High-Speed Materials For PCBs

Engineers use a number of material parameters for judging the suitability of PCB materials as they relate to the performance at high frequencies including the dissipation factor (Df), and the dielectric constant (Dk) of the materials.

With the predominance of digital circuits, and the fact that their performance speed is steadily rising, choosing the wrong PCB materials can have devastating results ranging from poor plated-through holes to impedance discontinuities in transmission lines on multi-layer circuit boards. However, these same material parameters can help when comparing and selecing various circuit materials for applications of high-speed digital circuits.