PCB Blog - What is CCL PCB material?

The full name of copper-clad laminate is CCL PCB, abbreviated as CCL. It is the upstream core material for PCB manufacturing and has a strong interdependence with PCBs. The main material of a circuit board is a copper-clad plate, which is composed of a substrate, copper foil, and adhesive. CCL PCB mainly serve as interconnections, insulation, and support for circuit boards.

CCL PCB is a plate-like material made by immersing electronic fiberglass cloth or other reinforcing materials in resin, covering one or both sides with copper foil and hot pressing, abbreviated as copper-clad laminate. Various forms and functions of printed circuit boards are selectively processed, etched, drilled, and plated on CCL PCB to produce different printed circuits.

The main functions of the printed circuit board are interconnection, insulation, and support, which have a significant impact on the transmission speed, energy loss, and characteristic impedance of signals in the circuit. Therefore, the performance, quality, processability in manufacturing, manufacturing level, manufacturing cost, and long-term reliability and stability of the printed circuit board largely depend on the CCL PCB.

What are the raw materials for CCL PCB?

The main raw materials for manufacturing copper-clad panels are resin, paper, glass cloth, and copper foil.

1. Resin

The resins used for CCL PCB include phenolic, epoxy, polyester, polyimide, etc. Among them, phenolic resin and epoxy resin have the highest dosage.

Phenolic resin is a type of resin formed by the condensation of phenols and aldehydes in acidic or alkaline media. Among them, the resin that condenses phenol and formaldehyde in an alkaline medium is the main raw material for paper-based laminated sheets.

Epoxy resin is the main raw material for glass cloth-based laminates, which has excellent bonding properties and electrical and physical properties.

2. Impregnated paper

Commonly used impregnated paper includes cotton velvet paper, wood pulp paper, and bleached wood pulp paper. Cotton velvet paper is made of short cotton fibers, characterized by good resin permeability, as well as good punching and electrical properties of the resulting board. Wood pulp paper is mainly made of wood fibers and generally has a lower price than cotton velvet paper; However, the mechanical strength is relatively high, and the use of bleached wood pulp paper can improve the appearance of the board.

3. Alkali-free glass cloth

Alkali-free glass cloth is a reinforcing material for glass cloth-based copper-clad laminates. For special high-frequency applications, quartz glass cloth can be used.

4. Copper foil

Copper foil can be divided into rolled copper foil and electrolytic copper foil. Rolled copper foil is mainly used for flexible printed circuits and other special purposes. In the production of CCL PCB, electrolytic copper foil is widely used.

Classification of CCL PCB Board

According to different structures, copper-clad plates can be divided into three categories: rigid, flexible, and special materials. Among them, rigid copper-clad plates are not easy to bend and have a certain degree of hardness and toughness.

Flexible copper-clad panels can be bent for easy assembly of electrical components due to the use of flexible reinforcement materials (thin films) covered with electrolytic copper foil or rolled copper foil. The diversity of construction and substrate is mainly to meet the usage needs of different scenarios.

Rigid copper-clad panels are commonly used in communication equipment, household appliances, electronic toys, computer peripherals, computers, game consoles, printers, communication equipment, mobile phone base station equipment, household appliances, and other products.

Flexible copper-clad panels are commonly used in automotive electronics, mobile phones, digital cameras, cameras, laptops, and other devices.

The traditional CCL PCB is mainly used to manufacture printed circuit boards for supporting, interconnecting, and insulating electronic components, and is known as an important basic material for printed circuit boards. It is an indispensable and important electronic material for all electronic equipment, including aviation, aerospace, remote sensing, telemetry, remote control, communication, computers, industrial control, household appliances, and even high-end children's toys and other electronic products. With the continuous improvement of the technological level, in recent years, some special electronic CCL PCB have also been used to directly manufacture printed electronic components.

Due to the miniaturization, lightness, and thinness of electronic products, printed circuit boards are forced to possess various high-quality and high-tech characteristics, making the manufacturing technology of printed circuit boards directly related to various modern high-tech technologies. The main and most important material - CCL PCB material, must also possess various high-quality and high-tech characteristics.