In recent years, due to the dramatic changes in the global market, the sales of desktop computers and notebook computers that used to be large in PCBs have slowed down. In 2014, wearable smart products with increasing market popularity have higher requirements for PCBs and even require a lot of softness. Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC) with product integration requirements.
    Electronic product demand evolution FPC soft board application increased
    Not only wear-sensitive smart products have high demand for flexible circuit boards, but even the demand for flexible circuit boards for tablet computers and smart phone products is increasing, because 3C electronic devices continue to be thinner, smaller, and more mobile. Directional design, FPC is a flexible circuit board. The general PCB circuit board is a copper foil material applied to a layer of glass fiber substrate, so that the circuit board has a basic thickness and hardness for soldering integrated circuits and electronic components on the substrate. Although the traditional PCB continues to improve toward high density and multi-layer, the PCB still has a problem of occupying space and using less flexibility. The flexible circuit board has flexible characteristics, which can effectively construct the internal circuit carrier space, and can also make the electronic product more suitable for light, thin, short, and small design directions.
    As for the PCB circuit carrier, it is necessary to meet the requirements of thinning and adapting to the small space structure environment, and even to meet the requirements of high speed and high thermal conductivity. For the thinning and high density construction requirements, the flexible circuit board will have a harder PCB. Good adoption advantages, coupled with the new state of the flexible circuit board for high-speed, high thermal conductivity, 3D stereo wiring, high-elastic assembly and other added value advantages, more in line with the flexible application requirements of wearable applications, let soft The relevant market demand for circuit boards continues to increase.
    Flexible board for special configuration purposes
    In order to meet the needs of special configuration or flexible structure design, the original rigid PCB structure can not meet the product design requirements, even if the flexible circuit board can not meet the full application, at least the product design will not affect the core circuit. The need for a small-sized thinned PCB, with a flexible circuit board using 3D stereo wiring in series with other functional modules, or connecting key batteries, sensors and other components, and the function of the flexible circuit board to replace the hard circuit board is not yet available. Full replacement application, but as flexible boards try to introduce thinned substrates (copper foil, substrate, substrate), touch (conductive ink), high heat resistance (substrate, substrate, glue), low lure The combination of low-inducing positive connection, photosensitive PI, 3D stereo (substrate, substrate) shape, transparent (substrate, substrate) and other materials, also makes the market application of flexible circuit boards more valuable and more practical.
    Soft board material technology evolution follows 3C/IT product manufacturing needs
    In summary, the development track of flexible circuit boards is in line with the development trend of smart phones, tablet computers, and even novel wearable smart devices. The development of different flexible circuit board materials technology is mostly improved in response to the needs of end products. Research and development.
    The flexible circuit board depends on its structural complexity, and is mainly divided into single-sided, double-sided and multi-layer flexible circuit boards, and the application range can be in personal computer products (tablet computer, notebook computer, printer, hard disk drive, optical disk drive), Display (LCD, PDP, OLED), consumer electronics (digital camera, camera, stereo, MP3), automotive electrical components (dashboard, audio, antenna, function control), electronic instruments (medical instruments, industrial electronic instruments) ), communication products (smart phones, fax machines), etc., are used in a wide range.
    As the FPC gradually penetrates into the vehicle electronics, or other circuit connection applications that require high-temperature operation, the heat resistance performance of the FPC is very important. Because of the material relationship, the early products have more restrictions on heat resistance. However, the application of novel materials technology to FPC has also led to the relative expansion of FPC applications. For example, Polyimide materials have been used in high-body temperature products due to their good heat resistance and material strength.
    FPC thinning and 3D responsive to the new 3C product configuration requirements
    Although the FPC has extremely thinning characteristics, the thickness of the flexible circuit board is much thinner than that of the PCB. The thickness of the conventional workpiece is only 12~18μm. The purpose of using FPC is not only the flexibility of the carrier. In addition to making the circuit more adaptable to the configuration constraints of the terminal design, the FPC workpiece thickness specification is also an important focus. The common manufacturing method is to use FCC copper foil to process FPC thinning requirements, or to directly perform electrolysis on the carrier. The thinness of the material, but the conventional workpiece is about 12μm thick. There is also a micro-etching copper thinning process for ultra-thinning, which can make the FCB thinner, but can maintain the basic electrical performance of conventional products. However, the relative material cost will also increase.
    Another big trend is to support FPC products with stereo configuration. The stereo configuration FPC can make soft boards into wavy, spiral, concave, and curved shapes. In the stereo configuration, 3DFPC needs another. To achieve the self-sustaining characteristics of the appearance, it can also be called low-reaction force, that is, the soft plate type after stereo forming will not return to the flat shape due to the elasticity of the material itself, and the stress of the copper foil, such a stereo configuration FPC Material technology is even more advanced.
    As for the three-dimensional configuration of the FPC, there are quite a lot of applications, such as the robotic connection line, the complex structure of the internal wiring of the robot arm, the special wiring requirements at the joints, and the automated production equipment and medical equipment. Optical devices are also quite common, especially in response to the special needs of any connected application.
    Even as environmental awareness gradually rises, FPC also needs to pay attention to the material process, which needs to meet environmental protection requirements. At the same time, it also needs to meet the product requirements of mechanical stress, heat resistance, chemical resistance, etc., as well as Japanese FPC manufacturers to introduce water-soluble PI products, in line with the environmental requirements of the general FPC, provide more choices for environmentally friendly FPC solutions for electronics manufacturers, and how is the new style of water-soluble PI application acceptance? Still waiting for the actual test of the market.