Dow Leads Change to Bromine-free Resins for Electrical Laminates

Young girl looking at cell phone
Brominated resins for printed circuit boards are
everywhere in consumer and industrial electronics.

The performance requirements for electrical laminates continue to escalate. Better electrical performance and the ability to stand up to higher temperatures are just the beginning. In addition, "green" regulations from the European Union, which took effect in July of 2006, call for the use of lead-free solders. And so Dow is now leading the change to bromine-free resins that are also lead-free.

A change in the standard leads to new solutions
Brominated resins for printed circuit boards are everywhere in consumer and industrial electronics. As a leading producer of epoxy resins for printed circuit boards worldwide, including brominated products, Dow is committed to offering a broad range of resins for electrical laminates.

Dow now produces several bromine-free resins, each different in structure and performance than previous resins. Bromine-free resins offer exceptional thermal stability, better electrical properties (including a lower dielectric constant) for better signal clarity, higher transmission rates and lower signal loss. The new resins reduce board density and weight, and provide greater resistance to the thermal stresses lead-free soldering can cause.

"We've received excellent feedback from customers for our newly developed high performance bromine-free systems," says Mike Mullins, scientist, Dow Epoxy R&D. "They have passed rigorous processing requirements and are becoming recognized as the best filler-free systems."

In addition to Dow's complete solution of both the resin and hardener, the company offers technical help to smooth the transition to new formulations.

Fewer resins to meet greater demands
The new bromine-free resins actually offer our customers the option of using fewer types of resins, all of which offer good electrical performance and the exceptional thermal stability needed for lead-free soldering.

Achieving this high level of performance will become even more critical, as manufacturing temperatures and operating speeds continue to increase.

Need for "green"
In addition to these significant performance advantages, bromine-free resins will allow manufacturers to produce the "green" products that have become a critical factor in global marketing.

"The importance of a 'green' sticker on a cell phone in Europe and Japan can't be overemphasized," says Mullins. "It won't be long before this trend is completely global."

Using new resins to explore new solutions
Dow Epoxy's R&D group is now using bromine-free resins as the basis for the development of very high performance materials, another example of how Dow continues to explore solutions that will advance customers' technologies.

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