PCB Tech - PCB printed circuit boards will be eliminated

In recent years, the consumer electronics market, led by mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, has grown rapidly, and the trend toward miniaturization and thinning of the devices has become more and more obvious. As a result, traditional PCBs can no longer meet the requirements of products. For this reason, major manufacturers have begun to study brand-new technologies to replace PCBs. Among them, FPC, as the most popular technology, is becoming the main connection of electronic devices. Accessories.

In addition, the rapid rise of emerging consumer electronic product markets such as wearable smart devices and drones also brings new growth space for FPC products. At the same time, the trend of display and touch control of various electronic products has also enabled FPC to enter a broader application space with the help of small and medium-sized LCD screens and touch screens, and the market demand is increasing day by day.

The latest report shows that in the future, flexible electronic technology will drive a trillion-scale market, which is an opportunity for China to strive for the leap-forward development of the electronics industry, and it can become a national pillar industry.

PCB (Printed Circuit Board) is used in almost all electronic products and is considered the "mother of electronic system products." FPC (flexible circuit board) is a kind of PCB, also known as "soft board".

FPC is made of flexible substrates such as polyimide or polyester film. It has the advantages of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness, flexibility, and high flexibility. It can withstand millions of dynamic bending without damaging the wires., According to the space layout requirements, it can move and expand arbitrarily, realize three-dimensional assembly, and achieve the effect of component assembly and wire connection integration, which has advantages that other types of circuit boards cannot match.

FPC can be divided into PI, PET and PEN according to the type of substrate film. Among them, PI cover film FPC is the most common type of soft board, which can be further subdivided into single-sided PI cover film FPC, double-sided PI cover film FPC, multilayer PI cover film FPC and rigid-flex PI cover film FPC.

Circuit boards are usually divided into two categories, one is rigid circuit boards and the other is flexible circuit boards. Rigid circuit boards are mainly used in household appliances such as refrigerators. Flexible circuit boards are light weight, thin, and flexible. Good and other characteristics have become indispensable components for consumer electronic products such as smart phones.

The FPC soft board was not widely used at first, and it was gradually popularized in consumer electronic products until Apple's large-scale application. Apple firmly supports the FPC solution, using as many as 14-16 FPCs in the iPhone, of which 70% are multi-layered and difficult, and the FPC area of the whole machine is about 120cm2; the amount of FPC in iPad, Apple Watch and other products is also All are above 10 yuan.

Under Apple's demonstration effect, Samsung, Huawei, HOV and other mobile phone manufacturers quickly followed up and continued to increase the amount of FPC. The number of FPCs for Samsung mobile phones is about 12-13, and the main suppliers are Korean FPC manufacturers such as Interflex and SEMCO.

On the other hand, in the field of smart phones, wireless charging cuts off the redundant charging cables, which is becoming a major trend in the industry. In wireless charging, FPC solutions have gradually become a more popular choice. Samsung and others have adopted the three-in-one technology path of FPC+NFC+MST (Magnetic Radiation Simulation).

According to the research information of the industry chain, iPhone 8 is likely to introduce wireless charging this year, and it is expected to adopt Samsung's technology path, namely the FPC+NFC+MST integrated solution. Under the demonstration effect of iPhone8, domestic HOV will certainly follow up to make wireless charging technology fully bloom. It is estimated that by 2019, only the wireless charging modules in Apple, Samsung and HOV can bring nearly 4 billion yuan in FPC increments.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, due to the industrial chain, labor and transportation costs, global PCB production capacity has gradually shifted to the Asian region. China's PCB production capacity has expanded rapidly, and in 2006 it became the world's largest PCB production base.

In the relatively high-end FPC field of PCB, capacity transfer is also taking place. At present, the ratio of local FPC output value to global output value is continuously increasing, from 6.74% in 2005 to 47.97% in 2015, and it is expected that the proportion of nearly half will be maintained in the future.