MEGTRON 6 High Speed, Low Loss Multi-layer Materials

06 June 2023
New

Next-generation applications and electronics will require high-speed, low loss materials like the MEGTRON family of circuit board materials.

More specifically, MEGTRON 6 offers the ideal balance in terms of performance, quality, and reliability. The MEGTRON family includes the following products:

MEGTRON 2
MEGTRON 6
MEGTRON 4
MEGTRON 7
MEGTRON M

Each material plays an important role in the miniaturization of high-performance applications. Engineers developed them at Panasonic who specialize in low transmission loss, multi layer circuit board materials.

What sets MEGTRON 6 apart is the special dielectric system that uses smooth copper to deliver high speed and low loss performance with powerful thermal properties.

MEGTRON 6 laminates are available in various thicknesses to accommodate prepreg thicknesses of varying ranges and style of glass. These feature flat-glass designs (to minimize variation in impedance caused due to the fiber weave effect), also known as tightly woven styles.

MEGTRON 6 sports resins that evenly coat the surface of the tightly woven waves. Manufacturers can choose from different variations of resin content when selecting prepreg glass styles for MEGTRON 6.

MEGTRON 6 is very similar to FR 4 materials in terms of lamination. There is no incompatibility with pressures, movement, temperature, or cure time involved. In fact, it is standard practice to use the relatively affordable FR 4 materials to build inner layers of a hybrid board with the help of cap construction or foil construction,

The wide range of Megtron 6 prepreg thicknesses and core and resin content can greatly improve impedance control and stackup development.

Many multilayer circuits are built using MEGTRON 6 material for high-speed, low-loss digital PCBs.

MEGTRON 6 PCBs provide several advantages that include:

Low loss of electrical signals when building circuits
Minimum loss of the dielectric
Improved thermal management for optimized thermal functioning of the circuit
A considerable range of values for the dielectric constant
MEGTRON 6 has low outgassing that is useful for applications in space
They provide excellent control of impedance.

MEGTRON 6 leverages the resin design courtesy of Panasonic engineers (which is a trade secret and proprietary) to deliver superior dielectric performance and low transmission loss that is needed for multi-layer-count, high performance Micro Via PCBs.

MEGTRON 6 makes this possible by incorporating low profile copper foil and a low dissipation factor glass cloth. The high glass transition temperature and thermal decomposition temperature allows the MEGTRON 6 to exhibit excellent properties such as insulation reliability and heat resistance.

MEGTRON 6 is ideal for use with high layer count circuits that have over 10 layers, such as the ones used in routers and high end servers.

Properties of High Speed, Low Loss PCB Materials

So what makes the MEGTRON 6 well suited to high end applications and miniaturization technology? Let’s take a look at a few properties.

Relative Permittivity

Also known as dielectric permittivity, relative permittivity is a measure of dielectric properties of a material compared to the dielectric properties of air. Relative permittivity influences the behavior of electric fields that pass through the material.

It is important to have a low dielectric permittivity for high-frequency signals. This is because it reduces the parasitic capacitance between copper traces and conductive structures. Moreover, relative permittivity also influences the geometry across planar structures.

Dissipation Factor

Also known as the loss tangent, the dissipation factor measures signal loss when the material disperses absorbed electromagnetic energy as heat. The dissipation factor is a function of frequency.

Materials with a low loss tangent are better suited to high power applications because they minimize losses across transmission lines.

Surface Roughness

The roughness or smoothness of a material dictates performance for applications. This property depends on adhesion characteristics and layer depositing resolution of the property. Surface roughness plays a big role on high-performance IT electronic systems because they are required to handle a massive amount of data in shorter periods of time.

Signal loss starts getting more severe in the gigahertz range of frequencies. It can lead to problems such as signal degradation and a higher bit error rate. This is a primary reason why the industry has pivoted to MEGTRON 6 due to its surface.

Thermal Conductivity

Thermal conductivity in circuits measures the rate at which heat is transferred from hot areas to cooler areas of the circuit. Poor thermal conductivity can restrict an application's performance. MEGTRON 6 has a thermal conductivity of 0.42 W/m at a Tg of 185 °C. As such, MEGTRON 6 provides electronic designers with significant benefits in applications such as routers, telecommunication devices, and servers.

Reliability

Panasonic manufactures its materials to the highest degrees of quality and consistency. This ensures that the performance of their MEGTRON family of PCBs provides designers with an edge when using the materials in circuit design.

Panasonic has achieved one of the lowest transmission loss rates in the industry with the use of their proprietary resin design. This results in superior dielectric properties and low dielectric dissipation factor glass cloth to improve signal performance of high end networking devices.

MEGTRON 6 also exhibits superior insulation and heat resistance that is useful for high layer count circuit boards. Thai ensures good reliability in environments with extreme temperatures, even with boards that have over 10 layers, such as those used in routers and servers. This ensures stable operation of the equipment in the long run.

This is a major improvement over materials such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) that have a high transmission loss. MEGTRON 6 has a resin system that allows for consistent processability and manufacturability.

Alternatives to MEGTRON 6

An alternative to MEGTRON 6 is Rogers 4350 PCB with similar properties. In fact, Rogers is one of the oldest manufacturers of PCB laminate, dating back decades. Their materials are an industry leader in high speed, low loss HDI PCB applications. Other manufacturers that directly compete with MEGTRON 6 are Arlon Electronics and Taconic.

Wrapping Up

So there you have it, a cursory look at why MEGTRON 6 is used in high-end equipment where signal loss is not tolerable. For more information, get in touch with the experts at Hemeixin PCB for help with PCB design and material selection.