In this article, we’ll discuss what really characterizes the high frequency RF-10 copper clad laminates. QFPCB factory has rich experience in RFID data process engineering and a complete high-frequency material processing control system to ensure product design functions. And you can also call QFPCB to discuss. QFPCB offers the best services when it comes to the high-frequency PCB Material, so please feel free to contact us.
What is the high-frequency RF-10 laminate?
RF-10 copper-clad laminates are composite materials made from ceramic-filled PTFE and woven fiberglass. RF-10 offers the advantage of a high dielectric constant combined with a low dissipation factor. The thin woven fiberglass reinforcement provides both low dielectric loss and enhanced rigidity, which facilitates easier handling and improves dimensional stability, making it ideal for multilayer circuit applications.
RF-10 laminates are designed to offer a cost-effective substrate with industry-standard delivery times. Engineered to address the need for size reduction in RF applications, RF-10 bonds effectively to smooth, low-profile copper. The combination of RF-10’s low dissipation and the use of ultra-smooth copper results in minimal insertion losses at higher frequencies, where skin effect losses become significant. This makes RF-10 an ideal choice for high-performance RF designs.
RF-10 can be subjected to shearing, drilling, milling and plating through the utilization of standard PTFE circuit board processing techniques. RF-10 laminates boast low thermal coefficients of expansion in the X, Y and Z directions, ensuring exceptional reliability for plated through holes and reducing scaling factors for artwork compensation.
Features of the high-frequency RF-10 laminate for PCBs
Key Features:
- High Dielectric Constant (Dk):
•Signal Integrity: The high dielectric constant of RF-10 allows for better control over the propagation of electromagnetic waves, ensuring excellent signal integrity.
•Miniaturization: The high Dk enables the design of smaller and more compact circuits, which is particularly beneficial for miniaturized antenna applications and other space-constrained designs. - Low Dissipation Factor (Df):
•Minimal Signal Loss: The low dissipation factor minimizes signal loss and attenuation, ensuring that the transmitted signals remain strong and clear.
•Efficiency: Low Df contributes to higher efficiency in power transmission and reception, making RF-10 an ideal choice for high-power applications. - Improved Rigidity:
•Ease of Handling: The thin woven fiberglass reinforcement provides the necessary rigidity, making the material easier to handle during the manufacturing and assembly processes.
•Reduced Warpage: The added rigidity helps to reduce warpage and deformation, ensuring that the final product maintains its shape and dimensions. - Enhanced Dimensional Stability:
•Multilayer Circuits: The improved dimensional stability of RF-10 is crucial for multilayer circuit designs, where precise alignment and consistent performance across multiple layers are required.
•Thermal Stability: The material exhibits low thermal expansion, ensuring that it remains stable under varying temperature conditions, which is important for applications that experience thermal cycling. - Low Dielectric Loss:
•High-Frequency Performance: The low dielectric loss of RF-10 ensures that the material performs exceptionally well at high frequencies, making it suitable for applications such as 5G, satellite communications, and radar systems.
•Consistent Performance: The low loss factor ensures consistent performance over a wide range of frequencies, providing reliable and predictable behavior in various RF and microwave applications.
Benefits of the high-frequency RF-10 laminate for PCBs
RF-10 copper clad laminates are advanced composite materials specifically designed for high-frequency and high-performance RF (Radio Frequency) and microwave applications. These laminates are composed of a ceramic-filled PTFE matrix and a thin woven fiberglass reinforcement. The combination of these materials results in a substrate that offers exceptional electrical and mechanical properties, making it ideal for a wide range of demanding applications.
High DK for RF circuit size reduction
RF-10 laminates have a high dielectric constant (DK), which makes them particularly advantageous for RF (radio frequency) circuit design. A higher DK allows for a reduction in the size of RF circuits, as it enables the use of smaller trace widths and tighter spacing while maintaining the same impedance characteristics. This size reduction is critical for applications where space is limited, such as in mobile devices, IoT devices, and other compact electronics.
Tight DK tolerance (10.2 +/- 0.3)
RF-10 laminates feature a tight dielectric constant (DK) tolerance of 10.2 ± 0.3, which provides excellent consistency and precision in RF circuit design. This tight DK tolerance ensures that the material’s dielectric properties remain stable across the entire circuit board, resulting in highly predictable electrical performance. In high-frequency applications, even small variations in DK can cause significant changes in impedance, signal loss, and overall circuit behavior. The precise DK tolerance of RF-10 laminates helps to minimize these risks, ensuring that signal integrity is maintained and that the circuit performs as designed. This consistency is particularly important for high-performance RF and microwave applications, where maintaining accurate impedance and minimizing signal distortion is critical.
High thermal conductivity for enhanced thermal managemen
The RF-10 laminate provides an outstanding level of high thermal conductivity. This advanced material is specifically engineered to facilitate efficient heat dissipation, ensuring optimal performance in various applications where heat management is crucial. Its exceptional thermal conductivity property enables it to handle intense heat loads with ease, making it a preferred choice in industries such as electronics, aerospace, and automotive.
Enhanced dimensional stability
The RF-10 laminate exhibits an exceptionally high level of dimensional stability. This means that it maintains its precise shape and size with remarkable consistency, even when subjected to varying environmental conditions, mechanical stresses, or temperature fluctuations. The laminate’s inherent properties allow it to resist any significant deformations or alterations in its dimensions, ensuring its reliability and accuracy in applications where precise measurements and consistent geometries are of paramount importance.
Low 0.0025 loss tangent (@ 10 GHz)
RF-10 laminates exhibit an exceptionally low loss tangent of 0.0025 at 10 GHz, making them ideal for high-frequency applications where minimizing signal attenuation is critical. The low loss tangent indicates that the material has minimal energy dissipation as the signal propagates through the circuit, which is essential for maintaining signal integrity in RF and microwave devices. In high-speed communication systems, such as those used in 5G, satellite communications, and radar, even small losses can degrade performance and lead to signal distortion or reduced range. The low loss tangent of RF-10 laminates ensures that power is efficiently transmitted with minimal heat generation or signal degradation, allowing for higher system efficiency and improved overall performance.
Excellent adhesion to smooth coppers
RF-10 laminates offer excellent adhesion to smooth copper surfaces, which is a critical feature for ensuring the long-term reliability and durability of the finished circuit boards. Strong adhesion between the laminate and the copper layer is essential for maintaining the integrity of plated-through holes (PTHs), copper traces, and the overall bonding structure during the manufacturing process and throughout the product’s lifecycle. This superior adhesion reduces the risk of delamination, copper peel-off, or other structural failures that can occur under thermal or mechanical stress. Furthermore, the strong bond between RF-10 laminates and smooth copper enhances the electrical performance of the circuit by ensuring a stable and uniform conductive path, which is especially important in high-frequency applications.
Low X, Y, Z expansion
RF-10 laminates feature low thermal expansion coefficients in the X, Y, and Z directions, making them highly stable under temperature fluctuations. This property ensures that the material expands and contracts minimally when subjected to changes in temperature, which is crucial for maintaining the integrity and performance of the circuit board, especially in environments with varying thermal conditions. Low expansion in all three dimensions (X, Y, and Z) helps to prevent issues such as warping, distortion, or misalignment of components, which can lead to reliability problems or failures in high-precision applications.
Applications of the high-frequency RF-10 laminate for PCBs
Some of the main applications are as follows：
GPS Antennas
The RF-10 is widely utilized for various applications such as GPS navigation systems, high-performance Patch antennas, and advanced RFID reader devices. It plays a crucial role in ensuring accurate positioning and seamless data transmission in these technological domains.
Microstrip Patch Antennas
RF-10 laminate which is known for its superior performance and high-quality composition, is commonly used for the highly sensitive and precise Global Positioning System Antennas. This particular laminate provides excellent signal transmission and reception capabilities, ensuring the accurate and reliable functioning of the antennas in various environments and applications.
Satellite components
RF-10 laminate is a high-performance material that plays a crucial role in satellite electronics, offering exceptional thermal conductivity, low dielectric loss, and stability under extreme conditions. Its use in satellite systems enhances the performance and longevity of communication, radar, and imaging systems, ensuring that satellites can operate reliably in the harsh environment of space.
Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems
RF-10 laminates are an excellent choice for use in aircraft collision avoidance systems due to their superior performance in high-frequency and high-reliability environments. These systems rely on precise and continuous communication to detect and avoid potential collisions, making signal integrity and system stability paramount. The low loss tangent of RF-10 laminates ensures minimal signal attenuation, which is critical for maintaining clear, accurate, and reliable communication between aircraft and radar systems, even in complex and dynamic conditions.
Passive Components (filters, couplers, power dividers)
RF-10 laminate is widely used in the design and manufacture of passive components, such as dividers, filters, and couplers, particularly in high-frequency applications such as satellite communications, automotive radar, and 5G wireless systems. The dielectric properties of the material play a crucial role in influencing the propagation of electromagnetic waves, determining the efficiency of energy transfer, and controlling the impedance characteristics of the devices.
RF-10 copper clad laminates offer a unique combination of high dielectric constant, low dissipation factor, and enhanced mechanical properties, making them an excellent choice for high-frequency and high-performance RF and microwave applications. If you need pcb design suggestions and consultation, you are welcome to contact us.
