Isola Launches CAF Mitigation Technology-Licensing Program

Isola Group, a provider of engineered dielectric materials used to fabricate advanced multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs), announced that the company has launched a technology-licensing program to mitigate conductive anodic filamentation (CAF) problems in the fabrication of PCBs. This proprietary manufacturing technology, which is offered by ISOLA USA, reduces the number of voids in resin-impregnated dielectrics, which is a major source of CAF failures, the company says. The license is available to laminate and prepreg manufacturers and users worldwide.

In the absence of an effective "void reduction" technology, prepregs typically include voids, such as small air pockets in the fiber bundles and in the interstitial spaces between the fiber bundles, which are a common source of CAF problems. The next step in the manufacturing process of a copper-clad laminate is the lamination of the prepreg between thin layers of copper foil, by the application of an appropriate temperature and pressure profile. A majority of the voids in the prepreg get locked-up in this final, fully cured state.

Isola's technology-licensing program provides a laminate impregnation process that is capable of producing high quality, resin-impregnated prepreg, substantially free of voids, which mitigates CAF failure, the company says. Smaller hole-pitch geometries make PCBs susceptible to CAF growth, a form of electromechanical migration within the board.

"Voids in the dielectric act as precursors to CAF pathways, causing early failures and thus pose serious reliability and safety risks," said Tarun Amla, executive vice president and CTO at Isola. "An effective risk-mitigation technique will reduce or eliminate the voids that develop during the impregnation process."

For more information, visit Isola.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.