Patent ID: 8123927

Claim:
A method for improving performance of a signal transmitted via a conductive circuit trace of a circuit board, the method comprising the step of: providing a first circuit board layer of a circuit board having a conductive circuit trace on a surface of the first circuit board layer; laminating the first circuit board layer with a second circuit board layer; and reducing a surface roughness of at least one surface of the conductive circuit trace on the surface of the first circuit board layer using a smoothing technique prior to lamination of the first circuit board layer with the second circuit board layer so as to improve performance of a signal transmitted via the conductive circuit trace, wherein the surface roughness of the at least one surface is reduced to no more than 20 microinches root-mean-squared (RMS), wherein the smoothing technique comprises at least one of a lateral smoothing technique and a transverse smoothing technique, the lateral smoothing technique reducing surface roughness in a direction along the conductive circuit trace and the transverse smoothing technique reducing surface roughness in a direction across the conductive circuit trace; wherein the step of reducing the surface roughness comprises vacuum depositing conductive material on the at least one surface.