Technical Articles From Rogers Corporation

Selection of PCB Materials for 5G

Aug 05, 2020 | John Coonrod

With the first 5G NR standard recently approved by the 3GPP at the end of 2017, many companies are racing to design 5G radio products that will demand wider bandwidths, higher frequencies, enhanced carrier aggregation and support of massive MIMO. AT&T and Samsung plan to launch 5G mobile services and Verizon plans to launch 5G Fixed Wireless Access in the US this year while South Korea will be demonstrating 5G at the upcoming Winter Olympics....

Understanding Circuit Material Performance Concerns for PCBs at Millimeter-Wave Frequencies

Apr 11, 2018 | John Coonrod

Millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency applications are becoming more common. There are applications utilizing PCB technology at 60 GHz, 77 GHz and many other mmWave frequencies. When designing a PCB for mmWave frequency, the properties of the circuit materials need to be considered since they can be critical to the success of the application. Understanding the properties of circuit materials at these frequencies is very important.

This paper will give an overview of which circuit material properties are important to mmWave frequency applications using PCBs. There will be data supplied which demonstrates why these properties are essential to the circuit material selection for mmWave applications. Some properties discussed will be dielectric constant (Dk) control, dissipation factor, moisture absorption, thickness control and TCDk (Temperature Coefficient of Dk). Measured comparisons will be shown for insertion loss and Dk versus frequency for different types of circuit materials up to 110 GHz. As part of the test data, the impact on circuit performance due to TCDk and moisture absorption will be shown at mmWave frequencies....

The Effects of PCB Fabrication on High-Frequency Electrical Performance

Jul 21, 2016 | John Coonrod

Achieving optimum high-frequency printed-circuit-board (PCB) performance is not simply a matter of specifying the best possible PCB material, but can be significantly impacted by PCB fabrication practices. In addition to appropriate circuit materials and circuit design configurations to meet target performance goals, a number of PCB material-related issues can affect final performance, including the use of soldermask, the PCB copper plating thickness, the conductor trapezoidal effect, and plating finish; understanding the effects of these material issues can help when fabricating high-frequency circuits for the best possible electrical performance....

New Developments in PCB Laminates

Jul 19, 2012 | Dean Hattula, John Coonrod

First published in the 2012 IPC APEX EXPO technical conference proceedings. With the ever accelerating demands in printed circuit board (PCB) design, the choices of advanced laminate materials have become fewer and fewer. The trends continue towards high...

Thermal Characteristics of PCB Laminates used in High Frequency Applications

Jul 11, 2012 | John Coonrod

As technology advances, understanding thermal management issues of high frequency PCB's increases. There are many different aspects to consider for PCB thermal management. This paper will investigate thermal management issues of high frequency PCB's as it...