Types of Copper Clad Laminates
The designers or engineers customize the PCBs according to the requirements of the product, using different types of copper clad laminates.
The copper clad laminates (CCL) can be divided into two types: rigid CCL and flexible CCL.
1. Rigid CCLs
- According to different insulation materials and structure division: organic resin copper clad laminates, metal core copper clad laminates, and ceramic base copper clad laminates
- According to the thickness of the CCLs: conventional copper clad laminates and thin copper clad laminates.
- According to the reinforcement materials used: electronic fiberglass cloth base copper clad laminates, paper base copper clad laminates and composite base copper clad laminates.
- According to the insulating resin used for CCLs, such as epoxy resin copper clad laminates, polyester resin copper clad laminates and cyanate resin copper clad laminates
- Special rigid copper clad laminates according to flame retardant grade and some special properties
2. Flexible CCLs
- Polyester types (flame retardant and non-flame retardant)
- Polyimide types (flame retardant and non-flame retardant)
- Very thin electronic fiberglass cloth copper clad laminates
All of these above will be met in PS Electronics. Our copper clad laminates include but are not limited to the following types.
1.FR-4, which is most widely applied around the world, is also the most copper-clad laminates we use. The main component of the substrate is epoxy resin. FR-4 has excellent performances and is cheaper than some special materials. Meanwhile, this material has been fully studied, so it can be modified to produce a wide range of benefits such as halogen-free type. The Tg range reflects this, which divide FR-4 laminates into low Tg, medium Tg, and high Tg.
-Low Tg: 110~130℃
-Mid Tg: 135~160℃
-High Tg: >=170℃
General properties,
| Flammability | UL-94V0 |
| Flexural Strength | 500~600Mpa Lengthwise / 400~500Mpa Crosswise |
| Dielectric Constant @ 1MHz | ~4.7 |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion | ~55ppm/℃ before Tg / ~285ppm/℃ after Tg |
| Loss Tangent @ 1MHz | 0.017 |
| Thermal Conductivity | Up to 0.8w/mk |
2.CEM-3 (Composite Epoxy Material Grade-3) is a composite fiberglass material developed on the basis of FR-4, a combination of woven glass fiber and non-woven glass core plus resin filling, usually has a milky white color. The properties of CEM-3 are very similar to that of FR-4, except the lower mechanical endurance. It’s a cost-effective replacement of FR-4 laminate (2-layer boards) with less wearing of drill bit, especially suitable for punch process.
General properties,
| Flammability | UL-94V0 |
| Flexural Strength | 300~400Mpa Lengthwise / 200~300Mpa Crosswise |
| Dielectric Constant @ 1MHz | 4.5~4.8 |
| Tg | ~130℃ |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion | ~55ppm/℃ before Tg / ~285ppm/℃ after Tg |
| Loss Tangent @ 1MHz | 0.020 |
| Thermal Conductivity | Up to 0.8w/mk |
3.Polyimide (PI) is one of the best heat-resistant organic high molecular polymers. It has good softness and is the main material of flexible PCBs.
General properties,
| Flammability | UL-94V0 |
| Tensile Strength | ~72Mpa |
| Dielectric Constant @ 1MHz | 4.2 |
| Tg | >250℃ |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion | ~55ppm/℃ before Tg / ~149ppm/℃ after Tg |
| Loss Tangent @ 1MHz | 0.018 |
| Thermal Conductivity | ~0.2w/mk |
4.Aluminum is another basic material commonly used to make circuit boards. It is widely used in high-power products and LED products because of its excellent heat dissipation capability.
General properties,
| Flammability | UL-94V0 |
| Flexural Strength | ~450Mpa Lengthwise / ~390Mpa Crosswise |
| Dielectric Breakdown | 6.0KV |
| Tg | 100~170℃ |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion | ~27ppm/℃ before Tg / ~30ppm/℃ after Tg |
| Td | ~400℃ |
| Thermal Conductivity | 1.0~3.0w/mk |
5.Rogers, a US company specializing in manufacturing high frequency materials which are used in the PCBs used for RF/Microwave products and other high frequency products.
General properties of RO4350B,
| Flammability | UL-94V0 |
| Flexural Strength | ~255Mpa |
| Dielectric Constant @ 10GHz | 3.5 |
| Tg | >280℃ |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion | ~32ppm/℃ |
| Loss Tangent @ 10GHz | 0.0037 |
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.69w/mk |
6.PTFE (Poly tetra fluoroethylene or Teflon), a synthetic polymer material that has superior dielectric properties compared to conventional high-frequency materials. It is good for many demanding or special RF/microwave products, but the expensive cost also needs to be fully considered by designers.
General properties of Taconic TLC,
| Flammability | UL-94V0 |
| Flexural Strength | >276Mpa Lengthwise / >241Mpa Crosswise |
| Dielectric Constant @ 10GHz | ~3.2 |
| Tg | >280℃ |
| Coefficient of Thermal Expansion | 70ppm/℃ |
| Loss Tangent @ 10GHz | 0.003 |
| Thermal Conductivity | 0.24w/mk |
PS electronics have a lot of working experience in each copper-clad laminate, they also include FR-1/2, 22F, CEM-1, other metal substrates, and Rogers, Arlon, Taconic types. Please feel free to contact us for details.
