Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPC) plays an increasingly important role in modern electronic products, applied to all aspects of life, its lightweight, thin, and bendable characteristics make it widely used in smartphones, wearable devices, medical devices, and other fields.FPC material selection is very important, directly affecting FPC's performance, reliability, and cost. This article will provide you with detailed information on how to choose the right FPC material, common materials, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as precautions.
First, the common FPC materials and their advantages and disadvantages
FPC's main component materials from the base material, adhesive, and cover layer of three parts. The following are several common FPC materials:
- Polyimide (PI)
Advantages.
Excellent high-temperature resistance, can withstand welding temperatures up to 260 ° C, good mechanical properties, high tensile strength, and folding resistance, excellent electrical properties, low dielectric constant and loss factor, good chemical stability, solvent resistance, and corrosion resistance.
Disadvantages.
High cost, high moisture absorption, need moisture-proof treatment
Applications: High temperature, high-reliability requirements, such as aerospace, military, automotive electronics, etc. - Polyester (PET)
Advantages.
Low cost, good mechanical and electrical properties, chemical corrosion resistance.
Disadvantages.
Poor temperature resistance, generally not exceeding 105°C, relatively poor dimensional stability.
Application areas: consumer electronics, such as cell phones, digital cameras, laptops, etc. - Polyethylene Naphthalene Dicarboxylate (PEN)
Advantages.
Better temperature resistance than PET up to 150°C, good dimensional stability, and good mechanical and electrical properties.
Disadvantages.
Higher cost than PET
Application areas: temperature resistance and dimensional stability of the higher requirements of the occasion, such as automotive electronics, industrial control, etc. - Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
Advantages.
Excellent high-temperature resistance can withstand temperatures up to 260 ° C, very low dielectric constant and loss factor, suitable for high-frequency applications, good chemical stability, and corrosion resistance.
Disadvantages.
High cost, difficult to process
Application: High frequency, high-speed signal transmission field, such as radar, communication equipment, etc.
Second, the choice of FPC materials need to consider what factors
1. operating temperature: according to the FPC working environment temperature selection of suitable materials, such as high-temperature environment selection of PI or PTFE, room temperature environment selection of PET or PEN.2. Electrical properties: According to the signal frequency and transmission rate, select the dielectric constant and loss factor of the appropriate material, such as PTFE, for high-frequency applications.
3. mechanical properties: according to the number of FPC bending and bending radius select the tensile strength and folding resistance of the appropriate material.
4. the chemical environment: according to the chemical substances FPC contact with the selection of corrosion resistance of the appropriate material.
5. cost: to meet the performance requirements under the premise of selecting lower-cost materials.
Topfast suggests: that choosing the right FPC material needs to consider a variety of factors, and according to the specific application scenarios for trade-offs, the specific choice also needs to be based on the actual situation for a detailed analysis and evaluation, it is best to choose a professional FPC material suppliers or engineers to get more professional advice.