RO4360G2 Rogers 12mil ENEPIG 2-Layer DK6.15 High Frequency Custom PCB

 RO4360G2 Rogers 12mil ENEPIG 2-Layer DK6.15 High Frequency Custom PCB

This article presents a Rogers RO4360G2 2-layer PCB on a 12 mil (0.305 mm) core with ENEPIG finish, built for small-cell transceivers and base-station power amplifiers. Its construction, stackup and design statistics are summarized below in three tables, followed by an in-depth look at the RO4360G2 laminate itself, including its full data sheet and material photograph.

1. The RO4360G2 12 mil ENEPIG PCB

The board is a double-sided, single-core RF panel measuring 48.9 × 95.4 mm. Rogers RO4360G2 is clad with 1 oz electrodeposited copper on both faces; plated-through holes carry 20 μm copper, giving a finished thickness of 0.4 mm. ENEPIG on the top side yields a flat, bondable nickel-palladium-gold surface for fine-pitch SMT, while the absence of blind vias keeps processing conventional. Green solder mask and white silkscreen appear on the top only; the bare bottom preserves the microstrip reference plane. Artwork is Gerber RS-274-X, the board meets IPC-Class-2, and every unit is 100% electrically tested.

The board’s key mechanical and finishing attributes are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. PCB construction details.

The two-layer stackup places equal copper on both faces of a single 12 mil core (Table 2).

Table 2. PCB stackup (2-layer rigid).

The design is modest in component count but dense in RF routing, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3. PCB design statistics.

Three choices merit note. ENEPIG outperforms ENIG here because its palladium layer blocks nickel corrosion and stabilizes the bondable surface for rework and wire bonding, while its planarity suits 5/7 mil RF lands. Leaving the bottom bare keeps the reference-plane Dk stable beneath the microstrip. The 12 mil core and 0.4 mm finish are deliberately thin: on a 50 Ω microstrip, a thinhigh-Dk substrate shrinks trace width and overall footprint, which is valuable in compact small-cell modules.

Some Typical Applications

- Base Station Power Amplifiers

- Small Cell Transceivers

Conclusion (PCB)

Combining a 12mil high-Dk core, 5/7 mil routing, 0.4 mm holes and ENEPIG finish yields a compact, reproducible RF board that balances performance with FR-4-like manufacturability. With no blind vias and 100% electrical test, it suits production runs where yield, lead time and cost matter as much as RF performance.

2. Understanding the Rogers RO4360G2 Laminate (CCL)

The board’s RF behavior is governed by its laminate. Rogers RO4360G2 is a glass-reinforced, hydrocarbon-ceramic-filled thermoset with a process Dk of 6.15 ± 0.15 at 10 GHz and 23 °C. It is positioned as the first high-Dk thermoset that fabricates on standard FR-4 lines without dedicated PTFE processing, and pairs with RO4400 prepreg and lower-Dk RO4000 laminates in multilayer designs; design Dk is approximately 6.4.

Table 4 lists the full published data-sheet properties of RO4360G2 (typical values per Rogers publication #92-143).

Table 4. RO4360G2 typical properties (data sheet).

Three properties drive its appeal. The 0.0038 dissipation factor at 10 GHz keeps insertion loss low across base-station bands, while the −131 ppm/°C Dk temperature coefficient holds impedance stable under heat. The in-plane CTE of 13 (X) and 14 (Y) ppm/°C tracks copper closely, and the 28 ppm/°C Z-axis CTE, Tg above 280 °C, Td of 407 °C and T288 above 30 minutes protect plated-through-hole reliability through lead-free reflow.

Manufactured like FR-4 rather than PTFE, it drills, routs and plates on standard lines without special plasma desmear and is lead-free reflow compatible. It is clad with ½ oz (18 μm) HH/HH or 1 oz (35 μm) H1/H1 copper foil on panels up to 48 × 36 inches; the 12 mil core is a non-standard 0.004-inch increment between 8 and 16 mil. Regional inventory and short lead times lower total cost versus PTFE alternatives.

Figure 1. Rogers RO4360G2 high-frequency laminate with copper foil cladding.

Conclusion (CCL)

RO4360G2 high frequency substrate sits between PTFE and FR-4: a high-Dk, low-loss hydrocarbon-ceramic thermoset that offers PTFE-like RF stability without PTFE handling cost. For this 12 mil, two-layer, ENEPIG power-amplifier board, it is the reason the product is both electrically demanding and economically producible on standard equipment.