We’re going to talk about a type ofhigh volume fiberglass reinforcedmicrowave PCB ----TLX-8 PCB, which offers reliability in a wide range of RF applications. Taconic TLX-8 PCB Circuit are ideal for use in radar systems, mobile communications, microwave test equipment and microwave transmission devices.

To begin with, let’s move on the data sheet of TLX-8 laminate.

The dielectric constant (DK) tested at 10 GHz is 2.55. This is a low value among the DK values. The dissipation factor tested at 1.9 GHz is 0.0012. It is still very low even though getting 0.0017 at 10 GHz.

Its dielectric breakdown is more than 45 kilo-voltages.

At higher frequencies, the moisture absorption is the smaller the better, with a typical value of between 0.1% and 0.2%. As we can see, the moisture absorption of TLX-8 PCBis as low as 0.02%, a very good number.

Then let’s see the peel strength. The data sheet gives us 4 situations: 1oz and half ounces ED copper, 1oz reverse treated copper and 1oz rolled copper. Their peel strengths are very similar to each other. All of them are more than 10 Ibs./linear inch.

Another important factor is the dimensional stability of copper. The date sheet gives us 2 situations, the stability in machine direction (MD) and cross direction (CD) after bake or with thermal stress. All of them are less than 0.1 mils / inch. And CTE in X and Y axis is similar to copper which reveals again the stable dimension.

These properties of higher peel strength and lower value in dimensional expansion help the PCB undergo extreme environment at sea or wide range of temperature variation in the flight.

TLX family

There’s TLX-0, TLX-9, TLX-8, TLX-7 and TLX-6 in the TLX family. TLX materials are PTFE-based fiberglass laminates. They are versatile due to its 2.45 - 2.65 DK range and available thicknesses and copper cladding. It is suitable for low layer count microwave designs.

TLX is noteworthy because it is available as a very thin laminate for coupler type applications.TLX-9 has the thinnest thickness of 2mil and TLX-0 has the lowest DK of 2.45

TLX is a workhorse in the world of RF microwave substrates because fiberglass provides mechanical reinforcement wherever they encounter harsh environments.

For TLX-8 PCBs, we can provide you with single-sided boards, double-sided boards, multi-layer boards and hybrid types. TLX-8 PCBs have wide thickness. These are the standard thickness such as 10 mils, 20 mils, 30 mils and 60mils etc. It’s as thin as 2.5 mils and as thick as 250 mils for our designers.

Finished copper on PCB can be 1oz and 2oz. Our maximum PCB size on TLX-8 is 400mm by 500mm; it can be a single board in the sheet and also can be different designs in this panel.

Solder mask of green, black, blue and yellow etc is available in house. There’s immersion gold, HASL, immersion silver, immersion tin, bare copper and OSP etc. for pads surface finish.

There is a type of 62mil TLX Taconic PCB with immersion gold and also can be do TLX-8 with OSP finish for the application of filters. TLX-8 PCBs also can be found in radar systems, mobile communications, antennas, mixer, combiners and splitters etc.

TLX-8 high frequency PCB has tightly controlled DK, there’s only ± 2% variation from -55 to 125 °C. It has a long space heritage and is able to experience severe environments such as radiation resistance in space.

From this outgassing test report, we can seetotal mass loss (TML)of TLX-8 is 0.03%.Collected volatile condensable materials (CVCM)is zero and the amount ofwater vapor regained (WVR)is 0.01%. These values are very low, which get much higher result than the normal required value.