Many designers and assemblers do not know what is readily available in high current heavy copper PCB. Heavy copper boards can contain three ounces to twenty ounces of copper conductors. Quite surprisingly, a heavy copper PCB (ten ounces) can also have very fine features.
There are many variations of the heavy copper technology, including buried heavy copper, multiple levels of copper, and multilayer heavy copper. The simplest form of heavy copper is the single or double-sided PCB, containing three- to twenty-ounce thickness of copper. By starting with a heavy copper base, such as eight-ounce foil on FR4, imaging and etching the circuit, single and double-sided PCBs have the lowest cost. On all heavy copper boards, the designer has the choice of starting copper thickness and the amount plated in the holes. The current required to be passed in the vias will determine the amount of copper plated in the hole. To plate ten ounces of copper in the holes of a twelve ounce thick PCB, the manufacturer will start with two ounces of copper and plate up to ten ounces in the holes and on the traces.
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