Published 12/27/2019

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. to manufacture, market new hydrocarbon resins for 5G electronics, aerospace

Developed per a licensing agreement with materials company Novoset LLC, the resins are said to possess ultra-low dielectric loss properties for electronics.

Edited by: Hannah Mason

Technical Editor, CompositesWorld

Materials company Novoset LLC (Peapack, New Jersey, U.S.) announced on Dec. 26 that it has signed a licensing agreement with Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) for the manufacturing and marketing of modified hydrocarbon resins based on Novoset’s intellectual property, which will target applications in electronics, automotive and aerospace.

The new resins are said to exhibit ultra-low dielectric loss properties at high frequencies, low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), very low moisture absorption, high glass transition temperatures (T_g) and long-term thermo-oxidative stability at 250°C.

These products are targeted for a range of 5G applications such as chip encapsulation, underfill, molding compounds, millimeter wave base station infrastructure for smartphones, high layer count printed circuit board (PCB) servers, routers for cloud computing and semiconductor packaging. Novoset says that these resins are specifically designed for use in devices enabling next-generation 5G technologies like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Novoset-based advanced materials launched by Shin-Etsu Chemical:

Thermoset ultra-low dielectric resin, product name SLK series. This product is said to have low dielectric characteristics close to those of fluorocarbon resins, as well as high strength and high elasticity. This thermoset resin is said to achieve a dielectric constant of less than 2.5 in the high-frequency band (10～80 GHz) and a dielectric dissipation factor of less than 0.0025. Due to its low moisture uptake and high adhesive strength to low profile copper, it is suitable for usage in such areas as FCCL (flexible copper clad laminates) and as an adhesive agent.
Quartz cloth, product name SQX series. According to Shin-Etsu, this product exhibits a dielectic constant (Dk) of less than 3.7, a dissipation factor (Df) of less than 0.001, and a linear expansion coefficient of less than 1 ppm per degree C. These low transmission loss capabilities are said to be suitable for applications such as circuit board core materials for 5G communication, as well as for fiber-reinforced plastic antennas and radar domes. The quartz cloth consists of very thin quartz threads, which can be made as small as 20 micrometers or less. In addition, quartz itself is said to have few occurrences of alpha rays, which can prevent malfunctioning of devices due to radiation rays.
Heat dissipation sheet, product name SAHF series. These newly developed sticky sheet products have been relaunched to meet increasing market demand for 5G. This sheet is combined with heat dissipation material and a hot melting adhesive sheet, offering a range of thermal conductivity from 5 W/mK to 100 W/mK, making them suitable in applications for power semiconductors and automotive applications requiring high reliability.

These products are also reportedly suitable for various aerospace applications where ultra-low dielectric, low moisture properties and high T_g are required. In addition, the materials can be used in aerospace processes such as resin infusion, hot melt prepreg, filament winding and other liquid processes.

Novoset officials said in a press release, “We are pleased to collaborate with Shin-Etsu Chemical, Japan to commercialize these unique products to address material gaps and difficult-to-process current 5G materials (targeted to millimeter wave substrates, antennas) such as liquid-crystal polymers (LCP), polyimides (PI) and polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE). Shin-Etsu Chemical is our ideal collaborator due to their in-house 5G applications and global footprint in semiconductors and other high-end industries.”

The resins were developed at Novoset Technology Center in Berkeley Heights, N.J., U.S. Under this agreement, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd. will manufacture the resins globally in the relevant electronics industries and market the products under SLK name. Novoset will market the products in aerospace, oil and gas, and other industries, and will continue to improve and expand the range of products according to market needs.