Circuit Materials Link Critical LEO Satellite Communications
I-Tera® MT40 circuit materials provide reliable starting points for crucial multilayer circuits in military low earth orbit satellites (LEOS). LEOS are increasingly used for critical military communications as more traditional means of communications, including higher-orbit satellites, are jammed or fail. But LEOS must work with small payloads and require densely packed, multilayer PCBs to provide the functionality needed in such limited space. I-Tera MT40 laminates and prepregs provide the electrical, mechanical, and environmental performance needed for high-frequency, high-speed-digital (HSD), as well as RF/MW multilayer circuits that also meet rigorous military size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements. Laminates feature very low dielectric loss and ultra smooth copper foil (in weights from 0.5 to 2.0 oz.) for optimum PIM performance and low signal loss. Laminates and prepregs are available with dielectric constant (Dk) values of 3.38, 3.45, 3.60, and 3.75 (all at 10 GHz) that remain stable even over a wide temperature range of -40 to +140°C. Dissipation factor (Df) is also low, starting at 0.0028. They are RoHS compliant and FR-4 process compatible for ease of manufacturing, with standard laminates available in thicknesses from 0.002 to 0.018” and RF/MW high-frequency laminates in thicknesses ranging from 0.005 to 0.060”.
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