What are aluminium PCBs?

Aluminium PCBs contain a thick aluminium substrate to which a dielectric layer is bonded, with a copper foil outer layer.  The PCB tracks are created in the usual manner on a copper layer which is thicker than normal and achieves a larger current carrying capacity.  

Aluminium printed circuit boards are known by a number of names including Aluminium Base, MCPCB (Metal Clad Printed Circuit Board), Aluminium Clad, IMS (Insulated Metal Substrate) and Thermally Conductive PCBs.

The main advantage of aluminium PCBs is their heat dissipation, which protects components and is ideal for LEDs which produce an intense light.  They can be found in applications such as street lights, household lighting, aircraft landing lights and operating theatre lighting.

Aluminium boards are environmentally friendly as they can be recycled and are non-toxic.  They are usually single-sided, but double-sided boards are available too.