PCB Technical - PCB copper clad laminate plate grade

Copper clad laminate, also known as copper clad laminate (CCL), is a product made of wood pulp paper or glass fiber cloth as reinforcement, impregnated with resin and covered with copper foil on one or both sides by hot pressing.

Classification of copper clad laminates

a. According to the mechanical rigidity of copper clad laminate, it is divided into rigid copper clad laminate and flexible copper clad laminate;

b. According to the insulation material and structure of copper clad laminate, it is divided into organic resin copper clad laminate, metal based copper clad laminate and ceramic based copper clad laminate;

c. According to the thickness of copper clad laminate,it is divided into thick plate (plate thickness range is 0.8 ~ 3.2mm (including Cu)) and thin plate (plate thickness range is less than 0.78mm (excluding Cu));

d. According to the reinforcing materials of copper clad laminates,they are divided into glass cloth based copper clad laminates, paper based copper clad laminates and composite based copper clad laminates (cme-1 and cme-2).

e. It can be divided into flame retardant board and non flame retardant board according to the flame retardant grade.

f. According to some properties of copper clad laminate, it is divided into high Tg plate (TG ≥ 170  degree Celsius), high dielectric performance plate, high CTI plate (CTI ≥ 600V), environmental protection copper clad laminate (halogen-free, antimony free) and UV shielding copper clad laminate.

Application of copper clad laminate

Copper clad laminate is the basic material of electronic industry.It is mainly used for processing and manufacturing printed circuit board (PCB). It is widely used in electronic products such as TV, radio, computer, computer, mobile communication and so on.

Classification of copper clad laminates

1. FR-4 A1 copper clad laminate: This grade is mainly used in military industry, communication, computer, digital circuit, industrial instrument, automobile circuit and other electronic products. The quality of this series of products has fully reached the world-class level. It is the company's highest grade and best performance products.

2. FR-4 A2 copper clad laminate: This grade is mainly used for ordinary computers, instruments and meters, advanced household appliances and general electronic products. This series of copper clad laminates are widely used, and all performance indexes can meet the needs of general industrial electronic products. It has a good price performance ratio. Can enable customers to effectively improve price competitiveness.

3. FR-4 A3 copper clad laminate: This grade of copper clad laminate is a FR-4 product specially developed and produced by the company for home appliance industry, computer peripheral products and ordinary electronic products (such as toys, calculators, game consoles, etc.). It is characterized by competitive price on the premise that the performance meets the requirements.

4. FR-4 AB grade copper clad laminate: This grade of laminate is a unique low-grade product of the company. However, the performance indicators can still meet the needs of ordinary household appliances, computers and general electronic products. Its price is the most competitive, and the performance price ratio is also quite excellent.

5. FR-4 grade B copper clad laminate: This grade of laminate is a secondary product of the company, with poor quality stability. It is not suitable for circuit board products with large area. Generally, it is suitable for products with size of 100mmx200mm. Its price is the cheapest, but customers should pay attention to choose to use it.

6. CEM-3 series copper clad laminates: these products are produced in three base material colors, namely white, black and natural color. It is mainly used in computer, LED industry, clocks and watches, general household appliances and general electronic products (such as VCD, DVD, toys, game consoles, etc.). Its main feature is good punching performance, which is suitable for large quantities of PCB products requiring stamping process. This series of products have three quality grades: A1, A2 and A3. Customers with different requirements can choose to use them.

7. Special black base color copper clad laminate for all kinds of clocks: this series of products have three quality grades: A1, A2 and A3. There are FR-4 and G10 copper clad laminates. Its thickness, blackness, solubility and other quality indicators fully meet the requirements of watch products. Among them, the quality of A1 series of such plates has reached the world-class level, and many foreign advanced quartz watches choose this series of plates. The quality of A3 grade products reaches the quality level required by ordinary clocks and watches, and the price is the most competitive.

8. Multilayer PCB board materials:there are the following:1) semi cured sheet (1080, 2116, 7628, etc.),2) copper foil (0.5 oz, 1.0 Oz, 1.5 oz, 2.0oz, 3oz, etc.),3) release film,4) special kraft paper for lamination.

9. High performance aluminum based copper clad laminate.

10. High Tg value copper clad laminate,high CTI (compared with leakage trace index) copper clad laminate, etc.

FR-1 has two kinds of materials: the first is non flame retardant, and there are generally sunspot characters on the back, that is, it can be burned with fire. This board is the cheapest. Because it can't prevent fire, the demand is very small. The second is flame-retardant, with red characters on the back. This kind of board can prevent combustion, and the price is slightly higher than that of non flame retardant. In short, FR-1 series of materials are cheap, but the surface warpage is the most unstable of the plates. The reason is that this kind of plate contains a lot of water. Generally, it should be dried before production. FR-1 is usually used in products with low requirements such as remote control of TV.

CEM-1 is more expensive than FR-1. The surface warpage of the plate is also better, with good stability, moderate price, good flame retardancy and high temperature resistance. It is usually used in home appliances such as induction cooker or solar controller, and the market demand is also large.

CEM-3 is a different concept from CEM-1. It is more expensive than CEM-1. It is similar to FR-4, but its performance is not as good as FR-4, and its appearance looks like FR-4. Therefore, some small factories will use this material to pretend to be FR-4 and make huge profits. At present, there are few such materials in the market, mainly because customers are afraid of confusing FR-4,but the performance is not as good as FR-4.

FR-4 is the most expensive plate with the best performance. This material is made of glass fiber, so it is translucent, very strong, stable and not suitable for deformation. This kind of plate is generally used in high-end products, such as LED display screen, etc. the main board of computer is also made of this material, which is generally 8-layer plate, and there is a great demand in the market.