• September 26, 2021

1, Purpose of Flexible Circuits     ◆to provide interconnections between printed circuit boards and other components.     ◆to serve as three-dimensional substrates for the mounting of SMT components, e.g. in mobile phone, digital camera and video cameras etc.     ◆to establish interconnections capable of withstanding dynamic flexing.     ◆to form part of flex-rigid circuit boards. 2, Basic Types of Flexible Circuit ◆ Single-Sided Flexible Circuits This is the simplest type, and consists of a thin and flexible base material to which a copper foil is laminated by means of an adhesive. The finished circuit is frequently provided with a coverlay bonded to the copper side by means of an adhesive. Holes for components or connector pins are drilled or punched in the flexible circuit to provide non-plated-through holes. Holes in the coverlay are drilled or punched before bonding the coverlay to the flexible circuit. ◆  Double-Sided Flexible Circuits As the name suggests, the circuit consists of a thin and flexible base material with copper foil laminated to each side. The outer sides of the finished circuits are frequently provided with coverlays bonded to the outer sides (copper). Plated-through holes in double-sided flexible circuits are usually drilled, instead of punched. Usually the flexible circuits are provided with a coverlays on both sides ◆  Multilayer Flexible Circuits A multilayer flexible circuit consists of a number of thin and flexible base laminates and copper foils laminated together by means of adhesive, in very much the same way as rigid multilayer boards. Also it is common practice to bond coverlays to the outer sides (copper). Plated-through holes can be provided in virtually the same way as in double-sided flexible circuits. ◆  Flex-Rigid Circuits A flex-rigid circuit is a combination of rigid boards and flexible circuits, the latter creating flexible inter-connects between the rigid boards to which they are laminated by means of bond plies. The flexible circuit is manufactured separately and bonded to the rigid boards, either symmetrically, i.e., in the middle of the rigid boards, or asymmetrically, i.e., to the outer side of the rigid boards to be interconnected. Plated-through holes are provided in the rigid sections of the flex-rigid circuits to establish electrical connection between the interconnect (the flexible circuit section) and the electronic circuits of the rigid boards. The processes are similar to those used when manufacturing rigid multilayer boards. ◆  Flexible Circuits with Rigid Areas In some cases, the flexible circuit must support a number of relatively heavy components or even a connector part. Therefore it is necessary to reinforce such an area. This is accomplished by bonding a stiffener to that area. The stiffener can be an extra layer of not too thin polyimide, or it can be a glass/epoxy laminate. The stiffener is provided with holes...

• June 13, 2012

What is high Tg PCB? What are the advantages of using high PCB? Glass Transition Temperature (Tg) The thermal properties of the resin system are characterized by the glass transition temperature (Tg), which always is expressed in °C. The most commonly used property is the thermal expansion. When measuring the expansion versus the temperature, we can get a curve as shown in following picture. The Tg is determined by the intersection of the tangents of the flat and steep parts of the expansion curve. Below the glass transition temperature, the epoxy resin is rigid and glassy. When the glass transition temperature is exceeded, it changes to a soft and rubbery state. For the most commonly used types of epoxy resin (FR-4 grade), the glass transition temperature is in the range 115-130°C, so when the board is soldered, the glass transition temperature is easily exceeded. The board expands in the Z-axis direction and stresses the copper of the hole wall. The expansion of epoxy resin is about 15 to 20 times greater than that of copper when exceeding Tg. This implies a certain risk of wall cracking in plated-through holes, and the more resin around the hole wall, the greater risk. Below the glass transition temperature, the expansion ratio between epoxy and copper is only three times, so here the risk of cracking is negligible. As above stated, when the temperature of a high Tg PCB rises to a certain area, the substrate will be turned into "rubbery state" from “glassy state”, the temperature at this time is called the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the PCB board. That is, Tg is the maximum temperature (° C) at which the substrate remains rigid. In other words, the substrate materials of ordinary PCB not only be soften, deform, melt and so on at high temperatures, but also have a sharp decline in the mechanical and electrical properties (I do not think you are willing to see this happen to your products). The Tg of general board is above 130 celsius degrees, high Tg is generally greater than 170 celsius degrees, medium Tg is about greater than 150 celsius degrees. PCB boards with Tg ≥ 170 ° C are usually called high Tg PCBs. If the Tg of a substrate is increased, then the characteristics of heat resistance, moisture resistance, chemical resistance, and stability resistance etc., of the PCB will be improved and enhanced. The higher the Tg value, the better the temperature resistance of the board, especially in the lead-free process. High Tg is more widely used nowadays. High Tg refers to high heat resistance. With the rapid development of the electronics industry, especially the development of the electronic products represented by computers to the trend of high-functionality and high multilayered, higher heat resistance of the PCB substrate material is required as an important guarantee. The emergence and development of high-density package technology represented by SMT, CMT, makes the PCB more and more inseparable from the high heat resistance suppo...

• August 05, 2021

[Industry news] Current Situation and Development Trend of the Circuit Board Industry Printed circuit board is the key interconnect for assembling electronic components, not only for electronic components to provide electrical connection, but also carries the functions of digital and analog signal transmission of electronic equipment, power supply and signal transmission and receiving of radio frequency microwave etc.. Vast majority of electronic equipment and products have to be equipped, so it is called "the mother of electronic products". In 2020, the 5G industry develops steadily, and 5G, AI, server equipment and automotive electronics have become an important growth point in the PCB industry. According to Prismark’s forecast in May 2021, The PCB industry has a projected growth rate of 14.0% in 2021 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% between 2020 and 2025, with global PCB output reaching $86.325 billion by 2025. The Industrial Development Trend of the Main Products (1) Communications electronics industry The communications electronics market mainly includes product categories such as mobile phones, base stations, routers and switches.The development of 5G promotes the rapid development of the communication and electronics industry. According to Prismark estimates, the global output value of PCB is $21.211 billion in 2021, and will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% between 2019 and 2024, with the output value reaching $27.836 billion in 2024, accounting for 33.8% of the global PCB industry total output. (2) Consumer electronics industry In recent years, AR(augmented reality), VR(virtual reality), tablet computers and wearable devices have frequently become hot spots in the consumer electronics industry. Combined with the general trend of global consumption upgrading, consumers have gradually moved from the previous material consumption to service-oriented and high-quality consumption.At present, the consumer electronics industry is brewing the next new blue ocean represented by AI, IoT, smart home. Innovative consumer electronics products emerge one after another and will penetrate all aspects of consumer life. Prismark estimates global PCB output in consumer electronics at $9.273 billion in 2021 and will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% between 2019 and 2024, reaching $11.44 billion in 2024, accounting for 13.9% of global PCB industry output. (3) Automotive electronics industry According to Prismark estimates, the global automotive electronics in 2021, PCB output value fell to $6.192 billion, but with the global automobile industry from the electronic into the intelligent era, driving the vehicle circuit board output value continues to rise, It still grew at a compound annual growth rate of 4.6% between 2019 and 2024, 2024 output value will reach $8.748 billion, accounting for 10.6% of the global PCB industry total output value. Organized from the public information

• November 18, 2021

Recently, the domestic PCB industry has continued to release signs of recovery, and the market’s upward trend has strengthened. In fact, due to the impact of the price increase of upstream materials, PCB companies have been under pressure for a long time, and life is not easy. As time enters the fourth quarter, the upward trend in the price of upstream raw materials has weakened. The rhythm of copper clad laminate prices has slowed down As we all know, there are many types of raw materials required for PCB production. Among them, the cost of copper clad laminate (CCL) accounts for the highest proportion. In the cost of CCL, glass fiber cloth, copper foil, and epoxy resin together account for more than 70%. According to Primark statistics, copper clad laminates account for about 30% of PCB costs, and manufacturing costs and direct labor each account for about 20%. In the cost composition of copper clad laminates, due to the different thickness of copper clad plates, the proportion of raw materials in the cost is slightly different. On the whole, glass fiber cloth accounts for 25%-40%, resin costs 25%-30%, and copper foil 30% %~50%. Undoubtedly, the continuous price increase of copper clad laminates is the main source of cost pressure for circuit board manufacturers. Some brokerage analysts pointed out that the price of copper clad laminates increased by 20% in the first quarter of this year, and continued to increase prices by 30% in the first two months of the second quarter. The price increase of some thick plates has basically doubled, and thin plates have also increased by 30%. -50% increase. PCB companies’ cost transfer is relatively lagging, resulting in damage to their performance in multiple quarters. Among them, hard-board companies that use more copper, especially automotive hard-board companies, have the greatest impact on their profitability (because automotive hard-boards mostly use thick copper, and order bargaining) The cycle is long, and the transfer speed is slower than that of communications and consumer electronics). After entering the third quarter of 2021, the price increase pace of various copper clad laminate manufacturers has slowed down significantly, and only a few manufacturers have slightly increased the prices of some products. Professionals expect that with the gradual stabilization of upstream raw material prices and the release of copper clad laminate production capacity, the price of copper clad laminates will gradually stabilize. Western Securities analyst Luo Yamei also reminded that upstream CCL manufacturers have shifted most of the cost pressure to PCB manufacturers since the second half of 2020, and continued price increases are limited. However, as to whether there will be subsequent price increases for copper clad laminates, some brokerage analysts said: "The pressure on PCB costs in the fourth quarter is still there. As for whether there will be price increases, it is still uncertain. It is not recommended...

• November 26, 2021

The penetration rate of Mini-LEDs continues to increase, placing higher demands on PCBs 1. Mini-LED has excellent performance and broad market scale The overall performance of Mini-LED is excellent, and the backlight market is the first to open a breakthrough. Generally speaking, Mini-LED 100-300μm LED chips, chip spacing between 0.1-1mm, using SMD, COB or IMD package form of micro LED device modules, are often used in RGB display or LCD backlight, current backlight solutions As the mainstream solution in the market, Zhixian's penetration rate is still low. Mini-LED inherits the high efficiency, high brightness, high reliability and fast response time of inorganic LEDs. Compared with traditional backlight design, Mini-LED has better brightness uniformity and higher contrast. Compared with OLED, Mini-LED has the advantages of longer life and higher brightness. At the same time, Mini-LED has obvious price advantages, especially 8K and super large size (75 inches and above). The Mini-LED market is developing rapidly, and the market size is expected to exceed US$2 billion. Apple's new iPad pro launched at the April 2021 conference is equipped with a Mini-LED screen, uses more than 10,000 lamp beads, and more than 2,500 local dimming zones. Samsung also launched TVs equipped with Mini-LED screens in China in March. Under the leadership of Apple and Samsung, major manufacturers have followed suit, and the Mini-LED market has rapidly expanded. According to Arizton's prediction, the global Mini LED market size is expected to increase from US$150 million to US$2.32 billion from 2021 to 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 149%. The Mini-LED market is the first to explode in the large-size field. With the gradual decline in cost, Mini-LED will accelerate the penetration of medium-size, and the market size will further increase. 2. Mini-LED puts forward higher requirements on the backplane, and the current PCB is the mainstream solution Mini-LEDs have higher requirements on the substrate due to the reduction of chip size and pitch. Mini-LED substrate solutions currently mainly include PCB, FPC and glass, among which PCB and glass substrates are more popular. The difference between PCB substrate and glass substrate is mainly reflected in the following aspects: The cost of PCB materials is significantly higher than that of glass materials. Due to the complex process of glass substrates and high overall costs, glass substrates will still be subject to low yield and large-scale in the short term. The degree is not high. The PCB substrate has high structural strength and relatively mature technology, but the process accuracy is low, the glass substrate has high thermal conductivity and other properties, and the cost is low, but the substrate process is immature and easy to break. Under the current technological conditions, the PCB solution is the mainstream solution for Mini-LED substrates. The area of the LED chip is reduced, and the spacing is red...

• December 02, 2021

According to Prismark's forecast, the PCB industry is expected to grow at 8.6% in 2021, and it will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% between 2020 and 2025. By 2025, the global PCB industry output value will reach 86.33 billion U.S. dollars. With the continuous development of science and technology, new technologies and applications such as 5G communications, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, electric vehicles, etc. continue to emerge, and the demand for PCBs is also growing. It is worth noting that although China is a large manufacturing country and there are many PCB companies, the homogeneity of products is more serious, and it is over-concentrated on low-end PCBs with cost advantages, including traditional single and double-layer boards and multilayer boards; The proportion of high-end PCBs is still relatively low, especially for packaging substrates, high-end HDI boards, and multilayer boards. At present, the market demand for high-end PCB boards has exploded rapidly, but the output of production capacity has increased slowly, resulting in a large gap between market demand and supply. With the continuous improvement and gradual optimization of China's PCB manufacturing technology, the market share of traditional single and double-sided PCBs and multilayer PCBs has gradually declined, and the market share of high-tech, high value-added PCB boards has continued to rise. Faced with the continuous iteration and update of market demand, many PCB companies have begun to enter the high-end PCB field with higher technical thresholds and greater capital investment. Although some technologies or production capacities are backward, the market competition in the PCB industry is still fierce. The supply of high-end PCB market is still dominated by foreign manufacturers. As domestic PCB peripheral supporting facilities are not perfect, some key PCB materials, high-end equipment, and engineering software are dependent on imports. With the gradual breakthrough of domestic manufacturing technology, the related supply chain will also achieve better growth. Domestic PCB companies will gradually grow up to develop independent innovative technologies and equipment to respond to the rapidly changing needs of the market.