Isola Group

Isola a global material sciences company focused on designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepregs used to fabricate advanced multilayer PCBs.

Manufacturer

Isola Group S.a.r.l., headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, is a global material sciences company focused on designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepregs used to fabricate advanced multilayer printed circuit boards. The company’s high-performance materials are used in sophisticated electronic applications in the communications infrastructure, computing/networking, military, medical, aerospace and automotive industries.

Isola’s investments in technology and Lean Six Sigma operational focus provide value to our customers through innovative and cost-effective solutions for the most demanding applications. Isola’s products and services are available worldwide from one or more of our 10 manufacturing and three research and development facilities located in Asia, Europe and the United States.

Isola Group Postings

1 product »

Tachyon®-100G Low-loss Laminate Material For High-speed Digital Applications

Tachyon-100G laminate materials are designed for very high-speed digital applications up to and beyond speeds of 100 Gb/s. Tachyon 100-G materials exhibit exceptional electrical properties that are very stable over a broad freq...

Materials

Tachyon®-100G Low-loss Laminate Material For High-speed Digital Applications

6 technical articles »

The Compensation Problem and Solution Using Design of Experiments for Dense Multilayer Printed Circuit Boards

Jul 16, 2023 | Wm. Gray McQuarrie

Imagine being able to accurately predict the correct artwork compensations prior to taking on a large quick turn order regardless of the board design, materials, or process. Such predictive power is possible and can be achieved without a lot of cost and complexity. This paper shows how small sets of designed experiments can be used to create a cImagine being able to accurately predict the correct artwork compensations prior to taking on a large quick turn order regardless of the board design, materials, or process. Such predictive power is possible and can be achieved without a lot of cost and complexity. This paper shows how small sets of designed experiments can be used to create a compensation model. Before a discussion of the design of experiments (DOEs), we will examine key processes and material variables that affect movement as demonstrated on real board design layout in a real production process. Only the few most relevant variables need to be included in the experimental design. A solution is presented that uses small experiments that provide the required information for constructing a general compensation model.mpensation model. Before a discussion of the design of experiments (DOEs), we will examine key processes and material variables that affect movement as demonstrated on real board design layout in a real production process. Only the few most relevant variables need to be included in the experimental design. A solution is presented that uses small experiments that provide the required information for constructing a general compensation model....

Material & Process Influences on Conductive Anodic Filamentation (CAF)

Mar 16, 2023 | Alun Morgan and Doug Trobough

HISTORY: * In the late 1970s an abrupt unpredictable loss of insulation resistance was observed in PCBs, which were subject to hostile climatic conditions of high relative humidity and temperature while having an applied voltage. * The loss of resistance, even leading to a short circuit was observed to be due to the growth of a subsurface filament from the anode to the cathode. * The term "Conductive Anodic Filamentation" (CAF) was coined....

Thermal Reliability of Laser Ablated Microvias and Standard Through-Hole Technologies as a Function of Materials and Processing

Dec 21, 2021 | Todd Young, Frank Polakovic and Michael Carano

High Density Interconnect (HDI) technologies are being used widely in Asia and Europe in consumer electronics for portable wireless communication and computing, digital imaging, and chip packaging. Although North America lags behind in developing process capability for this technology, HDI will become a significant business segment for North America. For this to happen, the printed circuit board shops will have to become process capable in fabricating fine lines and spaces, and also be capable in forming and plating microvias....

Conductive Anodic Filament Growth Failure

Jul 27, 2021 | Tarun Amla

With increasing focus on reliability and miniaturized designs, Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) as failure mechanism is gaining a lot of attention. Smaller geometries make the printed circuit board (PCB) susceptible to conductive anodic filament growth. Isola has carried out work to characterize the CAF susceptibility of various resin systems under different process and design conditions. Tests were carried out to determine the effect of various factors such as resin systems, glass finishes, voltage bias and hole and line spacings on the CAF resistance. This work was intended to provide information to the user on the suitability of various grades for specific end use applications. The focus of the work at Isola is to find the right combination of process and design conditions for improved CAF resistant products....

Making Sense of Laminate Dielectric Properties

Dec 16, 2020 | Michael J. Gay and Richard Pangier

System operating speeds continue to increase as a function of the consumer demand for such technologies as faster Internet connectivity, video on demand, and mobile communications technology. As a result, new high performance PCB substrates have emerged to address signal integrity issues at higher operating frequencies. These are commonly called low Dk and/or low loss (Df) materials. The published "typical" values found on a product data sheet provide limited information, usually a single construction and resin content, and are derived from a wide range of test methods and test sample configurations. A printed circuit board designer or front end application engineer must be aware that making a design decision based on the limited information found on a product data sheet can lead to errors which can delay a product launch or increase the assembled PCB cost. The purpose of this paper is to highlight critical selection factors that go beyond a typical product data sheet and explain how these factors must be considered when selecting materials for high speed applications...

Moisture Absorption Properties of Laminates Used in Chip Packaging Applications

Nov 29, 2020 | Gordon Smith, Nancy Androff, and Jeff Kamla

Plastic laminates are increasingly used as interposers within chip packaging applications. As a component within the package, the laminate is subjected to package moisture sensitivity testing. The moisture requirements of chip packaging laminates are related to ambient moisture absorption and thermal cycling. Printed wiring board (PWB) laminates, however, are gauged on properties relating to wet processes such as resist developing, copper etching, and pumice scrubbing. Consequently, printed wiring board moisture absorption test methods differ from chip packaging test conditions....

19 news releases »

Isola Achieves IATF 16949:2016 Certification

Nov 28, 2018 | Isola Group today announced that it has achieved IATF 16949: 2016 certification for our Chandler, Arizona headquarters and our facilities in Dϋren, Germany, Huizhou and Suzhou, China and Taoyuan and Yangmei, Taiwan.

ISOLA GROUP NAMES INDUSTRY VETERAN MICHAEL WHITE AS CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER

Jul 17, 2017 | Isola Group has named industry veteran Michael White to the newly created position of Chief Revenue Officer.

ISOLA EXHIBITS RF/MICROWAVE LAMINATES AT INTERNATIONAL MICROWAVE SYMPOSIUM (IMS) IN HONOLULU

Jun 07, 2017 | Isola Group, the leading global and local manufacturer of copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepregs for use in the PCB boards announces it will exhibit at the IMS Exhibition June 6-8, 2017 at the Hawai’i Convention Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Isola will display in booth #1008.

ISOLA EXHIBITS HIGH-RELIABILITY COPPER-CLAD LAMINATES AT DEL MAR ELECTRONICS & MANUFACTURING SHOW

May 02, 2017 | Isola Group announces it will exhibit at the Del Mar, CA, show May 3 and 4, 2017. Isola will display in booth #534.

Isola Names Jeff Waters President and CEO Former Altera executive to lead global dielectric material manufacturer.

Jan 17, 2016 | Isola Group announced today that its board of directors has appointed Jeff Waters as president and CEO, effective immediately. Waters succeeds Interim CEO Jeffery McCreary, who was brought in to enable leadership continuity after Ray Sharpe’s retirement in August 2015. McCreary will continue to serve on Isola’s board of directors, a position he has held since 2006.

New Impedance and Power-Handling Software Tool Facilitates Fast Conversion to Isola’s RF-Materials

Jul 30, 2014 | Isola is pleased to announce a free Impedance and Power-Handling Calculator that predicts the design attributes for microstrips and striplines based on the design's target impedance and dielectric properties of the company's RF, microwave and millimeter-wave laminate materials.

Isola Announces Conversion Service in the Wake of Global Shortages of RF Substrates

Jul 21, 2014 | Isola Group announced that its technical staff would offer a conversion service for PCB fabricators of radio frequency (RF) and millimeter-wave applications. This global 24-hour design review service will enable PCB fabricators to quickly and cost-effectively transition their current RF substrates to Isola's RF products and eliminate the production backlogs caused by the current shortages of RF substrates.

Isola Introduces Ultra-Low Loss Materials for 100 Gigabit Ethernet Applications

Jun 26, 2014 | Isola Group announced the introduction of Tachyon-100G laminates and prepregs, which enable line cards required to transmit 100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE) at data rates in excess of 25 Gb/s per channel. Tachyon-100G has identical electrical properties as its predecessor Tachyon; however, the Z-axis coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) on Tachyon-100G is more than 30% lower than Tachyon, making it more suitable for fabricating high-layer count, 0.8 mm pitch line cards with heavy 2 oz. copper inner layers.

Isola Launches CAF Mitigation Technology-Licensing Program

Apr 08, 2014 | Isola Group has launched a technology-licensing program to mitigate conductive anodic filamentation (CAF) problems in the fabrication of PCBs. This proprietary manufacturing technology, which is offered by ISOLA USA Corp. "Isola USA", reduces the number of voids in resin-impregnated dielectrics, which is a major source of CAF failures.

Isola Expands Production of GETEK Materials in Germany to Support European OEMs

Feb 18, 2014 | Isola Group S.à r.l. announced today that GETEK® laminates and prepegs are now in production at its facility in Düren, Germany, which will shorten lead times to Isola's European customers.

9 more news releases from Isola Group »

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