Rigid PCB – Jerico

What’s in Rigid PCB?

Rigid PCB is a circuit board made of a hard substrate (such as FR4 or, metal substrate), which forms a conductive line by etching the copper layer and fixes the structure through an insulating layer. Rigid PCB (such as the common FR4 board) dominates the electronics industry. Its stability, reliability, and mature production process make it an indispensable part of the electronics industry and are used in almost all modern electronic devices.

Compared with other circuit boards, rigid PCB has the following characteristics:

The structure is hard and cannot be bent, suitable for fixed installation equipment.
It has high mechanical strength and can resist vibration and shock (such as automobiles and industrial equipment).
The size is stable, less affected by temperature/humidity, and not easy to deform.
Stable impedance control, which is suitable for high-speed signals (such as USB3.0, HDMI).
Good heat dissipation, the copper layer and substrate can conduct heat (aluminum substrate has better heat dissipation).

Despite the rapid growth of flexible electronics, the stability, manufacturability, and mature technology of rigid PCB still make it dominate in consumer electronics, automobiles, medical, and other fields.

Consumer electronics: mainly used in smartphones, laptops, and TVs. The requirements for rigid PCBs are high-density, multi-layer boards.
Automotive electronics: mainly used in ECU (engine control unit) and ADAS (advanced driver assistance system), requiring high-temperature and vibration-resistant rigid PCBs.
Industrial control: mainly used in PLCs, robots, and motor drives. High-reliability, anti-interference PCBs are required.
Medical equipment: such as MRI and pacemakers. This requires high precision and low noise.
Aerospace: satellite communications and flight control systems require circuit boards to withstand extreme environments and high reliability.

As a manufacturer specializing in the production of multilayer rigid PCBs (Rigid PCBs), Jerico has industry-leading service advantages in the following aspects:

High-precision multi-layer board manufacturing capabilities: can stably produce high-complexity PCBs with more than 32 layers to meet the needs of high-end communications and server motherboards.
Precision line width/spacing: supports 3/3mil (or even smaller) fine lines, suitable for HDI (high-density interconnect) design.
Laser drilling technology: micro-aperture (such as 0.1mm) and blind/buried vias process to improve space utilization.
High-performance material application: high-frequency materials, such as Rogers and Taconic substrates, are suitable for high-frequency scenarios such as 5G base stations and radars.
Strict quality and reliability: Military-grade standards: IPC Class 3 certified to meet the high reliability requirements of aerospace and medical equipment.
Fast delivery and customized services: We offer fast prototyping services, providing 24-72 hours of expedited sample service to accelerate the R&D cycle.

In the future, with the further development of technology, line width/spacing will move towards 30/30μm, promoting the upgrade of smartphone motherboards. The demand for any-layer HDI is growing, with an annual compound growth rate of 8%. 5G/6G base stations drive the high-frequency PCB market to grow by 12% annually. The demand for low-loss materials (Dk<3.5) has surged, mainly led by Rogers and Panasonic MEGTRON. Smart electric vehicles use five times more PCBs than traditional vehicles. Autonomous driving domain controllers will increasingly use 20+ layer high-frequency boards. The reliability standard for PCBs used in industrial robots has been raised to IPC Class 3+. The rigid PCB industry will enter a new development stage of “high-end, professional, and green”.