PCB
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Printed circuit board |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
PCB has two meanings. It stands for Printed circuit board (electronics & electrical) or Polychlorinated biphenyl (chemistry).
Meanings of PCB at a glance
| # | PCB stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Printed circuit board | Science & Engineering › Electronics & Electrical |
| 2 | Polychlorinated biphenyl | Science & Engineering › Chemistry |
1. Printed circuit board
Science & Engineering · Electronics & Electrical Abbreviations
Flat board of insulating material, usually fiberglass-epoxy laminate called FR-4, with thin copper tracks etched onto one or more layers to connect electronic components soldered to it. Almost every electronic device, from toys to smartphones and servers, is built on PCBs.
Example: The six-layer PCB places the processor, memory and power regulators on a 50 by 70 mm board.
Austrian engineer Paul Eisler built an early printed circuit board for a radio in Britain in 1936, and the technology was used in proximity fuzes during World War II. Boards are designed in EDA software and manufactured from Gerber files. A board with components mounted is called a PCBA. In environmental chemistry PCB means polychlorinated biphenyl, an unrelated pollutant.
2. Polychlorinated biphenyl
Science & Engineering · Chemistry Abbreviations
Synthetic chlorinated compound once used as insulating fluid in transformers and capacitors and in caulk, paints and hydraulic fluids, because it resists fire and chemical breakdown. That stability makes PCBs persistent pollutants that build up in fish and people; US manufacture was banned in 1979.
Example: Fishing advisories on the river warn against eating more than one meal a month because of PCB contamination.
Monsanto, the main US producer under the trade name Aroclor, stopped production in 1977. There are 209 possible PCB compounds, called congeners. PCBs were among the original "dirty dozen" of the 2001 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. In electronics PCB means printed circuit board, an entirely different term.
Related abbreviations
More electronics & electrical abbreviations
- NO – Normally open
- NTC – Negative temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- OLED – Organic light-emitting diode
- op-amp – Operational amplifier
- PCBA – Printed circuit board assembly
- PLL – Phase-locked loop
- PTC – Positive temperature coefficient (thermistor)
- PWM – Pulse-width modulation
See all 82 electronics & electrical abbreviations →