The laminated bus bar (LBB) is a passive component which is used in many systems to carry power and even signals between multiple points with minimal voltage drop, power loss, and inductance. This laminated bus bar has multiple conducting layers of copper or aluminum separated by adhesive-coated insulating dielectric film. The conducting and interposed dielectric lamination layers are carefully bonded together by heat and pressure to create the final assembly as a single merged unit which can take many flat or even formed shapes, Figure 1.
Figure 1: Laminated bus bars are fabricated as basic flat shapes but also can be formed to meet the unique space constraints of the design.
Laminated bus bars address two power-related design challenges: they significantly reduce voltage drop due to IR loss in high-current power-distribution systems, and their very low stray inductance minimizes a possible cause of instability and output oscillation in switching power supplies. Depending on size and thickness, laminated bus bars can support voltages and currents ranging from low, single-digit values up to hundreds of volts and amps and even higher. These bus bars are a clean, clear, and direct mechanical solution to a problem defined by electrical engineering realities, and can even provide some relief to heat-dissipation issues.
