The 5G Enabled Digitalisation Revenues Will Show Growth Rates Upwards Of 20 Per Cent Until 2026

What are the opportunities and challenges that leading PCB manufacturers should be ready for, with the arrival of 5G? To find that out, Rahul Chopra of the EFY Group spoke to Erich Schlaffer, project leader research & development, AT&S, Austria. The excerpts follow...

EB: Is there a need to relook at manufacturing processes and technologies when making 5G (mobile communication) products?

PCB manufacturers will now need to distinguish between sub-6GHz and the 5G mmWave (above 28GHz) range. When we look at the sub-6GHz range, there is no big impact on the PCB manufacturing process. But when we look at frequencies above 28GHz, the impact of the losses generated by the PCB and the signal integrity have to be addressed by new materials and processes. PCB manufacturers will need to put in a lot of effort to reduce signal losses and interference, e.g., by optimising the dielectric layer with respect to the material (low dielectric constant) or thickness, the material transitions (interfaces), or also the copper roughness.