high-frequency high-speed copper clad laminate became key materials
5G commercial high-frequencyhigh-speed copper clad laminate became key materials The CCL industry is in the middle of the entire PCB industry chain, providing raw materials for PCB products. A copper clad laminate is a sheet material made by dipping an electronic fiberglass cloth or other reinforcing material with a resin adhesive, drying, cutting, and laminating a blank, and coating the copper foil on one or both sides and hot pressing. It is mainly used to make printed circuit boards (PCBs), which function as interconnects, insulation and support for PCBs. The upstream of the industrial chain is raw materials such as electrolytic copper foil, wood pulp paper, fiberglass cloth, and resin. The downstream is PCB products. The terminal industries are aerospace, automobiles, home appliances, communications, and computers. In 19 years, 5G was initially commercialized. The upstream raw materials of core materials such as high-frequency copper-clad laminates were similar to those of traditional CCL. After being produced by downstream PCB manufacturers as high-frequency circuit boards suitable for high-frequency environments, they were applied to base station antenna modules and power amplifiers. Modules and other equipment components, and ultimately used in communication base stations (antennas, power amplifiers, low noise amplifiers, filters, etc.), automotive auxiliary systems, aerospace technology, satellite communications, satellite television, military radar and other high-frequency communications. The increase of communication frequency band drives the demand for high-frequency high-speed board to increase substantially 5G high frequency technology puts higher requirements on the circuit. RF circuits with operating frequencies above 1 GHz are generally referred to as high-frequency circuits. In mobile communication from 2G to 3G, 4G, the communication band is developed from 800MHz to 2.5GHz. In the 5G era, the communication band will be further improved. The PCB board will be equipped with antenna vibrators, filters and other devices in the 5G radio frequency. According to the requirements of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it is expected that the early 5G deployment will adopt the 3.5GHz frequency band, and the 4G frequency band will be mainly around 2GHz. Generally, electromagnetic waves having a wavelength of 1 to 10 mm in the frequency band of 30 to 300 GHz are converted into millimeter waves. When 5G is used in large-scale commercial use, the millimeter wave technology guarantees better performance: the bandwidth is extremely wide, the available spectrum bandwidth of the 28 GHz band can reach 1 GHz, and the available signal bandwidth of each channel in the 60 GHz band can reach 2 GHz; the corresponding antenna has high resolution and anti-interference performance. Well, miniaturization can be achieved; the attenuation in the atmosphere is fast, and close-range secure communication can be realized. In order to solve the problem of high-frequency and high-speed, and to deal with the problem of poor penetration of millimeter wave and fast decay, the performance requirements of 5G communication equipment for PCB have the following three points: (1) low transmission loss; (2) low transmission delay; (3) Accuracy control of high characteristic impedance. PCB high frequency has two ways, one is the higher processing requirements of the PCB, and the other is the use of high frequency CCL - the substrate material for high frequency applications is called high frequency copper clad laminate. There are two main indicators: dielectric constant (Dk) and dielectric loss factor (Df) to measure the performance of high frequency copper clad laminate materials. The smaller the Dk and Df, the more stable, and the better the performance of the high-frequency high-speed substrate. In addition, in terms of RF boards, the PCB area is larger and the number of layers is larger, requiring higher heat resistance (Tg, high temperature modulus retention) and tighter thickness tolerances. PTFE is the optimal solution for antenna performance, filling the domestic gap. The Japanese PCB industry is accustomed to divide the high-frequency high-speed substrate into four grades of PTFE grade substrate, high grade substrate, medium grade substrate and low grade substrate according to the size of Df and Dk and the transmission loss. Different grades of substrates have different applications in the field of high frequency microwaves. PTFE is the best dielectric material found so far, and it has excellent dielectric properties and is the best choice for antenna substrates. In the field of high-frequency CCL, the US and Japan occupy the mainstream market, and domestic substitutions catch up. Traditional leader Rogers who relies on the Asian market The high-frequency board has the characteristics of high technical threshold and strong bargaining power in the downstream. The global leader is mainly the US-Japan company, and the domestic replacement space is large. According to our industry research, the high-frequency CCL gross margin is around 40%, higher than other types. At present, the global high-frequency board is concentrated in the US and Japanese suppliers, represented by Rogers, as well as US-owned Yalong materials, Taikangli, isola, etc.; Japan represents the supplier Panasonic. High-frequency CCL such as domestic Shengyi Technology and Huazheng New Materials have made good progress. Roger.Grop is the world's leading specialty materials company, founded in Massachusetts in 1832. The demand for communication generation upgrades has increased over the past 10 years, and the company's business has grown as demand for new technologies and innovative solutions has grown. Future IoT and intelligent systems will drive the demand for larger advanced engineering materials. As data volumes doubled and demand for speed, bandwidth, and functionality increased, the company's advanced circuit materials and connectivity solutions are expected to continue to lead the world in next-generation wireless networks, power amplifiers, and smart antenna applications. At present, more than 70% of the company's revenue comes from international customers, and revenue in Asia accounts for more than 30%. Benefiting from the communication cycle, the main business grew steadily. In 2017, revenue and net profit began to accelerate. In the first three quarters, the net profit growth rate was 81%, 136%, and 102%. Into H2 in 2018 and Q1 in 2019, the company ushered in a new round of growth cycle, mainly benefiting from Demand for high-frequency CCL materials such as 5G pre-commercial, multi-antenna technology, and automotive ADAS has increased. Domestic CCL manufacturers are catching up on scale and technology, high frequency is ready for production Domestic substitution is imperative and has broken the monopoly of the United States and Japan. The relationship between high frequency and high speed is C = λ × v, and high frequency is a necessary and insufficient condition for high speed. High-frequency high-speed boards are mainly used in communication equipment such as base stations and servers. Through the independent research and development, Shengyi Technology and Huazheng New Materials have broken through technical barriers, and the performance of various products has reached the world's top level. Shengyi Technology's PTFE product performance has reached the top level in the world, and its GF220, GF265, GF300 and other series performance is comparable to the international high-frequency high-speed version of the leader. In addition, the company's products have passed the certification of important customers such as Huawei. In November 2018, it has entered trial production. The high-frequency board production capacity was put into production in January 2019, which is a breakthrough for mass production of domestic wireless base station materials. In terms of niche market share, players in Greater China (Mainland, Taiwan) dominate the market. In addition to Panasonic, the top 6 CCL manufacturers are manufacturers in Greater China, accounting for 50% of the market. The traditional CCL technology reserve helps to help players in Greater China benefit from scale advantages and vertical integration. Shengyi Technology's business model for its customers is more reasonable. The entry-level to high-end product portfolio is relatively diversified, benefiting from the overall upward trend by improving product mix and technology. In summary, the company has opened up a comprehensive layout from base station substrate to consumer electronics terminal substrate for the arrival of 5G commercial. It is expected that with the release of technology research and development and high-end product capacity from 2019 to 2020, profitability will continue to increase, in the medium and long term. Growth is worth looking forward to.
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