Highlights

Ludovic Valette and Rudolf Wiechmann
High-performance substrate from new epoxy resin and enhanced copper foil

Keywords

Epoxy resins, Adhesion, Thermal stability

Abstract

The Dow Chemical Company has developed a new epoxy-based system to serve the growing need for high-performance dielectric substrates, requiring high thermal reliability (high T _g, high thermal resistance) and high signal speed and integrity (low dielectric constant and low loss factor). The system is based on advanced, proprietary resin technologies. The process latitude of this system is very similar to traditional high T _g FR-4 products. The optimized rheology of the system leads to consistent, controlled flow. The copper foil JTCHTEAB from Gould Electronics, where AB stands for advanced bond, is interesting in this context as it was developed for use on high-performance laminates with a typically lower ability for copper bonding, such as high T _g and low D _k/ D _f substrates. When the LDk-HTd resin is used in combination with the JTCHTEAB copper foil, the copper peel strength fully meets the industry standard for high T _g FR-4 laminates.

Introduction

FR-4 laminates are widely used as the base material for the production of printed circuit boards (PCB) because their electrical and thermo-mechanical characteristics make them suitable for many applications. They are produced by...