RF stands
for Radio Frequency and RF printed circuit boards are used in wireless
applications such as smartphones, security devices and military
radars. They operate on medium and extremely high frequencies
(megahertz and gigahertz) and are usually multi-layer boards, which can be
fine-tuned by mixing different materials to strengthen the balance of cost,
electrical performance and thermal properties.
Specialist
equipment is required for the manufacture of RF boards, such as plasma etch
machinery which is needed to ensure high levels of quality in the thru-holes
with minimum deviance. Thermal control is key, due to the greater range of
frequencies supported by these boards, therefore the materials used in
manufacture need to ensure stability at high temperatures. These are
often a combination of PTFE, hydrocarbon, ceramics and various forms of glass