Look inside any piece of modern electronic equipment and you will likely discover multiple miniature components known as surface mount technology (SMT). Surface mounting technology has increasingly replaced through-hole construction to enable printed circuit boards to pack more functionality into their designs.
Chip Inductors
Chip inductors are surface mount components characterized by coils soldered directly onto copper elements on printed circuit boards (source: https://www.quora.com/What-are-chip-inductors). Used in various electronic components ranging from power supplies and audio/radio circuits to computer motherboards, chip inductors can come either shielded or molded cases; with shielded cases designed to hold most of their magnetic field. Wire wound or multilayer structures may also feature either layers composed of alternating layers of ferrite and conductors or be composed of either of these configurations.
These inductors are typically rated by their inductance value, which can be identified using a code or system of numbers printed on them. This allows manufacturers to choose an inductor that best meets their application, such as high-frequency circuits or power supply lines. They come in various sizes and shapes; small toroidal coil inductors being the smallest option.
These small inductors can be attached directly to a circuit board without using leads, making them ideal for applications requiring higher component density. They can be manufactured with molded cases featuring well-defined edges and smooth surfaces formed using injection or transfer molding processes.
SMT components feature much smaller footprints than their through-hole counterparts, making them suitable for devices requiring more room for other components. SMT components also enable manufacturers to increase automation and production rates more easily while being easier to work with; this makes inspection and testing harder, increasing risk for short circuits or solder bridges.
SMD technology construction methods have quickly replaced traditional through-hole mounting techniques due to their ability to accommodate higher component densities on one PCB while improving manufacturing efficiencies. SMD construction involves applying solder paste onto a PCB surface, placing SMD components onto it using stencils, then subjecting it to controlled heat from infrared radiation or hot air heating that causes the solder to melt and form an intimate bond with copper, providing permanent connections.
Ferrite Beads
Ferrite beads, also known as ferrite inductors or EMI filters, are designed to filter out high-frequency noise, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and switching transients on power supply lines, data signals, and ground planes. What ferrite beads do to achieve this is by absorbing and dissipating excess energy as heat without altering rated current handling capability or compromise signal integrity. In fact, they have superior performance than most EMI suppression devices!
Most SMD ferrite manufacturers publish frequency response curves for their bead on wire products at 100 MHz, providing useful data about impedance versus frequency under conditions of zero dc bias current. Unfortunately, when increasing bias current beyond zero increases significantly from zero impedance changes become much more apparent which are usually hidden by low frequency response curves in data sheets making system designers difficult to select and use them effectively.
Ferrite beads behave similarly to both inductors and capacitors at low frequencies, blocking low-level unintended radio frequency (RF) electronic noise from reaching other parts of a circuit by absorbing and dissipating its energy as low-level heat without interfering with data or power signals it is protecting.
Resistor
Resistors are one of the most ubiquitous electronic components. Used for many functions ranging from voltage division to current limiting and noise filtering to creating specific signal characteristics, resistors are ubiquitous components used in circuit design that help ensure faster speeds with reduced resistance levels.
Resistors have become a staple component in surface mount technology and this widespread usage has significantly streamlined production times and enabled greater levels of functionality within limited spaces at reduced costs, all contributing to reduced production times overall. But people using resistors must be mindful of certain issues related to them when designing new equipment – in particular the ones listed here.
These devices, commonly referred to as SMD or SMT resistors, come in an assortment of sizes. Most often small rectangular shapes with two metallized areas on either end for connecting via solder. Their internal connection uses nickel based materials while their outer connections typically utilize tin plating for maximum solder ability.
These devices typically display markings consisting of three or four numbers that function similarly to color code bands on wire-ended resistors, similar to how resistors use color bands for their resistance values. Since their devices are too small to utilize this system, they rely on numbering instead. In general, the first two digits indicate their power dissipation capability while their resistance value will be displayed after three digits have passed by.
Capacitor
Capacitors are two-terminal electrical devices used to store energy as an electric charge. Composed of two metal plates separated by an inert material known as dielectric, their capacitance is determined by both area of conductive plates and distance apart; their capacitance also depends on manufacturing dimensions such as length, girth and material used – however there are numerous types depending on which dielectrics are utilized in them.
Multilayer ceramic capacitors (which you can click here to learn about) are composed of thin sheets of dielectric and electrode materials screen printed with metal paste and assembled into layers via special sintering processes, producing highly reliable devices capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, humidity levels and voltage variations; making them suitable for surface mount technology applications.
Parallel plate capacitors are the simplest type of capacitor, consisting of two metal plates that conduct electricity placed close together. Their capacitance, measured in farads, depends on their size and distance from one another; for optimal results they must all have equal dimensions to achieve similar capacitance values.
These components offer many advantages over their through-hole counterparts in addition to being cost effective, such as being easier and quicker to assemble without damage, which reduces production costs while being smaller, making them suitable for more applications and flexible circuits.
However, SMT components tend to increase stress levels on solder connections due to their small sizes, increasing fatigue and creep factors and leading to shortened solder joints. These require higher temperature stability than traditional through-hole components.
