Comparison of the dielectric constant and dissipation factors of non‐woven aramid/FR4 and glass/FR4 laminates

Permittivity and dissipation factor (D_k and D_f) are effects of polarization of different components of the dielectric substrate material when subjected to an electrical field. A database of these important design parameters for PWBs has been developed for Thermount RT. Effects of variations in the level of moisture (bone‐dry to completely saturated at various relative humidity levels), testing temperature (room temperature to 120uC) and testing frequencies (1MHz to 1.5GHz) on D_k and D_f are reported. As the frequency of test is increased from 1MHz to 1.5GHz, the effect of moisture on the properties is reduced. Comparison with conventional glass/FR4 laminate properties shows the distinct advantage of Thermount. It is increasingly used in high frequency cellular telephone, satellite, and wireless applications which require HDI PWBs to achieve the highest packaging density at the lowest cost and weight.