RO4500™ Series Cost Performance Antenna Grade Laminates

RO4500™ Series High Frequency Laminates are cost/performance materials from Rogers Corporation, specifically engineered and manufactured to meet the specific demands of the antenna markets.

RO4533™, RO4534™, and RO4535™ laminates extend the capabilities of the successful RO4000® product series into antenna applications. This ceramic-filled, glass-reinforced hydrocarbon based material set provides the controlled dielectric constant, low loss performance and excellent passive intermodulation response required for mobile infrastructure microstrip antenna applications.

As with all RO4000 high frequency laminates, RO4500 laminates are fully compatible with conventional FR-4 and high temperature lead-free solder processing. These laminates do not require special treatment needed on traditional PTFE based laminates for plated through-hole preparation. This product series is an affordable alternative to more conventional PTFE antenna technologies, thus allowing designers to optimize the price and performance of their antennas. Moreover, RO4533 and RO4534 laminates are available halogen-free to meet the most stringent “green” standards, and RO4535 laminates are available with our RoHS-compliant flame-retardant technology for applications requiring UL94 V-0 certification.

The resin systems of RO4500 dielectric materials are designed to provide the necessary properties for ideal antenna performance. The coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) in both the X and Y directions are similar to that of copper. The good CTE match reduces stresses in the printed circuit board antenna. The typical glass transition temperature of RO4500 materials exceeds 280°C (536°F), leading to a low z-axis CTE and excellent plated through-hole reliability. These properties, in combination with a dimensional stability value of less than 0.05%, make RO4500 laminates an excellent candidate for printed circuit antenna applications. RO4500 materials also provide increased thermal conductivity over equivalent PTFE/woven glass materials, allowing for design of antennas with increased power handling capability.

In addition to these excellent thermo-mechanical properties, RO4500 laminates embody electrical characteristics that antenna designers need. The laminates have a dielectric constant (Dk) ranging from 3.3 to 3.5 (±0.08) and a loss tangent (Df ) of 0.0020 to 0.0037 measured at 2.5 GHz. These values allow antenna designers to realize substantial gain values while minimizing signal loss. Materials are available with demonstrated low PIM performance, with values better than –155 dBC using two 43 dBm swept tones at 1900 MHz.