High-Quality TUC Laminates

In this guide, you will find all information about TUC laminate for your PCB fabrication processes.

So, before you import this PCB material, read this guide.

What is TUC Laminate

These are special types of printed circuit boards that were originally manufactured by TUC (Taiwan Union Technology Corporation).

TUC PCB

TUC laminates can be used in radio frequencies, in antennas or for sensors because their thermal and electric properties are of a high standard.

This is done in partnership with OEMs and their customers to provide present and future design.

Today, Venture Electronics, is one of the leading supplier of TUC laminates.

We have high performance and durable TUC laminates.

As a company, we will help you choose the best TUC laminates for your specific needs.

For a long time TUC was producing glass and was referred to as the Taiwan Union Glass Industrial Co., Ltd.

This was until 23 years later in 1997 when its production line changed to Prepreg and Copper Clad Laminate (CCL).

The company uses the very best in raw materials and standards of manufacturing to deliver reliable and consistent products to its customers.

Venture Electronics, is glad to be one of the partners to supply TUC PCB laminates.

Why should you use TUC Laminates?

Here are some of the reasons why you should consider TUC laminates:

• They meet the IPC-4101 requirements
• Every laminate must pass strict quality control and they have the necessary certifications
• TUC Laminates uses a lot of materials that are majorly environmentally friendly. They achieve this by ensuring that they are FR-4 compatible, are halogen free, free from red-phosphorus and also free from antimony.
• TUC are also durable and widely used by other OEM manufacturers and provide mass lamination services to PCB manufacturers, indicating quality of product.

This is because delamination due to their application is difficult unless under extraneous circumstances.

• TUC laminates guarantee significant cost saving and production flexibility. This makes it adaptable to most PCB fabrication processes.

Are there other PCB Material that can Replace TUC Laminates?

In case you can find TUC laminates, you can consider other options such as:

TUC PCB Material

• SH260 the Shengyi Rigid Polyimide material which is a special material.

This system provides great thermal performance which enables it to maintain bonding and mechanical strength at extremely high temperatures.

It also is environmentally friendly as it has a halogen-free make-up and lead-free compatibility alongside with a tough resin system.

It is mostly applied in Down hole, in aerospace and aircrafts and in burn-in-boards.

Remember, this is a popular Shengyi laminates.

• N4000-13-13-SI that is a highspeed multifunctional epoxy laminate and prepreg PCB material.

This material is engineered to provide high speed signals with low signal loss. It also has high thermal signal speed.

These properties enable for optimum signal integrity and impedance control that is precise all the while maintaining reliability.

• FR408HR that is also a high-performance Laminate and Prepreg PCB materials.

This product is for where multilayer printing wiring boards (PWB) with maximum thermal reliability and performance are needed.

The product is manufactured by Isola’s patented resin system that is high performance and multifunctional.

This is due to the incorporation of E-glass fabric used as reinforcement and hence allows for low loss than competitive products in the same product space.

The FR408HR system can also be applied for UV blocking and laser fluorescing for maximum compatibility with (AOI) automated optical inspection systems, photo-image solder mask imaging and optical positioning systems.

• IT-170GRA2 ITEQ with a high Tg Rigid PCB material.

This material is also a halogen free epoxy material with high thermal reliability making it a green material which means it is environmentally friendly.

It has low CAF and CTE resistance making it usable in a number of applications such as Telecom, Base station, Servers and routers.

• S7038 Shengyi HSD Materials for Mid-loss PCB material. This material is stated to have low Z-axis CTE with processability being high.

It can be applied in line cards, HSD application and also in PC servers.

• S1600 Shengyi Conventional FR-4 Rigid PCB materials.

As a characteristic to this product, it comes equipped with UV blocking and good processability of its Printing Circuit boards (PCB) and excellent tracking resistance.

It however is not recommended for solder rework.

Its applications range from refrigerators to washing machines and power base boards or LCDs and PDPs.

A downside is that they cannot be applicable to Anti-CAF use.

• S1151G Shengyi Conventional FR-4 Rigid PCB materials.

This product can be seen applied in the electronics market such as consumer electronics, automotive electronics or even in smartphones.

It is however not suitable for solder mask rework.

The product is environmentally friendly as it is free from halogen, red phosphorus and antimony allowing for nontoxic emissions during waste combustion.

• S1170G Shengyi Conventional FR-4 Rigid PCB It is an environmentally friendly material as it is lead free compatible and halogen free.

Besides, it is also free from antimony and red phosphorous allowing for non-hazardous and non-toxic emissions during combustion and waste disposal.

As its counterparts it also has a lower Z-axis CTE and comes with UV blocking compatibility.

Its applications can be in smartphones, computers, consumer electronics and automotive electronics.

It can also be used with some instruments.

• S1150G Shengyi Halogen free and lead-free compatible FR-4.1, FR-15.1 rigid PCB material. This Shengyi product can be found in LED and game stations, smartphones, tablets and notebooks (electronic) or even in communication equipment and automotive electronics. They are made with excellent thermal resistance and great mechanical processability coming compatible with lead free process compliance.

This makes it environmentally friendly.

This is because it allows for non-toxic and non-hazardous emissions during waste combustion.

Besides, it comes free of red phosphorous, halogen and antimony.

• S1141 Shengyi conventional FR-4 Rigid PCB material.

The product comes with UV blocking and AOI compatibility with great mechanical processability.

Its application domain is in computers, VCR, communication equipment such as cellphones, instrumentation, game playing electronic machines, aviation and automotive electronics.

It is however not suitable for heavy copper and high layer count application or Anti-CAF application like the others.

• S1000-2 Shengyi lead-free compatible FR-4.0, FR-15.0 rigid PCB material.

This product is lead free and compatible with FR-4 laminate.

This allows for application in electronic equipment, computers, communication, routers or in use of apparatus for precise measurements.

Other characteristics include high heat resistance, low Z-axis CTE, low water absorption, great anti-CAF performance and good through-hole reliability.

• S1000-2M Shengyi lead-free compatible FR-4.0, FR-15.0 rigid PCB material. Characteristically it has high heat resistance, it has UV blocking and is AOI compatible.

It also has lower Z-axis CTE and low water absorption with excellent mechanical processability, anti-CAF performance and through-hole reliability.

Its applications range from computers, communication, consumer electronics and even automotive electronics. The product is also suitable for high layer count PCB application.

• S1000H Shengyi lead-free compatible FR-4.0, FR-5.0 rigid PCB material.

This product much like its counterparts has applications in the same domain areas such as in computers and notebooks, instruments, automotive electronics and consumer electronics.

It can also be used in power supply and industrial applications.

Its characteristics are is similar such as low Z-axis CTE, low water absorption, good anti-CAF performance and IST, and excellent thermal reliability.

Besides, it lead free compatible FR-4 making it a safe product.

What are the common types of TUC Laminates?

TU 768

The common types of TUC Laminates are TU-662, TU-768 and TU-872.

The TU-768 Laminate is best suitable for boards used in thermal cycles and those that undergo intensive assembly.

They are made from E-glass that is woven and coated with epoxy resin.

The laminates are thus compatible with Automatic Optical inspection and bear UV-block properties.

They are generally available in panel form or roll form and exhibit a number of advantages.

Such include their resistance to moisture, resistance to thermal and chemical conditions and have high compatibility with lead free processes.

TUC Laminates can be used in electronics, automotive and workstation. W

ith all the laminates, tolerance levels are adjusted by adjusting to the relevant thickness levels.

We also have TU-872 based on epoxy as well.

But is has been modified from FR-4 resin for high performance.

It is also designed with low dielectric constant and low dissipation factor and woven using e-glass as reinforcement.

This is to allow for high speed, high frequency multilayer circuit board application with low loss.

It is suitable for storage and line cards, routers, servers, radio frequency and high-performance computing.

This is because of its overall design and its main features such as its resistance to CAF.

Including that, (anti-CAF capability), they also share similar features to the TU-768 laminates.

What are the Advantages of using TUC Laminates over other Alternatives?

There are stated advantages of using TUC Laminates.

It is seen to exhibit great electrical properties, thermal expansion improvement on its z-axis.

Besides, it is free of Halogen.

Also, its dielectric factor is not greater than 4 and its dissipation factor not exceeding 0.005.

The Laminates are also seen to be compatible with FR-4 processes that have been modified together with compatibility to Lead free reflow processes.

The Laminates have high moisture resistance, anti CAF capability and performs stably under frequency and temperature while also being at flat Dk/Df performance.

What are the Functional Requirements of using TUC Laminates?

TUC Laminates are made from copper foils, Prepregs and Copper clad laminates (CCL).

These are woven together with E-glass then coated with epoxy resin.

As a result, it provides the characteristic of UV blocking and allowing for compatibility with (AOI) automated optical inspection processes.

This makes them suitable for operation in conditions such as the ones present in thermocycles or where there are processes requiring excessive assembly.

Do you need Special Technologies to use TUC Laminates?

There is indeed need for special cutting-edge technology in the production of TUC laminates.

The raw materials necessary, need to be combined to make up the final product.

Materials like glass fiber cloth and epoxy resin together with copper foil.

They are hot-pressed to make an electronic plate-like material.

Thereby offering lamination services to the general public worldwide that are advanced and capable of being done en masse.

It offers a facility that provides solutions to (CCL) Copper Clad Laminates expertise and (PCB) Printed Circuit

Board interlayer processes coupled with production flexibility and cost savings.

Another area serving as evidence is the production of laminates such as the flexible laminates.

This is due to their thickness requires special equipment and time.

What are the Quality Standards for TUC Laminates?

PCB Thickness

The TUC Laminates are made available primarily at a thickness level of 0.002” to 0.062” which translates to roughly to 0.05mm to 1.58mm in sheets or panels.

They have Copper Foil Claddings of a third to 5 oz for built-up and double sides.

Their glass styles are 106, 1080, 2116 and 3313 in ascending order with their prepreg grades available upon request but majorly available in roll form r panel form.

The approvals by the industry are at IPC-4101 with a designation type of IPC-4101 /29, IPC-4101 /98, IPC-4101 /99, IPC-4101 /101 and IPC-4101 /126.

There has to be a validation service QPL certification for IPC-4010E/126.

The laminates are to have a non-flammability rating of 94V-0 and UL designation ANSI Grade FR-4; file number E189572.

The temperatures for operation should be at a maximum of 130 degrees Celsius.

What are the Possible Safety Constraints of using TUC Laminates?

Safety constraint that may possibly come from the use of TUC laminates will majorly be associated to environmental damage.

This can be the case when the products come produced inclusive of halogen, red phosphorous and even lead.

This is especially true when it comes to the waste materials due to combustion in discarding them.

The emissions can be considered harmful to the environment.

Other than that, TUC laminate products are made FR-4 compatible.

Besides, they are manufactured free of halogen, lead and red phosphorous.

Therefore, the emissions can be considered not harmful to the environment. This foregoes any possible safety constraints.

What is the Difference Between TUC Laminates and other PCB Laminate Materials?

There might not be a difference in these materials because the laminates are used in the printed circuit boards (PCB).

The laminates made by TUC can be used as cores in the Printed circuit boards (PCBs) or even in printed wiring boards (PWBs).

 Printed wiring board

Examples of PCB materials include FR-4 material.

It is the most common one and has good thermal, electrical and mechanical strength.

They are mostly used for double layered PCBs.

This yields the core qualities of performance, durability, cost and reliability balance, and production capacity.

Another material is polyimide laminate which is for greater reliability and efficiency at high temperatures.

They have low expansion and are highly robust thus a good match for multilayered PCBs but they are more costly that FR-4.

There is also Teflon Laminate material which are great with PCBs required for electrical application however their demand is low due to their cost.

They are more expensive than polyimide.

There is also Flexible laminate material that are constructed with plastic films instead of glass to enable them to fold without affecting electrical conductivity.

They are mostly used for installation purposes that are one-time due to their foldability characteristic.

Their downside is that they require specialized processes and special equipment because of their thick nature.

As base consideration for these materials, the properties most considered are chemical properties, mechanical properties, electrical properties and thermal properties.

For TUC laminates, materials include copper foils, epoxy resin, glass fibers or glass cloths and prepregs.

Why do you need Laminate Material in PCB?

PCB Lamination process

Laminate materials in PCB determine the overall performance and stability of one’s PCB.

This is because it is what holds the layers together.

They help with mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, thermal resistance and also chemical composition.

Besides, they can be made differently for matching in different stack-ups.

For example, some are made robustly with low expansion rates for thermocycling allowing for a multilayered design.

Others are made flexible yet compact to increase their lifespan when folded.

They must also be able to absorb moisture and have flammability.

The laminates must be of good quality provided at a reasonable cost and able to withstand high currents.

PCB materials should have thermal properties to allow for glass transition, decomposition, CTE and conductivity.

Electrically factors such as resistivity, electric strength and dielectric constant should all fall within required parameters to ensure conductivity.

For chemical properties of base materials, flammability and moisture absorption are among key considerations hence allowing for good bonding to help prevent delamination.

It should also be noted that density, time to delamination, flexural strength and peel strength are to be considered within the mechanical properties.

Such materials allow for the compactness of the product.

What is the Average Lifespan of TUC Laminate?

The TUC laminates have a long lifespan of approximately 50 to 70 years.

Of course, all these will apply only when you use under conditions that the manufacturers recommend.

It goes without saying that the lifespan of these products will considerably reduce with misuse or use under extreme or severe conditions.

Obviously, they may be destroyed or damaged.

What is the difference between Single Layer and Double Layer TUC Laminate?

PCB structure

By definition a layer is a level of stack-up composed partially or fully of copper.

It carries electrical signals probably an internal layer or surface/external layer.

Single layer TUC laminates are those that are made using one layer of laminate material while double-layer laminates have two layers.

The same applies for multi-layered TUC laminates which have multiple layers, that is, two or more layers.

For single layer laminates, only one surface is covered with conductive patterns on the insulating surface.

On the other hand, for double-layered laminates the conductive patterns occur on both sides of an insulating substrate.

What are the Applications of TUC Laminates?

Fully assembled TUC 872 Laminate

TUC Laminates can be used for a number of applications.

Most of them can be used in automotive electronics such as for heavy copper and high-reliability sensors.

They are also applied in Telecom and base stations, in radio stations for their frequencies, for HSDs (high speed digital appliances) such as in servers, in routers and in storage.

They can also be applied in HDIs which means high-density interconnections such as mobile phones and consumer electronics.

Besides, they can also be used in line cards and in rigid-flex applications.

In the consumer electronics that they can be applied for some industries that benefit include the medical and healthcare industry, lighting industry.

These uses are because of the rapidly increasing use of technology.

Final products from OEMs such as monitors and pacemakers in healthcare settings, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in lighting industry and even the printers and televisions use these products.

Examples in industrial equipment include their use in power equipment, manufacturing equipment, testing equipment or even in robotics.

For the aerospace industry their use can be seen used for communication, power supply, monitoring or even in satellites or space shuttles.

In the automotive industry they are applicable in a majority of sensors that have been adopted to help in increasing safety on the roads.

Such areas are like in the control systems, navigation systems that help in directions or for auto drive and lane keeping assistance systems, entertainment systems or even in the fuel management.

Other industries where they might be applied in are in the maritime industry for control and navigation ships.

Other uses include in security equipment industry for security alarms, security cameras, electronic locks smoke detectors and even security cameras.

We also have the military and defense where they can be applied in some firearms.

Besides, in monitoring equipment or their motor vehicles and computers and communication device.

The laminates will be produced differently for the specific cause in operating in these diverse conditions as earlier stated the use of laminates determines their type.

Are TUC Laminates suitable for High-Frequency Application?

With the growing demand for high-frequency applications the company has ventured into laminates that are capable of handling such application.

These laminates have properties such as compatibility with lead free processes and are RoHS compliant.

They have high Tg, and may have super low loss or very low loss for signal integrity and a CTE Z-axis of less than or equal to 3%.

Besides, they have excellent dimensional stability.

They may also be CAF resistant and are cost-effective as well.

With the emerging discoveries and never-ending innovations, the use of laminates for high-frequency applications are ever-increasing.

Are TUC Laminates Safe?

TUC Laminates are safe since they are free from lead and also suitable for environmental protection.

They are also compatible with FR-4 processes.

This is a safe method as the carbon emissions from lead harmful to the environment are foregone.

How do TUC Laminates compare to FR4 PCB Material?

With TUC laminates, their use determines their type.

For FR-4 PCB materials, they will be able to be used for most standard applications without adjustments.

FR-4 is a designation name by NEMA that describes glass-reinforced epoxy laminate material to increase thermal resistance.

It is versatile and acts as an accepted as standard.

What is the Difference Between TUC Prepregs and TUC Laminates?

PCB Prepreg vs PCB Laminate

Prepregs are a type of base material such as fabric or fiberglass that has been reinforced with epoxy resin or cured polyimide.

On the other hand, laminates may contain prepreg such as in copper clad laminates common in printed circuit board material, with copper on both sides.

This means that at the core of the printed circuit boards can be found a laminate material. The differences between the two can be:

• Laminates are a fully cured core material while prepregs are uncured or partially cured core material.
• Laminates are used as dielectric materials and used for isolation between copper layers.

Can be on both sides or, one side.

On the other hand, prepregs are used in the bonding of a core and one copper layer or two copper layers to maintain the separation of the bonded materials.

• The stack-up location of prepregs are between a core and a copper foil or between two cores.

While that of a laminate is between copper layers or planes and may cause the core of the stack-up.

Are TUC Laminates available for OEM Applications?

OEM product applications refers to an original equipment manufacturer.

This insinuates that TUC laminates are indeed available for OEM applications.

Taking to account its application in consumer electronics, in mobile phones, in computers, routers, servers/storage or even in automotive electronics.

Most of them come manufactured as finished products having already incorporated the laminates in their assembly.

One case that may not be applicable is for example in line cards which come as finished products and can be sold individually.

What are the Properties of TUC Laminates?

TUC laminates are made in different product categories depending on the desired properties.  This in turn determines or the product type.

The general properties of features of these laminates are;

• Lead free process compatible
• Halogen free
• Signal integrity
• CTE Z-axis
• Stable and flat Dk / Df performance
• Some have Anti-CAF capability
• Excellent through-hole and soldering reliability
• Excellent electrical properties
• Compatibility with FR-4 processes for some

These properties vary with different product categories which may be:

• High frequency laminates
• Super low loss laminates
• Extreme low loss laminates
• Very low loss laminates
• Low loss laminates
• Mid loss materials
• Standard loss materials
• High thermal reliability laminates
• Non-flow / mid-flow prepregs

What is the recommended Flammability Rating for TUC Laminates?

TUC Laminates recommended flammability rating is 94V-0.

This is the only point it can achieve the desired industry approval.

Are TUC Laminates Suitable for Multilayer Wire Boards?

TUC Laminates are indeed suitable for multilayer printed wire boards.

The laminates act as core materials for PWBs.

Hence, they are used not only in single layered Printed wire boards but also in double layered or multilayered printed wire boards.

What are the Common Causes of Failure in TUC Laminates?

To understand some of the failures, you should conduct troubleshooting.

One cause of failure can be delamination.

This is mainly due to excessive heat that increases the stress within the interlaminar bond strength of the multilayer package.

This happens when the bond is not as strong as it can possibly be for it to be sufficiently termed as heat-resistant.

The manufacturer strives for optimum flow of resin encapsulating the prepreg with the copper inner layer.

A number of things may cause delamination but they mostly stem from mechanical factors or chemical factors.

Mechanical factors may include press cycles, prepreg types and multilayer stack-ups.

Chemical examples are such as oxide and oxide alternatives.

Another cause might be moisture retention in the resin that will undo all the optimized processes for coming up with a suitable complete product.

What is the History of TUC Laminates?

It started out as an optical glass producer in 1974 when it was still called Taiwan Union Glass Industrial Co., Ltd.

It was until 1977 that the company went into production of CCL and Prepreg.

In 2001 it started providing customers with mass lamination services and at the end of 2003 was officially listed in Taiwan OTC.

At Venture Electronics, we can support your OEM business with high quality TUC laminates for all your PCB fabrications needs.

For any enquiries or questions, feel free to contact our sales team.