What is Teflon PCB: PTFE Based Laminates, PCB Manufacturing, Costs

Teflon PCB, or PTFE PCB, is a high-frequency PCB using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as its PCB substrate. Teflon PCBs transmit signals of 5GHz and higher frequencies. Teflon is the brand name that Dupont Corporation uses for its PTFE materials, and it is so well-known that people use Teflon PCB to refer to PTFE substrate PCBs used for microwave and RF applications.

In this article, you will get an insight into Teflon PCBs - what PTFE laminates are there to choose from, specifications of common Teflon PCBs, benefits and applications of Teflon PCBs, Teflon PCB manufacturing, etc.

Part 1. PTFE and Teflon PCB Laminates

In 1938, at Dupont's Jackson Lab in New Jersey, when chemist Dr. Roy J. Plunkett attempted to make a new refrigerant in an iron pressure bottle, he discovered polymerized perfluoroethylene by accident. In 1941, Dupont gained the patent of PTFE and registered the brand name Teflon for PTFE.

PTFE is a white solid at room temperature, and its melting point is 327℃. Its chemical formula is (C₂F₄)n. PTFE has good resistance to chemicals, electricity, high/low temperatures (-190~260℃), and atmospheric aging. And it has the minimum coefficient of friction in plastics. The applications of PTFE include but are not limited to PCB laminates.

Teflon PCB laminates are not pure PTFE but PTFE-based composites, because PTFE is lubricating and uneasy for copper layers to bond, and its stiffness and thermal resistance need reinforcing. Ceramics, glass fiber, glass, or woven glass are added to PTFE to reinforce the Teflon PCB substrate.

Part 2. What Teflon PCB Models are Available

There are quite a few Teflon PCB models in the market, and Teflon PCB material suppliers include Rogers, Taconic, Taizhou Wangling, Nelco, and Arlon. Remember, not all Rogers PCBs are Teflon PCBs, but PTFE PCBs are Teflon PCBs. Almost all the Teflon PCB models you can choose to manufacture are below (these are the Teflon PCB materials available at PCBONLINE, and if you cannot find materials in this chart, you may not find them at other Teflon PCB manufacturers either):

Among the Rogers Teflon PCB materials, the RT laminates (RT5000 series and RT6000 series) are mainly used for military and aerospace applications; the RO3000 series are usually used for commercial applications.

Part 3. Specifications of Commonly Used Teflon PCBs

Here we list the specifications of the commonly used Teflon PCBs, including Rogers RO3003, RO3035, RO3006, RO3010, RT5870, RT5880, RT6002, RT6006, RT6010.2LM.

Part 4: One-Stop Teflon PCB Manufacturing - PCBONLINE

PCBONLINE, a leading advanced PCB manufacturer, provides one-stop Teflon PCB manufacturing for senior engineers, solutions companies, research institutes, government departments, and business makers.

The Teflon PCB manufacturer PCBONLINE accepts Teflon PCB orders from prototyping to batch fabrication. PCBONLINE grasps the core technology to minimize the thermal expansion and contraction of PTFE-based high-frequency materials. Besides, solution experts at PCBONLINE provide one-on-one engineering support and seek to save clients' costs with the latest technologies and manufacturing optimization.

One of PCBONLINE's competitiveness in Teflon PCB manufacturing is the in-stock high-frequency materials. PCBONLINE stores Teflon laminates and other high-frequency materials in its own warehouse. The storage period is 45 days to keep the best quality. When clients order Teflon PCBs, PCBONLINE can start manufacturing immediately, which saves the delivery time of two to three months.

Hear Reviews of PCBONLINE from Teflon PCB Manufacturer

Jim is a senior communications scientist with decades of working experience. He chose PCBONLINE as his Rogers high-frequency PCB supplier. This is what he said at the first time of cooperation with PCBONLINE:

“I intend to order Teflon boards from you; part of the reason is how well you handle your customers, and this gives me some confidence that your fab will also do well with my boards. But you are a new supplier for me, and I would like to see how things go with this order before going forward with the next one. ”

And this is what he said when he received the Teflon PCBs from PCBONLINE:

“Alisa (Jim's business specialist), just a quick note to thank you and all your team involved in manufacturing these Teflon PCBs for me. The boards arrived safely and are of the best quality; testing in the product is yielding excellent results.”

Part 5. Advantages of Teflon PCBs

Compared with the normal FR4 PCBs and metal substrate PCBs, Teflon PCBs are high-performance. Though Teflon PCBs have different suppliers and series for military, space, and commercial applications, all Teflon PCBs have these advantages:

Part 6. Applications of Teflon PCBs

The above advantages of Teflon PCBs clearly tell us that Teflon PCBs are specially used in high-frequency fields.

The military-grade Teflon PCBs (such as Rogers RT5000 and RT600 series) are mainly used in:

• Antenna systems,
• Communications systems, etc.

The commercial Teflon PCBs (such as Rogers RO3000 series) are mainly used in:

• Active safety,
• Communications systems,
• Antenna systems,
• Backhaul radios,
• Telematics and information,
• Power amplifiers,
• Handled device cellular and Wi-Fi antenna, etc.

Part 7. Costs of Teflon PCBs

Compared with FR4 and metal substrate PCBs, Teflon PCBs are the most expensive, and PTFE laminates take up the most ratio of the Teflon PCB cost. And military-grade Teflon PCBs are more costly than commercial Teflon PCBs (so RT5000 and RT6000 series Teflon PCBs are more expensive than RO3000 series Teflon PCBs).

The Teflon PCBs have no market-fixed prices. One reason is that PTFE laminates have no fixed prices from the high-frequency laminate suppliers; one reason is that different Teflon PCBs have different requirements; another reason is that different PCB manufacturers quote different Teflon PCB prices. All the PTFE laminates are expensive, and some laminates are difficult to purchase, such as the Rogers RT7000 series used for military radar systems. Teflon PCB manufacturers in North America and Western Europe are much higher than those in China.

For Teflon PCB manufacturing, both the product quality and PCB pricing deserve consideration. PCBONLINE is one of the world's best yet cost-effective Teflon PCB manufacturers. If you are looking for a quality Teflon PCB manufacturer or want to know the quoted price for your Teflon PCB design, you are welcome to contact PCBONLINE by email or online.

Conclusion

This article gives a complete introduction to Teflon PCBs. We can conclude that Teflon PCBs are high-frequency PCBs using PTFE-based laminates. And you have seen the Teflon PCB models and specifications of some of them. Teflon PCB pricing is not fixed, and you can ask PCBONLIE to get a fair quote.