A: LNA’s are often designed using low loss conventional PTFE products such as Arlon’s AD350A which have stable Dk over frequency and low loss characteristics. For your application, with a higher Dk value, you will particularly want to be aware of the effects of the reduced physical size (especially line width) of your circuitry, and ensure that you have high copper adhesion to the substrate. Additionally you will want good thermal conductivity to manage any extra heat generated by the smaller cross sectional area of your transmission lines. Low water absorption is important to minimize the impact of varying humidity conditions on your design.
Arlon’s AD1000 is a High Dk (10.2 at 10 GHz) product with low loss (0.0023 at 10GHz). It features excellent copper bond strength (>12 lb/in for 1 oz. copper foil), high Coefficient of Thermal Conductivity (0.8 W/m-K) and low water absorption (0.03%). With low X and Y Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (8-9 ppm/oC) and good mechanical stability, AD1000 is easy to fabricate in a standard PTFE process. Low Z direction CTE (20 ppm/oC) ensures minimal strain on PTH’s for optimal reliability.
AD1000 was specifically developed for Miniaturized Circuitry for compact devices (i.e. GPS Receivers), Patch Antennas (where smaller size is required), Satellite Communications Systems, Power Amplifiers (PAs), Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), Low Noise Block Downconverters (LNBs), Radar Modules and Manifolds, Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS), Ground Based Radar Systems.
Additional information is available on Arlon’s website at www.arlon-med.com or you can contact Arlon technical support by phone at 800-635-9333. |
