Isola Completes Testing of Laminate Materials for Conductive Anodic Filament Resistance

CHANDLER, Ariz., November 11, 2014 — Isola Group S.à r.l., a market leader in copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepreg materials used to fabricate advanced multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs), today announced the successful completion of Class 2 testing of laminate materials for Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) resistance; the laminate materials were constructed with glass fabric woven at Isola Fabrics, a subsidiary of Isola Group S.à r.l.

Within the scope of the three-year HELP project (an interdisciplinary team from industry and academia), Isola collaborated to develop reliable and cost-effective electronics for electro mobility-applications using high-temperature resin system PCBs and succeeded in developing CAF-resistant laminate materials. Electro mobility is the concept of using electric powertrain technologies, in-vehicle information, and communication technologies and connected infrastructures to enable the electric propulsion of vehicles and fleets.

CAF is a failure mode in PCBs that occurs under conditions of high humidity and high voltage gradients. The successful completion of Class 2 of CAF testing for Bosch is very promising for future applications for electric vehicles. The electrochemical migration testing was performed at 85°C and 85% relative humidity using a 100V bias. The test vehicle samples were produced at Schweizer Electronic AG and incorporated 120 via holes at a 0.65 mm hole-to-hole pitch using two different resin systems in a six-layer stack up and with glass styles ranging from 106, 1080, 2116 to 7628. Isola’s laminate materials exceeded the 1000-hour testing protocol with no evidence of any electrical issues or CAF failures. This successful test provides great insight for the development of optimal CAF-resistant materials for electric vehicle and other high-voltage applications.

Tarun Amla, Executive Vice President and CTO of Isola Group, stated, “We are pleased to have such positive CAF results from our collaborative testing program with Bosch and Schweizer.”

Karl Stollenwerk, President of Isola Europe, added, “We have made significant investments at Isola Fabrics in recent years for both process technology and glass-finish chemistry. We are delighted with these results at Bosch, which validate our continued investment in the European PCB materials industry.”