US-12621931-B2 - Guided pad structures formed in circuit board

US12621931B2US 12621931 B2US12621931 B2US 12621931B2US-12621931-B2

Abstract

A circuit board may include a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together and a channel formed at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers within which an electrically-conductive pad is formed from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers.

Inventors

James L. Petivan
Bhyrav M. Mutnury
Sandor T. Farkas

Assignees

DELL PRODUCTS L.P.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231012

Claims (20)

1 . A circuit board, comprising: a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together; and a channel formed at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers within which an electrically-conductive pad is formed from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers, wherein the at least one dielectric layer forms a first wall of the channel and a second wall of the channel opposite to the first wall.
2 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the internal electrically-conductive layer is a layer immediately below a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
3 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the internal electrically-conductive layer is a layer internal to the circuit board other than a layer immediately below a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
4 . The circuit board of claim 1 , further comprising a second electrically-conductive pad formed upon a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
5 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-conductive pad is configured to engage with a pin of a connector.
6 . The circuit board of claim 5 , wherein the connector is a straddle-mount connector configured to couple to the circuit board.
7 . The circuit board of claim 5 , wherein the connector is a receptacle connector configured to couple to the circuit board.
8 . An information handling system comprising: a processor; and a circuit board, comprising: a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together; and a channel formed at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers within which an electrically-conductive pad is formed from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers, wherein the at least one dielectric layer forms a first wall of the channel and a second wall of the channel opposite to the first wall.
9 . The information handling system of claim 8 , wherein the internal electrically-conductive layer is a layer immediately below a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
10 . The information handling system of claim 8 , wherein the internal electrically-conductive layer is a layer internal to the circuit board other than a layer immediately below a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
11 . The information handling system of claim 8 , the circuit board further comprising a second electrically-conductive pad formed upon a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
12 . The information handling system of claim 8 , wherein the electrically-conductive pad is configured to engage with a pin of a connector.
13 . The information handling system of claim 12 , wherein the connector is a straddle-mount connector configured to couple to the circuit board.
14 . The information handling system of claim 12 , wherein the connector is a receptacle connector configured to couple to the circuit board.
15 . A method comprising, in a circuit board having a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together: forming a channel at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers, wherein the at least one dielectric layer forms a first wall of the channel and a second wall of the channel opposite to the first wall; and forming within the channel an electrically-conductive pad from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the internal electrically-conductive layer is a layer immediately below a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the internal electrically-conductive layer is a layer internal to the circuit board other than a layer immediately below a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising forming a second electrically-conductive pad upon a surface dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the electrically-conductive pad is configured to engage with a pin of a connector.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the connector is a straddle-mount connector configured to couple to the circuit board.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates in general to information handling systems, and more particularly to improving connectivity of pads at an edge of a circuit board to pins of a connector of another circuit board, to enhance signal quality over existing approaches. BACKGROUND As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. Information handling systems may often use one or more circuit boards. A circuit board may comprise a substrate of a plurality of conductive layers separated and supported by layers of insulating material laminated together, with conductive traces disposed on and/or in any of such conductive layers, with vias for coupling conductive traces of different layers together, and with pads for coupling electronic components (e.g., packaged integrated circuits, slot connectors, etc.) to conductive traces of the circuit board. Oftentimes, circuit boards are coupled to one another via connectors present on the respective circuit board. For example, a first circuit board may have a receptacle connector mounted on a surface thereof or mounted at the edge thereof for receiving a corresponding edge connector formed on an edge of a second circuit board. As signal speeds continue to increase as electrical and computing technology advances, small parasitic artifacts present within circuit boards and connectors may have significant impact on signal integrity of electrical signals communicated within such circuit boards and connectors. Accordingly, systems and methods for minimizing such parasitic artifacts may be desired. SUMMARY In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, the disadvantages and problems associated with traditional approaches to coupling pads at an edge of a circuit board to pins of a connector or another circuit board may be substantially reduced or eliminated. In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, a circuit board may include a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together and a channel formed at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers within which an electrically-conductive pad is formed from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers. In accordance with these and other embodiments of the present disclosure, an information handling system may include a processor and a circuit board comprising a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together and a channel formed at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers within which an electrically-conductive pad is formed from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers. In accordance with these and other embodiments of the present disclosure, a method may include, in a circuit board having a plurality of electrically-conductive layers separated and supported by a plurality of dielectric layers of insulating material laminated together, forming a channel at an edge of the circuit board through at least one dielectric layer of the plurality of dielectric layers and forming within the channel an electrically-conductive pad from an internal electrically-conductive layer of one of the plurality of electrically-conductive layers. Technical advantages of the present disclosure may be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the figures, description and claims included herein. The objects and advantages of the e