albert Hanson who first discovered how to laminate flat foil conductors on an insulated board. Since, circuit boards have become crucial to the operation of electronic devices in the home and workplace. These important components would not be possible without advanced manufacturing techniques.

Mapping Boards

The first step in the creation of a circuit board is to map the wafer and plot out where the circuitry will actually go. There is a process called photolithography that is used to add a kind of roadmap to the board. Next, a sputter deposition system is used to lay the conductive materials onto the board itself.

Conductive Materials

The primary material used in the creation of a circuit board is copper-based. Copper is highly conductive of electricity, and fulfills the requirements a circuit board needs. Copper thickness is usually specified in micrometers, and a square foot usually requires about an ounce of melted down copper. Using a PECVD system, manufacturers can apply three or more layers of copper to the board, creating a heavy copper layer.

Final Thoughts

Circuit boards need to be able to draw in power and then disperse that power to the proper units. The creation of these boards is highly regulated, with safety standards designed to limit flammability and document maximum temperature threshold. These boards are live electrical parts, so they must be able to operate safely without sparking or shorting out.

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Digital-image sensors converts optical image into an electronic image. Today’s most used technology types include semiconductor charge-coupled devices (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor (NMOS). As smartphones and other mobile devices become more popular demand for digital-image sensors are expected to increase. CMOS is widely used in smartphones, tablets and other devices that uses installed cameras. Smartphones alone is expected to demand 1.7 billion units by 2017.

Santa Clara, California based OmniVision Technologies is the world’s largest maker of digital-image sensors. It has helped Apple until iPhone 4S which came out in 2011, supplying with sensors. Today it is helping Apple with their iPads and other makers of smartphone and other device to compete with mainstream stand-alone cameras with tiny cameras embedded in smartphones and other devices such as GoPro cameras. Sony is becoming its main competitor accounting for more than 34 percent of the market share and now supply tiny sensors to Apple for its iPhone 4S and others. Samsung claims it has 13 percent of the market share and another viable main player in the field.

OmniVision makes tiny image sensors for smartphones and other devices that range in cost from 40 cents to about $4 a piece.