Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1522641
24 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2024 Laminate materials are the building blocks on which printed circuit boards are manufac- tured. Circuit board designers rely on the crit- ical electrical properties of the materials to design the interconnects, and with the drive toward IoT (internet of things), autonomous driving, and virtual and augmented reality, material properties take on a very high level of importance. e crux of the issue is quite simple: Design- ers are looking for electrical performance. Printed board fabricators are concerned with manufacturability and yields. As the com- plexity of circuit technology increases (and it won't stop anytime soon), there will be contin- Materials for PWB Fabrication: Drillability and Metallization ual pressure to improve yields. However, that is the conundrum or the cliché of a rock and a hard place. Let's consider the requirements for high- speed data transmission. e system design- ers are examining several factors, most impor- tantly signal speeds, loss characteristics, and laminate selection. Laminate Selection: Dk and Df e Dk is the property that determines the relative speed at which an electrical signal will travel in that material. A low dielectric con- stant will result in higher signal propagation speed, while a high dielectric constant results Trouble in Your Tank Feature Column by Michael Carano, IPC CONSULTANT