Flexibility and reliability of flexible PCB circuit Boards

Flexibility and reliability of flexible PCB circuit Boards

At present, flexible pcb circuit boards have: single-sided, double-sided, multi-layer flexible pcb boards and rigid flexible pcb boards.

        1 Single-sided flexible pcb board is the lowest cost, when the board is not required for electrical performance. For single-sided wiring, a single-sided flexible board should be used. It has a chemically etched conductive pattern, and the conductive pattern layer on the surface of the flexible insulating substrate is a rolled copper foil. The insulating substrate may be polyimide, polyethylene terephthalate, aramid fiber ester and polyvinyl chloride.

        2 Double-sided flexible pcb board is a conductive pattern made by etching each layer on both sides of the insulating base film. The metallized holes connect the patterns on both sides of the insulating material to form a conductive path to meet the design and use functions of the flexibility. The cover film protects the single and double-sided wires and indicates where the components are placed.

        3 Multi-layer flexible pcb board is a single-sided or double-sided flexible circuit of 3 or more layers laminated together, and a metallized hole is formed through a drill collar L and electroplating to form a conductive path between different layers. This eliminates the need for complex welding processes. Multilayer circuits have tremendous functional differences in terms of higher reliability, better thermal conductivity, and more convenient assembly performance. When designing the layout, the interaction between assembly size, number of layers, and flexibility should be considered.

        4 Conventional rigid flexible sheets are composed of rigid and flexible substrates that are selectively laminated together. The structure is tight, and the metallized 孑L forms an electrically conductive connection. If a printed board has components on both the front and back sides, a rigid flexible board is a good choice. But if all the components are on one side, it is more economical to use a double-sided flexible board and laminate a layer of FR4 reinforcement on the back.

        The flexible circuit of the hybrid structure is a multilayer board, and the conductive layer is composed of different metals. An 8-layer board uses FR-4 as the inner layer medium, using polyimide as the outer layer medium, and the leads are extended from three different directions of the main board, each of which is made of a different metal. Constantan, copper and gold are used as separate leads. This kind of hybrid structure is mostly used in the relationship between electrical signal conversion and heat conversion and the low temperature condition with relatively strict electrical performance, which is the only feasible solution.

It can be evaluated by the convenience and total cost of the interconnect design to achieve the best performance-price ratio.

2, the economics of flexible circuits

        If the circuit design is relatively simple, the total volume is small, and the space is suitable, the traditional internal connection method is mostly much cheaper. Flexible circuits are a good design choice if the wiring is complex, handles many signals, or has special electrical or mechanical performance requirements. Flexible assembly is the most economical when the size and performance of the application exceeds the capabilities of rigid circuits. A 12 mil pad with 5 mil vias and a 3 mil line and pitch flexible circuit can be fabricated on a single film. Therefore, it is more reliable to mount the chip directly on the film. Because it does not contain a flame retardant that may be a source of ion drilling. These films may be protective and cure at higher temperatures, resulting in higher glass transition temperatures. The reason for the cost savings of flexible materials over rigid materials is the elimination of connectors.

        High-cost raw materials are the main reason for the high price of flexible circuits. The price of raw materials varies widely, the cost of raw materials for polyester flexible circuits with the lowest cost is 1.5 times that of raw materials used for rigid circuits, and the performance of high-performance polyimide flexible circuits is 4 times or higher. At the same time, the flexibility of the material makes it difficult to automate the processing during the manufacturing process, resulting in a drop in yield; defects are likely to occur during the final assembly process, including peeling off flexible attachments and broken lines. This type of situation is more likely to occur when the design is not suitable for the application. In the high stress caused by bending or forming, it is often necessary to select a reinforcing material or a reinforcing material. Despite the high cost of the raw materials and the cumbersome manufacturing, the foldable, bendable and multi-layered panel functions reduce the overall assembly size and the materials used, resulting in a reduction in overall assembly costs.

        The flexible circuit industry is in the midst of a small but rapid development. The polymer thick film process is an efficient, low-cost production process. The process selectively screens conductive polymer inks on inexpensive flexible substrates. A representative flexible substrate is PET. Polymer thick film conductors include silk screen metal fillers or carbon powder fillers. The polymer thick film process itself is very clean, using lead-free SMT adhesives, without etching. Due to the use of the addition process and low substrate cost, the polymer thick film method is 1/10 of the price of the copper polyimide film circuit; it is 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the rigid board. The polymer thick film method is especially suitable for control panels of equipment. In mobile phones and other portable products, the polymer thick film method is suitable for converting components, switches and lighting devices on printed circuit boards into polymer thick film circuits. It saves costs and reduces energy consumption.

        In general, flexible circuits are indeed more expensive and costly than rigid circuits. In the manufacture of flexible sheets, in many cases they have to face the fact that many parameters are out of tolerance. The difficulty in making flexible circuits lies in the flexibility of the material.

        3, the cost of flexible circuits

        Despite the above-mentioned cost factors, the price of flexible assemblies is declining and becomes close to conventional rigid circuits. The main reason is the introduction of newer materials, improved production processes and structural changes. The current structure makes the product more thermally stable and there is very little material mismatch. Some of the newer materials have thinner copper layers that allow for more precise lines, making the components lighter and more suitable for small spaces. In the past, the copper foil was adhered to the adhesive-coated medium by a roll-pressing process, and now, the copper foil can be directly formed on the medium without using an adhesive. These techniques can get a few micrometers thick copper layer, get

3m. 1 even narrow lines with narrower widths. The flexible circuit after removing some of the adhesive has flame retardant properties. This will speed up the uL certification process and further reduce costs. Flexible circuit board solder masks and other surface coatings further reduce flexible assembly costs.

        In the next few years, smaller, more complex, and more expensively constructed flexible circuits will require newer method assemblies and the need to add hybrid flexible circuits. The challenge for the flexible circuit industry is to leverage its technological advantages to keep pace with computers, telecommunications, consumer demand and an active market. In addition, flexible circuits will play an important role in lead-free operations.