Material Specification
Base dielectric materials reinforced with manufactured silica fibers offer low electrical loss and high signal speeds in demanding microwave applications. Incorporating synthetic quartz laminate into a circuit board design provides a dielectric constant below three point five and a dissipation factor near zero point zero zero one. These thermal and electrical properties make it suitable for high-frequency military and aerospace electronics.
High costs and specialized processing requirements limit its use to applications where standard fiberglass materials cannot meet performance specifications.
Processing Constraints
Mechanical drilling represents the most challenging process step when working with these ultra-hard silica materials. Because synthetic quartz laminate contains highly abrasive quartz fibers, drill bits wear out much faster than they do when processing standard FR-4 laminates. Drill bit wear causes rough hole walls, which can lead to plating voids and copper connection failures in multi-layer boards.
Fabricators must reduce drilling speeds and replace diamond-coated drill bits frequently to maintain hole quality. Laser drilling is often substituted for mechanical drilling to create clean microvias without tool wear issues.
Thermal Stability
Dimensional stability during thermal cycling is a major advantage of utilizing silica reinforcements. The low coefficient of thermal expansion prevents copper traces and plated through-holes from cracking when the board is exposed to solder reflow temperatures or extreme operating environments.
