PCB design glossary
Soldermask
AKA: solder mask
The (usually green) polymer coating on a PCB that protects copper and exposes only the pads.
Soldermask is the polymer layer applied over copper to prevent oxidation, prevent solder bridges during assembly, and provide insulation. Openings in the soldermask expose pads, fiducials, and test points.
Soldermask color is usually green by default but red, blue, black, white, purple, and yellow are widely available.
Designing a board that uses soldermask?
PCBEditor turns a plain-English description into a verified schematic — then handles placement, routing, and export to Gerber or KiCad.
Open PCBEditor