Sleeved Coaxial Printed Circuit Board Vias

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) act as crucial components in nearly all electronic devices, providing a physical base for component mounting and signal routing. Advances in electronics have seen devices shrinking in size while increasing in performance and complexity. Current PCB designs struggle to provide the high-speed and high-frequency signal transmission critical for modern electronics. Conventional PCB designs often grapple with issues of high-frequency signal loss, interference, and crosstalk that degrade performance and limit the frequency of signals the circuits can handle successfully. Traditional vias suffer from signal path discontinuities, causing signal integrity problems. Therefore, there is a growing need for a scalable, high-performance PCB design capable of managing high-frequency signals without signal loss.

Technology Description

This printed circuit board (PCB) and a novel method for its fabrication offer key features that include the adoption of at least one coaxial via, the use of a hollow via disposed in the PCB, and the construction of a metal sleeve encircling the hollow via. Within the hollow via, an inner conductive path is implemented, and an insulating material is placed in the gap between this conducting path and the metal sleeve. This innovative conductive path connects signal traces located on two differing layers of the PCB. What sets this technology apart is its potential for transmission of high-frequency signals. According to some embodiments, these signal traces are capable of carrying signals with frequencies over 1 GHz, making it possible to avoid the limitations associated with traditional printed circuit boards without constraining the frequency or complexity of the signals transmitted.