Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘The Next RenAIssance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential’
The Chemical Connection: When the Industry Moves Faster Than the Standards
Driving Innovation: Selecting the Right Laser Source
Isola Offers Material Solutions at European Microwave Exhibition
March 30, 2022 | Isola GroupEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Isola Group will be on hand at this year’s European Microwave Exhibition, providing guidance on the best use of its advanced circuit materials for printed circuit boards. The exhibition is part of European Microwave Week, scheduled for April 2-7, 2022, in the Excel London Exhibition & Conference Centre, (London, UK). Isola’s material experts and sales professionals, including new addition Jim Francey, will welcome visitors to booth #185 to learn about the optimum circuit material choices for applications in the many markets covered by Europe’s premiere RF/microwave, radar, and wireless industry event. The exhibition runs for three days during the week, from Monday through Wednesday, April 4-6, 2022.
European Microwave Week features the 51st European Microwave Conference (EuMC 2021), the 16th European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (EuMIC 2021), and the 18th European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2021), along with forums on 5G, automotive, and defense/security applications. The main conference is expected to draw more than 1500 high-frequency engineering professionals while the exhibition will pack more than 300 exhibiting companies from around the world.
Isola will highlight its unique circuit materials for high-speed-digital (HSD) and RF/microwave circuits, including materials that provide “freedom of design” in challenging automotive and military radar applications, such as Astra® MT77. It provides excellent thermal stability at high temperatures and power levels with a low dielectric constant (Dk) of 3.00 at 10 GHz. Its low loss is denoted by a dissipation factor (Df) of only 0.0017 at 10 GHz. Another circuit material with low loss at RF/microwave frequencies, I-Tera® MT40 (RF/MW), available with Dk values of 3.38 / 3.45 / 3.60 or 3.75 @ 10 GHz and Df as low as 0.0028. Astra® MT77 and I-Tera® MT40 are well suited for emerging millimeter-wave (mmWave) circuit applications, such as in 5G wireless networks and automotive radars. Both are FR-4 process compatible for ease of circuit fabrication.
For circuit fabricators seeking environmentally safe solutions, Isola will show its standard TerraGreen® and higher-frequency TerraGreen® 400G (RF/MW) circuit materials. Both are halogen-free circuit materials, with little or no halogens, such as chlorine or bromine, which can form hazardous materials if a PCB is overheated or on fire. Especially for RF/microwave applications, TerraGreen® (RF/MW) circuit materials feature a stable Dk with temperature, holding to 3.45 at 2, 5, and 10 GHz and temperatures from -55 to +125°C with low Df of 0.0032 at 2, 5, and 10 GHz. The halogen-free RF/microwave circuit materials are RoHS-compliant for lead-free processes and can be used in mmWave circuits to 110 GHz.
In addition, at the European Microwave Exhibition, Isola’s representatives will explain how IS680/IS680AG laminates provide sound starting points for RF/microwave circuits in both commercial and military/aerospace RF/microwave applications. Available with a wide range of copper weights the laminates exhibit Dk values of typically 2.80 to 3.45 with Df from 0.0025 to 0.0035 from 2 to 10 GHz and maintain stable Dk and Df from -55 to +125°C.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
Driving Innovation: Selecting the Right Laser Source
04/28/2026 | Simon Khesin -- Column: Driving InnovationWhen I first joined Schmoll Maschinen, I brought experience from almost every PCB process, except for laser. As I immersed myself in laser processing, I realized why it can seem so daunting to a newcomer. The complexity arises from three intersecting factors: A vast variety of laser sources: CO2, UV-nano, green-pico, UV-pico, IR-pico, and others; a diverse range of applications: Drilling, cutting, ablation, and more; and an extensive list of materials: These have vastly different absorption rates. Choosing the right machine or laser source is rarely trivial. Even for experienced engineers, answering "Which source is best?" requires examining the business's specific goals.
Institute of Circuit Technology Spring Seminar 2026: A Bright Future in Europe
04/23/2026 | Pete Starkey, I-Connect007Through the leafy lanes and spring flowers of Warwickshire and back to Meridan, the traditional centre of England, and now officially part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the county of the West Midlands, I attended the Annual General Meeting and Spring Seminar of the Institute of Circuit Technology (ICT) on April 14. Out of the AGM came notable changes in leadership at the top of the Institute: the retirement of Mat Beadel as chair and Emma Hudson as technical director. Effective May 1, Steve Driver is the new chair, and Alun Morgan is the new technical director.
ACCM Unveils Negative and Near-zero CTE Materials for Large-Format AI Chips
04/21/2026 | Advanced Chip and Circuit MaterialsAdvanced Chip and Circuit Materials, Inc. (ACCM) has launched two new materials: Celeritas HM50, with a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of -8 ppm/°C to offset the positive CTE and expansion of copper with temperature on circuit boards, and Celeritas HM001, with near-zero CTE and the low-loss performance needed for high-speed signal layers to 224 Gb/s and faster in artificial intelligence (AI) circuits.
Fresh PCB Concepts: Designing PCBs for Harsh Environments—Reliability Is Engineered Upstream
04/23/2026 | Team NCAB -- Column: Fresh PCB ConceptsWhen engineers hear the phrase “harsh environment,” they usually think of the extreme temperature swings, vibration and shock, pressure changes, or radiation in aerospace. However, aerospace is not the only harsh environment where electronic assemblies must survive. Automotive power electronics, downhole oil and gas tools, marine controls, rail systems, defense platforms, and industrial automation equipment all expose PCBs to environments that are equally unforgiving. The stress mechanisms may differ, but the physics does not.
Advanced Packaging for AI: Reliability Starts at the Cu/Cu/Cu Microvia Junction
04/20/2026 | Kuldip Johal, MKS' AtotechThe rapid growth of AI computing, from training clusters to inference at scale, is reshaping demand across the entire electronics supply chain. Advances in technology requirements, such as higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater compute density, are driving the development of advanced packaging technologies and transforming the PCB industry across design, manufacturing, testing, and even architecture.