High voltage on the PCB

[kender]

Colleagues,

Could anyone give a reference to guidelines for the High Voltage (HV) PCB layout?

I need to layout a board, which will be powered with 5V and generate 500V internally, using an EMCO Q Series power supply (little brick). What layout rules do I need to know? What parameters do I need to find out from the PCB fab house?

Thanks,
- Nick

 

[senilicus]

For tracewidths and clearances, checkout IPC-2221.

On my copy (Feb. 1998) you will find the numbers on pages 38/39

 

[kender]

For tracewidths and clearances, checkout IPC-2221.
On my copy (Feb. 1998) you will find the numbers on pages 38/39

Thanks, that helped!

I found that the dielectric strength of FR4 is 500 V/mil (for metric folks, 1 mil = 0.001inch = 0.0254mm). The 4-layer boards that I get are boards that I get are 50 mils (1.2mm) thick. I guess, that means that there's more than enough dielectric between any two layers.

What about high-voltage vias? How big should be the clearance between the via and a plane? Of course, I can try to avoid using planes in the high voltage section altogether.

 

[prapan]

What happens if I use planes in high voltage section areas?