Rogers Corporation, a leading manufacturer of RF PCB materials, specializes in high-frequency applications, offering products with exceptional dielectric performance, low loss characteristics, and excellent thermal stability. These high-performance circuit board materials are not only suited for high-speed electronic design but are also widely used in commercial microwave and RF fields.
In RF circuits, the dielectric constant (Dk) and dissipation factor (Df) are key parameters that affect circuit performance. The dielectric constant (Dk) measures a material's ability to store electrical energy, directly influencing signal propagation speed and circuit size. The dissipation factor (Df) reflects energy loss at high frequencies, playing a crucial role in signal transmission quality and circuit reliability.
Rogers offers a variety of RF PCB material series to meet different application needs. For example, RO3003 performs excellently in applications such as 77GHz radar, with a dielectric constant of 3.00 and a dissipation factor of 0.0010 at 10GHz. RO4350B is suitable for base station power amplifier designs, featuring a dielectric constant of 3.48 and a dissipation factor of 0.0037 at 10GHz. Additionally, RO4835 offers outstanding oxidation resistance, making it ideal for high-performance RF microwave circuit designs.
Rogers also introduced the RO4000 series of high-frequency materials. Made from ceramic-filled thermoset materials, this series is engineered for precise circuit board designs. Its low loss and high stability make it widely used in microwave and millimeter-wave circuit designs.
Within the RO4000 series, the materials are further subdivided based on cost and application scenarios:
RO4003C: The most common version in the series, widely used in wireless communications, aerospace, defense, and instrumentation. It has a dielectric constant (Dk) of 3.38, a dissipation factor (Df) of 0.0027 @10GHz, and a Z-axis thermal expansion coefficient of 46 ppm/°C.
RO4350B: This material features tighter tolerance on Dk and offers excellent thermal conductivity and stability. It's especially suitable for power circuitry and thermal management. It has a dielectric constant (Dk) of 3.48, a dissipation factor (Df) of 0.0037 @10GHz, and a Z-axis thermal expansion coefficient of 32 ppm/°C.
Next, we will take a closer look at the characteristics of RO4003 and RO4350B.
RO4360G2: This material is characterized by its high dielectric constant Dk (15), which can significantly shorten the operating wavelength of PCBS. Meanwhile, its loss coefficient Df is 0038 at 10GHz, performing outstandingly. In addition, this material also has excellent thermal conductivity and is an ideal choice for power circuits and heat dissipation applications. Its design parameters are as follows:
RO4500: This material laminate is fully compatible with the traditional FR-4 processing technology and high-temperature lead-free welding technology. In the process of preparing electroplated through holes, it does not require special treatment like traditional PTFE materials. Its resin system provides key characteristics for the ideal antenna performance.
Overview of the characteristic parameters of RO4500:
RO4835: This lightweight material offers similar electrical properties to the RO4000 series, making it an ideal alternative.
RO3000 series
Compared with the RO4000 series, the RO3000 series is more cost-effective in terms of cost, and thus is highly favored in cost-sensitive business applications. This series includes:
RO3003: This high-frequency material performs exceptionally well in insertion loss, surpassing RO3010.
RO3006: Specifically designed for power modules, it features both high dielectric constant and thermal conductivity.
RO3010: A general-purpose microwave material with outstanding high-frequency performance.
RT/duroid high-frequency material
RT/duroid materials are meticulously designed to offer strictly controlled electrical parameters, achieve optimal circuit functionality, and are halogen-free. This series of materials include:
RT/duroid 5880: Specifically designed for millimeter-wave applications, it features both high power density and low loss.
RT/duroid 6002: A cost-optimized microwave material with better thermal performance than RO4350B.
RT/duroid 6035HTC: Suitable for power amplifiers and antennas, with both high thermal conductivity and low loss.
TMM thermosetting microwave material
The TMM series offers a range of thermosetting microdispersible ceramic fillers, whose dielectric constants cover a wide range of broadband applications. Specifically, it includes options such as TMMTMMTMMTMM10i, etc.
The dielectric constant (Dk) and loss factor (Df) of Rogers materials play a crucial role in radio frequency and microwave applications. For instance, the dielectric constant of RO4350B material is stably maintained at 48, while the designed recommended value is 66. Its extremely low loss factor gives this material a significant advantage over ordinary circuit raw materials in high-frequency applications. In addition, the coefficient of thermal expansion of Rogers material is highly consistent with that of copper foil, which helps to make up for the shortcomings of polytetrafluoroethylene substrates.
Rogers RF PCB boards have demonstrated outstanding performance in a variety of high-frequency applications, especially in the automotive radar (77 GHz) field. Its RO3003™ and RO3003G2™ ceramic-filled PTFE laminates are ideal choices for 77 GHz (76 to 81 GHz) radar antennas, standing out for their extremely low insertion loss and stable low dielectric constant.
24 GHz automotive radar sensor
RO4835™ laminates offer outstanding electrical performance and consistency for 24 GHz automotive radar antennas. Compared with traditional thermosetting materials, its oxidation resistance has increased by 10 times, and at the same time, it shows stable low-loss characteristics.
5G wireless infrastructure (millimeter wave)
Rogers' high-frequency circuit materials fully meet the performance requirements of external and hidden vehicle communication antennas, covering applications such as Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), shared vehicle radars (SDAR), cellular and V2X antennas. These materials are applicable to the high-frequency range in 5G communication and can handle a wider frequency band and a higher frequency range.
Microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies
The RO4000® series, as a leader in the industry, is widely used in the microwave and millimeter-wave frequency fields. Its low-loss characteristic makes circuit manufacturing more convenient, and its performance is superior to that of traditional PTFE materials at the same time.
High-performance circuit materials
Rogers offers a wide range of PCB power electronic materials, RF and millimeter-wave PCB laminates, helping automotive electronic system designers quickly enter the forefront of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2X) communication systems.
The field of telecommunications
High-frequency PCB boards play a significant role in digital applications such as base station antennas, power amplifiers, and high-speed backplanes in the telecommunications field.
Satellite communication
The RO4000® series of materials are also suitable for satellite communication equipment such as low-noise block (LNB) for direct broadcasting satellites, demonstrating their wide applicability.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag
The RO4000® series of materials can also be used in applications such as radio frequency identification tags, which play an increasingly important role in supply chain management and secure access control.
In conclusion, Rogers' high-frequency PCB boards play an indispensable role in numerous high-frequency applications due to their outstanding electrical performance, thermal stability and mechanical properties. Their low dielectric loss and stable dielectric constant make these materials ideal choices for high-performance RF and microwave circuit design.
Rogers RF PCB boards stand out in the international market. However, with the rapid progress of domestic technology and the rapid growth of market demand, the trend of domestic substitution has become increasingly obvious. At present, several domestic manufacturers have made remarkable progress in the field of high-frequency PCB boards, providing Rogers with strong competitive pressure.
As a leading domestic manufacturer of high-frequency PCB boards, Shengyi Technology has successfully achieved a breakthrough in domestic substitution. They used PPO materials from SABIC to create high-frequency boards with outstanding performance, gradually challenging Rogers' position as the RO4535 material. Although Shengyi Technology still lags behind Rogers' RO4730G3 in terms of dielectric constant and dielectric loss, it has begun to take on some orders, indicating that it may capture a larger market share in the future.
Huazheng New Materials is not to be outdone either. It has launched two new products, HF175 and HF380, in the high-frequency copper clad laminate field. With their excellent dielectric properties, they are suitable for high-frequency applications. Zhongying Technology provides a variety of high-frequency PCB boards such as ZY-7000 and ZY-5500. These boards achieve a good balance among heat resistance, electrical performance and mechanical performance, and are suitable for complex electronic device structures.
The two high-speed plates, WI-280 and WI-400, of Taizhou Wangling perform particularly well in high-frequency characteristics and are suitable for high-frequency communication equipment such as satellite communication terminals. In addition, domestic manufacturers such as Taixing Microwave, Changzhou Zhongying, and Gongli Ceramic Board are also producing high-frequency PCB boards with high cost performance. These products can already serve as alternatives to Rogers materials in certain applications.
With the rapid development of 5G technology, the domestic market's demand for high-frequency PCB boards remains strong, providing valuable market opportunities for domestic manufacturers. The rise of domestic alternative products is not only expected to reduce costs, but also enhance the stability and response speed of the supply chain. Although it will still take some time for Chinese-made materials to catch up in high-end applications, technological progress has gradually narrowed this gap.
