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The increasing use of high switching speed systems in both microwave electronics and high speed logic devices has created the need for printed circuit boards which are based on low dielectric constant and low loss materials. In addition, these circuit materials must be capable of withstanding elevated temperatures typical of hostile service environments and of board fabrication processes. Such low dielectric constant rigid boards are commercially available from a few sources. However, there is a growing demand for low dielectric constant flexible printed circuit boards for interconnecting rigid boards or in rigid/flex applications where high speed, fast rise times, controlled impedance and low crosstalk are important. A new family of thin laminates which are suitable for fabrication of flexible low dielectric constant printed circuit boards have been developed by Rogers Corporation. These circuit materials are called ROhyphen;2500 laminates and offer flexible interconnections in high speed electronic systems. RO‐2500 circuit materials are based on microglass reinforced fluorocarbon composites and have a typical dielectric constant of 25. The transmission line properties of these materials have been evaluated by the IPC‐FC‐201 test method. The results indicated that these circuit materials improve the propagation velocity by about 10% and the rise time by about 30% when compared with the same geometry, polyimide film based, flexible PCs in stripline constructions. Also, dimensional stability of these laminates after etch and heat ageing is improved over that of the standard flex circuit materials based on polyimide film. RO‐2500 laminate properties have been evaluated by the IPC‐TM‐650 test methods, which are widely accepted by the flexible PCB industry.

This paper aims to focus on the evaluation of the electrical properties of bio-based polyurethane material derived from cashew nut husk tannin and also the effect of temperature and frequency on the dielectric values and alternate current (AC) conductivity.

Bio-based polyurethane is prepared from cashew nut husk tannin as polyol, their dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor are measured using an inductance capacitance resistance (LCR) metre, and the AC conductivity is determined using dielectric constant and loss values.

The dielectric constant values are high, and the values decrease with an increase in frequency but increase with an increase in temperature. The AC conductivity values are low; hence, the material can be categorized as insulators or semi-conductors. Because the polyurethanes have a good dielectric value and are cost-effective, as they are derived from renewable biomaterial waste, they have promising applications for the future.

The experiment is carried out up to the frequency of 200 KHz because of the limitation in the instrument. But for the institute of printed circuits (IPC) and other specifications, the values of dielectric loss and dielectric constant will be generally coated for 1 MHz.

The high dielectric constant and loss values show that the polyurethane can be opted for use as capacitors in electronic devices, and the values are comparable to the requirements of IPC4101A/24IPC; hence, they are suitable for the application as printed circuit board (PCB) laminate.

The use of biomaterial waste in the production of polyurethane will bring down the dependence of polyurethane industry on fossil fuel reserve, reduce carbon dioxide foot print and reduce the cost of production.

The motivation of the work was its ecological aspect and also aims on the use of an alternative bio-based material in the PCB industry.

Complex mixed metallurgy multilayers require a very robust dielectric to withstand shorting or blistering effects, together with high density for long‐term reliability in humid environments. The development and performance of a new multilayer dielectric which meets these needs is presented here. A dielectric frit chemistry has been developed with a view to eliminating short circuits and blistering induced by the proximity of dissimilar metallurgies on multiple refiring. Appropriate filler technology has also been developed to optimise dielectric density, toughness and laser‐trim properties. High density has yielded excellent HBT (High Bias Temperature) and HHBT (High Humidity Bias Test) performance. Data on multilayer circuit bowing are presented which take account of the interaction of conductor frit and the dielectric on firing. Silver conductor is employed in inner layers to optimise conductivity and cost. A new 1:3 PdAg conductor for termination of components and resistors also permits heavy Al wire bonding with good aged performance. 25 µm Au and 37 µm Al wire bonding is facilitated by gold conductor on dielectric. The laser trim characteristics of a new resistor series on dielectric are described. The materials system has been tested in a complex multilayer structure which, with the use of a new silver via fill conductor, resulted in defect‐free circuits with zero yield loss.

All capacitor dielectric materials, whether used for discrete or embedded applications, can be grouped into two general categories: paraelectric and ferroelectric. Ferroelectrics generally exhibit much higher dielectric constants, but are also less stable with regard to temperature, frequency, voltage, time and film thickness. There are dozens of each of these materials that have been used in discrete capacitors and about ten that are either available for use in embedded capacitors or will soon be marketed for that purpose. The commercialized materials can be broken down into four sub‐categories: thick‐film polymers, ferroelectric powder in polymer binders, thin‐film paraelectrics, and thick‐film ferroelectrics. These four classifications are evaluated with regard to their electrical performance, ease of fabrication, and suitability for specific applications.

This paper aims to give a brief overview of dielectric properties, relative complex permittivity and its dependence on frequency. The significance of different approaches to complex permittivity is also discussed.

The different mechanisms of polarization are then presented. Dielectric measurements are given, and an RC parallel-equivalent circuit is used to simulate a parallel plate capacitor, and the way in which the impedance of the circuits is affected by frequency is illustrated in their respective diagrams. The way in which dielectric properties change with time is also discussed.

The goal of this paper is to give an overview of the characteristics of the dielectrics and how frequency affects the relative complex permittivity and to present different approaches to and equations for the relative complex permittivity, such as that of Debye, Cole–Cole, Cole–Davidson and Havriliak–Negami. In addition, three mechanisms of polarization, namely, electronic, atomic and bipolar, are presented. The most common dielectric characterization device, a capacitor with parallel plates between which the dielectric material under study is located, is also discussed. Ohmic and dielectric losses of a non-ideal capacitor are accounted for. Furthermore, this paper studies the equivalent circuits of a non-ideal parallel plate capacitor, those being a resistor and an ideal capacitor connected either in series or in parallel.

Finally, dielectric responses to both time and to stepwise excitation are given.

It is proposed that reliable multilevel thick‐film conductor interconnect, having high track conductivity, can be fabricated with conventional air‐firing thick‐film materials, by combining the high conductivity of a pure silver conductor with the solderability of a palladium‐silver conductor. Thick‐film conductor interconnect fabricated in this manner was shown to meet comfortably the stringent requirements of a 20 year service life. A development in the standard technology used to obtain high conductivity interconnect, nitrogen‐firing copper thick‐film materials was also evaluated. It was found that new lower porosity dielectrics may allow copper thick‐film conductor interconnect to be as reliable as the air‐firing alternatives. The activation energy for the process of silver migration through a thick‐film dielectric in a humid environment was found to be in the region of 0.6 eV. The accelerating influence of humidity was also measured.

As printed wiring boards move to thin laminate structures, there is growing interest in the use of photoimageable coatings to serve as dielectric. Shipley has developed a liquid photoimageable dielectric which combines liquid coating, imaging and plateability. This paper presents work using this material to produce electrolessly plated lines and blind vias, along with initial adhesion data. Some of the interesting properties of this material are: low dielectric constant, low moisture absorption and good compliance to stress. The material can be processed to provide a high Tg and high plated adhesion can be obtained using conventional swell and etch techniques. It can be imaged and processed using conventional printed circuit coating and imaging techniques. This material will offer a relatively low cost alternative to thin clad laminates and may find use for adding one or two layers to a conventional multilayer board or in providing surface topography for surface mount devices. The paper describes recent developments related to this dielectric and its use.

The purpose of this study is to numerically examine the heat transfer and transport of space charges in the solid insulating materials [low density polyethylene (LDPE), flame retardant type 4 (FR4), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)] using the transmission line modeling (TLM) method. Besides, a comprehensive study is performed on the mutual influences of heat transfer and space charges transport within the solid dielectric bulk.

The obtained governing equations including continuity and circuit equations are coupled with heat transfer equations, and they are solved via fourth-order Runge–Kutta method.

The electric potential and field, current density and temperature distribution are calculated. It is shown that compared with FR4 and PTFE, the temperature increment rate in LDPE is much lower. Moreover, the heat transfer in the solid insulating materials bulk increases the homo-charges density and temperature in the vicinity of electrodes. Hence, the reduction in electric field is reflected in the potential deformations in the proximity of electrodes. Furthermore, where the electric field is maximized, the temperature is minimized.

This study is restricted to two-dimensional problems.

Interestingly, because of the lower temperature in LDPE, the current density and their increment rates in LDPE are much lower than that in FR4 and PTFE dielectric materials.

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the effects of thermal conductivity (TC), dielectric constant and dissipation factor (DF) of circuit laminates on the temperature rise with active components and RF trace heating.

Temperature rise measurements were made on surface mounted chip resistors (to simulate active components) at various dissipated power levels, with and without “via farms”. The RF heating temperature rise of 50 ohm microstrip transmission lines on 0.5 mm laminates was also measured by the same method.

The chip resistor temperature rise correlated with the independently measured TC of the laminate materials. The use of a “via farm” substantially reduced the temperature rise in all materials, but the higher TC laminates still conferred a measurable advantage. The trace temperature rise due to RF heating correlated with both TC and DF.

It was shown that the one‐dimensional heat transfer model does not accurately calculate the temperature rise due to significant in‐plane heat spreading, particularly with lower TC materials.

This paper details how temperature rise of both active components and 50 ohm transmission lines is affected by the thermal and electrical properties of the circuit laminate.

There has been increasing interest in the development of printable electronics to meet the growing demand for low‐cost, large‐area, miniaturized, flexible and lightweight devices. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the electronic applications of novel printable materials.

The paper addresses the utilization of polymer nanocomposites as it relates to printable and flexible technology for electronic packaging. Printable technology such as screen‐printing, ink‐jet printing, and microcontact printing provides a fully additive, non‐contacting deposition method that is suitable for flexible production.

A variety of printable nanomaterials for electronic packaging have been developed. This includes nanocapacitors and resistors as embedded passives, nanolaser materials, optical materials, etc. Materials can provide high‐capacitance densities, ranging from 5 to 25 nF/in², depending on composition, particle size, and film thickness. The electrical properties of capacitors fabricated from BaTiO₃‐epoxy nanocomposites showed a stable dielectric constant and low loss over a frequency range from 1 to 1,000 MHz. A variety of printable discrete resistors with different sheet resistances, ranging from ohm to Mohm, processed on large panels (19.5×24 inches) have been fabricated. Low‐resistivity materials, with volume resistivity in the range of 10⁻⁴‐10⁻⁶ ohm cm, depending on composition, particle size, and loading, can be used as conductive joints for high‐frequency and high‐density interconnect applications. Thermosetting polymers modified with ceramics or organics can produce low k and lower loss dielectrics. Reliability of the materials was ascertained by (Infrared; IR‐reflow), thermal cycling, pressure cooker test (PCT) and solder shock testing. The change in capacitance after 3× IR‐reflow and after 1,000 cycles of deep thermal cycling between −55°C and +125°C was within 5 per cent. Most of the materials in the test vehicle were stable after IR‐reflow, PCT, and solder shock.

The electronic applications of printable, high‐performance nanocomposite materials such as adhesives (both conductive and non‐conductive), interlayer dielectrics (low‐k, low‐loss dielectrics), embedded passives (capacitors and resistors), and circuits, etc.. are discussed. Also addressed are investigations of printable optically/magnetically active nanocomposite and polymeric materials for fabrication of devices such as inductors, embedded lasers, and optical interconnects.

A thin film printable technology was developed to manufacture large‐area microelectronics with embedded passives, Z‐interconnects and optical waveguides, etc. The overall approach lends itself to package miniaturization because multiple materials and devices can be printed in the same layer to increase functionality.