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POLYMER
SUBSTRATES |
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Polymer or soft substrates are special circuit boards, on which the base material – unlike glass-fibre reinforced Epoxy resin of an FR4 – consists of a ceramic or glass-fibre reinforced PTFE/TEFLON or other special plastics.
All these base materials show improved electrical properties in comparison to the traditional circuit boards. Examples for this are the lower loss factor and the extensive temperature and frequency- independent behaviour of the material. Due to these positive features, these materials are used for high-frequency circuits up to about 10 GHz – and in some cases even higher. Similarly to the thin film, the copper-cladded raw material is initially processed mechanically, plated through and then structured in a photolithographic step with subsequent etching.
Multi-layers could be realised similarly to technologies known from the conventional PCB/FR4 manufacturing.
Benefits
Since the circuit boards can be processed in a larger format than a thin film ceramic, this solution could be a cost-effective alternative with a minimum resolution of about 50 – 100 µm considering the special machining conditions.
Applications
Polymer or Teflon based circuit boards are predestined for 50-Ohm circuit boards in the lower GHz-range. These special RF boards are used for applications without any special environmental compatibility requirements (high/low temperature, temperature change and moisture).
details
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