Flexible Durability of Ultra-Thin FPCB

Abstract

In this study, we developed an ultra-thin flexible printed circuit board(FPCB) using the sputtered flexible copper clad laminate. In order to enhance the adhesion between copper and polyimide substrate, a NiMoNb addition layer was applied. The mechanical durability and flexibility of the ultra-thin FPCB were characterized by stretching, twisting, bending fatigue test, and peel test. The stretching test reveals that the ultra-thin FPCB can be stretched up to 7% without failure. The twisting test shows that the ultra-thin FPCB can withstand an angle of up to 120 o . In addition, the bending fatigue test shows that the FPCB can withstand 10,000 bending cycles. Numerical analysis of the stress and strain during stretching indicates the strain and the maximum von Mises stress of the ultra-thin FPCB are comparable to those of the conventional FPCB. Even though the ultra-thin FPCB shows slightly lower durability than the conventional FPCB, the ultra-thin FPCB has enough durability and robustness to apply in industry.