The Difference between Ceramic PCBs and Traditional FR4 PCBs
Before discussing this issue, let's first understand what ceramic PCBs are and what FR4 PCBs are.
Ceramic Circuit Board refers to a type of circuit board manufactured based on ceramic materials, also known as a Ceramic PCB (printed circuit board). Unlike common glass fiber reinforced plastic (FR-4) substrates, ceramic circuit boards use ceramic substrates, which can provide higher temperature stability, better mechanical strength, better dielectric properties, and longer lifespan. Ceramic PCBs are mainly used in high-temperature, high-frequency, and high-power circuits, such as LED lights, power amplifiers, semiconductor lasers, RF transceivers, sensors, and microwave devices.
Circuit Board refers to a basic material for electronic components, also known as a PCB or printed circuit board. It is a carrier for assembling electronic components by printing metal circuit patterns on non-conductive substrates, and then creating conductive pathways through processes such as chemical corrosion, electrolytic copper, and drilling.
The following is a comparison between ceramic CCL and FR4 CCL, including their differences, advantages and disadvantages.
|
Characteristics |
Ceramic CCL |
FR4 CCL |
|
Material Components |
Ceramic |
Glass fiber reinforced epoxy resin |
|
Conductivity |
N |
Y |
|
Thermal Conductivity(W/mK) |
10-210 |
0.25-0.35 |
|
Range of Thickness |
0.1-3mm |
0.1-5mm |
|
Processing Difficulty |
High |
Low |
|
Manufacturing Cost |
High |
Low |
|
Advantages |
Good high-temperature stability, good dielectric performance, high mechanical strength, and long service life |
Conventional materials, low manufacturing cost, easy processing, suitable for low-frequency applications |
|
Disadvantages |
High manufacturing cost, difficult processing, only suitable for high-frequency or high-power applications |
Unstable dielectric constant, large temperature changes, low mechanical strength, and susceptibility to moisture |
|
Processes |
At present, there are five common types of ceramic thermal CCLs, including HTCC, LTCC, DBC, DPC, LAM, etc |
IC carrier board, Rigid-Flex board, HDI buried/blind via board, single-sided board, double-sided board, multi-layer board |
Ceramic PCB
Application fields of different materials:
Alumina Ceramic (Al2O3): It has excellent insulation, high-temperature stability, hardness, and mechanical strength to be suitable for high-power electronic devices.
Aluminum Nitride Ceramics (AlN): With high thermal conductivity and good thermal stability, it is suitable for high-power electronic devices and LED lighting fields.
Zirconia ceramics (ZrO2): with high strength, high hardness and wear resistance, it’s suitable for high-voltage electrical equipment.
Application fields of different processes:
HTCC (High Temperature Co fired Ceramics): Suitable for high-temperature and high-power applications, such as power electronics, aerospace, satellite communication, optical communication, medical equipment, automotive electronics, petrochemical and other industries. Product examples include high-power LEDs, power amplifiers, inductors, sensors, energy storage capacitors, etc.
LTCC (Low Temperature Co fired Ceramics): Suitable for the manufacturing of microwave devices such as RF, microwave, antenna, sensor, filter, power divider, etc. In addition, it can also be used in medical, automotive, aerospace, communication, electronics and other fields. Product examples include microwave modules, antenna modules, pressure sensors, gas sensors, acceleration sensors, microwave filters, power dividers, etc.
DBC (Direct Bond Copper): Suitable for heat dissipation of high-power semiconductor devices (such as IGBT, MOSFET, GaN, SiC, etc.) with excellent thermal conductivity and mechanical strength. Product examples include power modules, power electronics, electric vehicle controllers, etc.
DPC (Direct Plate Copper Multilayer Printed Circuit Board): mainly used for heat dissipation of high-power LED lights with the characteristics of high intensity, high thermal conductivity, and high electrical performance. Product examples include LED lights, UV LEDs, COB LEDs, etc.
LAM (Laser Activation Metallization for Hybrid Ceramic Metal Laminate): can be used for heat dissipation and electrical performance optimization in high-power LED lights, power modules, electric vehicles, and other fields. Product examples include LED lights, power modules, electric vehicle motor drivers, etc.
FR4 PCB
IC carrier boards, Rigid-Flex boards and HDI blind/buried via boards are commonly used types of PCBs, which are applied in different industries and products as follows:
IC carrier board: It is a commonly used printed circuit board, mainly used for chip testing and production in electronic devices. Common applications include semiconductor production, electronic manufacturing, aerospace, military, and other fields.
Rigid-Flex board: It is a composite material board that combines FPC with rigid PCB, with the advantages of both flexible and rigid circuit boards. Common applications include consumer electronics, medical equipment, automotive electronics, aerospace, and other fields.
HDI blind/buried via board: It is a high-density interconnect printed circuit board with higher line density and smaller aperture to achieve smaller packaging and higher performance. Common applications include mobile communications, computers, consumer electronics, and other fields.