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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Thick copper helps a high-voltage power IC carry more current by increasing the cross-sectional area of its metal conductors. That can lower resistance, voltage drop and resistive heating. It is not a standalone ampacity rating: the practical limit also depends on the chip’s interconnects, package, bond structures, cooling and operating waveform.
How thick copper increases current capability
Current flowing through a power IC encounters resistance in its metal wiring. For a conductor of a given length and material, adding thickness increases its cross-sectional area and reduces resistance. Lower resistance means less voltage drop and less heat generated by current flow, described by Joule heating.
Copper offers a material advantage over aluminum in the figures reported by EE Times and Dongbu HiTek in 2011: copper resistivity was given as 1.7 × 10-6 ohm-cm, compared with 2.7 × 10-6 ohm-cm for aluminum. The same article reported thermal conductivity at 300 K of 4.01 W/(cm·K) for copper and 2.37 W/(cm·K) for aluminum. The lower resistivity can reduce electrical losses; the higher thermal conductivity can help conduct heat away from current-carrying structures. Neither figure, by itself, establishes how much current a particular IC can safely carry.
In BCDMOS and LDMOS power ICs, current may travel laterally through source and drain metal and vertically through interconnects and bond structures. Thick top copper gives the current-carrying metal a larger conducting cross-section. The benefit depends on the complete path: a thick top layer cannot remove a bottleneck in a narrow via, bond wire, package lead or board trace.
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What thick-copper BCDMOS means
BCDMOS combines bipolar, CMOS and DMOS device technologies on one chip, and is used in power-management and other power ICs. A thick-copper BCDMOS process adds a thicker copper metallization option to the chip’s interconnect system. The added metal can support higher current flow, help spread heat and, in some designs, provide a redistribution layer for bumps or bond pads.
Bond pads over active circuitry
Bond Over Active Circuitry (BOAC) places bond pads over active circuitry rather than reserving separate die area for all pads. This can reduce die area and parasitic routing resistance. Thick copper can also help absorb mechanical stress associated with bonding, but pad placement and bonding still have to meet the foundry’s and assembly supplier’s rules.
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Thickness is a design choice, not a maximum-is-best rule
EE Times quoted Dongbu HiTek’s Dr. Jae Song in 2011 describing an example in which copper thickness was optimized between 5 and 10 µm for 0.35–0.18 µm nodes. Those are historical process examples, not a current universal specification. Song noted that the appropriate thickness varies by application and that higher current capability must be balanced against cost, stress and the BCDMOS node in use.
How the process and design affect the result
A common thick-copper flow uses a plating mask and a via or connection mask. Barrier and seed layers are formed before copper deposition, with a capping layer added afterward. The specific stack, rules and qualification requirements depend on the foundry process; a process announcement does not substitute for the current design manual or reliability data.
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Thick top copper may also act as a redistribution layer, moving electrical connections to rearranged bumps or more widely distributed bond pads. That can help package integration, but the full current route—including vias, bonds and package connections—must still be designed for the intended electrical and thermal conditions.
What foundry claims establish—and what they do not
In 2013, UMC announced a thick-plated copper process for PMICs and said its top copper reduced chip resistance by 20% or more compared with conventional aluminum top metal. UMC listed coverage for 0.35, 0.25 and 0.8 µm BCD nodes and said a 110 nm BCD process was planned. These are UMC’s reported claims and process details from 2013; they should not be treated as specifications for current offerings or as a guarantee of a 20% reduction in every design.
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UMC also described an integrated TPC service with Chipbond intended to address chip-level requirements while improving end-product performance and reducing size. For a present-day project, ask the foundry which thick-copper options are currently available for the target process and request the associated design rules, electrical limits and qualification information.
How to evaluate a thick-copper power IC
Compare the proposed process against the actual limits of the application, rather than judging it by metal thickness alone.
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- Electrical performance: Review copper thickness, resistance, current density, voltage drop and safe-operating-area data for the relevant device and waveform.
- Thermal path: Assess where heat travels through the die, package and board, including package and board thermal resistance. Higher metal conductivity helps only where the rest of the heat-spreading path can carry heat away.
- Reliability and assembly: Request data and rules for plating uniformity, electromigration, via integrity, bond stress, qualification and assembly constraints.
- Density and economics: Weigh possible die-area savings from BOAC and routing changes against wafer and process costs, added masks and package constraints.
- System bottlenecks: Identify whether the limiting element is on-chip metal, a via, bond wire, package, PCB trace, return path or thermal interface. Upgrading a non-limiting layer may deliver little system-level improvement.
Current density and temperature rise under the intended waveform matter more than a DC current figure viewed in isolation. Pulsed loads, duty cycle, cooling conditions and safety requirements can change the usable margin.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Thick copper in an IC is not the same as a thick-copper PCB
Thick-copper PCB is a separate board-fabrication option, useful when the board’s traces, planes or power distribution need more copper. Its thickness values cannot be compared directly with an IC’s copper layer: the structures, geometries and thermal conditions differ.
| PCB capability | Reported specification | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Taiyo Technologies thick-copper PCB | 105, 140, 175 and 210 µm copper, corresponding to 3, 4, 5 and 6 oz; manufacturer claims 30–180 A capability. Taiyo Technologies, accessed 2026. | Manufacturer capability figures, not universal current ratings. The usable current depends on the specific board design and operating conditions. |
| Unimicron thick copper | Thick copper on outer or inner layers for power-electronics voltage distribution and high-current management; inner copper up to 400 µm. Unimicron Germany, accessed 2026. | A stated fabrication capability, not a guarantee that any geometry using that thickness can carry a specified current. |
| Unimicron profile-copper technology | Localized current-carrying capacity up to 1,000 A. Unimicron Germany, accessed 2026. | A manufacturer-reported capability for specified designs; it is not a general PCB ampacity rating. |
For a board, allowable current depends on trace width and shape, temperature rise, dielectric stackup, vias, cooling, duty cycle and safety requirements. Wider traces and copper pours can reduce both voltage drop and temperature rise; MPS also notes that 2-ounce copper conducts heat better than thinner copper. A thick-copper board may suit DC-DC converters, high-power motor drivers, industrial equipment or EV and hybrid systems, but the board must be sized for its actual design and operating conditions.
When the extra copper is worthwhile
Thicker top copper is most useful when on-chip metal resistance or current density is a meaningful constraint and the package and thermal path can support the resulting current. It is less compelling when another element—such as a bond, via, package connection or board route—sets the limit. More copper can support higher current, but added cost, mechanical stress, node-specific rules and assembly constraints make thickness an optimization, not a target to maximize.
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