PCB |
LCP multilayer substrate technology
Swiss based Printed Circuit Board producer Dyconex has developed advanced lamination techniques and LCP build-up technologies for LPC substrates.
Due to the continually increasing frequencies and data transmission rates, the materials and integration techniques in electronic systems are experiencing more demanding performance constraints.
Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) is a thermoplastic polymer material with unique structural and physical properties. As a result of the unique structure, LCP offers an excellent combination of electrical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. Above all, one needs to mention the uniform relative dielectric constant of 2.9-3.0 in the range 0.5 to 40 GHz and a low loss factor of ~0.004. LCP has very low moisture absorption (~0.02%) and low moisture permeability compared to polyimide. For gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and helium, LCP also exhibits good barrier performance. In addition, thermal expansion coefficient of the LCP material can be controlled during the fabrication process to be both small, predictable, and/or matched to copper, silicon, etc. Due to the thermoplastic nature of the LCP substrate material, special care needs to be taken when assembling multilayer printed circuit boards. Dyconex has developed advanced lamination techniques and LCP build-up technologies in order to meet the requirements for 3 to 4 layer LCP boards. Furthermore, LCP substrates materials are available in combination with other rigid and rigid-flex materials as hybrid circuits. Currently, 6 to 8 layer LCP substrate technology is under development in order to allow for even higher integration levels.
Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) is a thermoplastic polymer material with unique structural and physical properties. As a result of the unique structure, LCP offers an excellent combination of electrical, thermal, mechanical and chemical properties. Above all, one needs to mention the uniform relative dielectric constant of 2.9-3.0 in the range 0.5 to 40 GHz and a low loss factor of ~0.004. LCP has very low moisture absorption (~0.02%) and low moisture permeability compared to polyimide. For gases, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and helium, LCP also exhibits good barrier performance. In addition, thermal expansion coefficient of the LCP material can be controlled during the fabrication process to be both small, predictable, and/or matched to copper, silicon, etc. Due to the thermoplastic nature of the LCP substrate material, special care needs to be taken when assembling multilayer printed circuit boards. Dyconex has developed advanced lamination techniques and LCP build-up technologies in order to meet the requirements for 3 to 4 layer LCP boards. Furthermore, LCP substrates materials are available in combination with other rigid and rigid-flex materials as hybrid circuits. Currently, 6 to 8 layer LCP substrate technology is under development in order to allow for even higher integration levels.
