PCB Tech - FPC flexible circuit board industry development tracking

PCB printed circuit board (Printed Circuit board), also known as printed circuit board, is an important electronic component, a support for electronic components, and a carrier for electrical connection of electronic components.

Because it is made by electronic printing, it is called a "printed" circuit board.

FPC flexible circuit board (flexible printed circuit board) is a printed circuit board with high reliability and excellent flexibility (flexibility, flexibility).

Compared with traditional rigid PCB, FPC has the characteristics of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness and good flexibility.

COF coating film (Chip on Film) is a particle soft film configuration technology for driving IC (integrated circuit) fixed on a flexible circuit board. It is a bonding technology for packaging chip carrier chips and flexible substrate circuits using a flexible additional circuit board. Realize the purpose of high configuration density, weight reduction, volume reduction, free and complete installation.

COF flexible packaging substrate is a high-end branch product of FPC. During the chip packaging process, it plays the role of carrying the chip, circuit connection, and insulation support, especially for physical protection of the chip, improving signal transmission rate, signal fidelity, and impedance matching, Stress relief, heat dissipation and moisture resistance.

FCCL soft copper foil substrate (Flexible Copper Clad Laminate), also known as flexible copper clad, flexible copper clad, soft copper clad, FCCL is an FPC processing substrate.

In addition to the advantages of thinness, lightness, and flexibility, FCCL has a polyimide base film (PI film) FCCL, as well as electrical properties, thermal properties, and excellent heat resistance. FCCL is divided into two categories: traditional and follow-up dosage form three-layer soft board matrix (3L FCCL) and new non-follow-up dosage form two-layer soft board matrix (2L FCCL). The two types of soft copper foil substrates are manufactured in different ways, so the material properties of the two types of substrates are also different.

In application, the two types of FCCL application products are different. 3L-FCCL is used for large-scale soft board products, and 2L FCCL is used for advanced soft board manufacturing, such as soft cardboard, COF, etc.

PI film polyimide film is a new type of high temperature resistant organic polymer film. It is used as the main performance index of electrical grade according to general insulation and heat resistance. It has high elasticity, low expansion coefficient and other electronic performance grades. As a special engineering material, the electronic grade PI film used in electronic information products is incomparable with other polymer materials. It has high heat resistance/oxygen resistance, excellent mechanical properties, electrical properties and chemical stability, and is called "gold film" .

At present, the largest application market of microelectronic PI film is the important insulating substrate of flexible copper clad (FCCL).

The Tpi PI carbonized film prepared by the polymer sintering method belongs to the deep processing product of PI film.

Its excellent thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, electrical conductivity, battery shielding, and stealth performance will shine in the fields of flexible semiconductor devices, chips with efficient heat dissipation, flexible displays, and flexible solar power generation.

2

The largest application area of FPC's current output is smartphones that can reach more than 40%. General electronic products need to be equipped with 2-15 FPC products, while smart phones are generally equipped with 10-15. Among them, the leading Apple mobile phones in the smart phone industry have reached 16-18.

With the continuous innovation of smart phones, such as the popularization of dual-lens, OLED integrated screen, fingerprint recognition and wireless charging, the use of its FPC products will be further improved.

3

Global FPC exceeds half of Apple's demand. It can be said that the continuous innovation of Apple's electronic products leads the technological innovation and development direction of global FPC. In 2010, iPhone4 upgraded the mobile phone motherboard from ordinary HDI to any layer of HDI for the first time, starting the lightweight journey of mobile phones in 2014. iPhone6's fingerprint recognition technology opened the door to FPC in the field of mobile phone fingerprint recognition, leading the trend in recent years. Identify the growth of the FPC segment. The 2016 iPhone7 dual-camera and the 2017 10th anniversary version of the iPhoneX have upgraded unprecedented strength. The use of OLED screens requires flexible FPC display, wireless charging requires FPC, and the use of similar carrier boards requires FPC to achieve. It can be seen that every time Apple The technological upgrading of FPC has brought new market space for FPC.

At the same time, Apple is the main customer of the world's six largest FPC manufacturers.

4

The vertical division of labor in the flexible PCB industry is very obvious

That is to say, while leading enterprises in developed countries control key material technology, raw material supply, product development, design, marketing and brand operations and other core businesses, some production, assembly and other links are entrusted to professional factories in developing countries to form raw material production., Substrate production, chip packaging, and template assembly are independent of each other, with a professional division of labor system.

five

China's FPC manufacturing industry is developing rapidly. With the influence of industrial transfer and the continuous growth of China's electronic product consumer market, China's FPC manufacturing industry has developed rapidly. The domestic FPC market has exceeded 30 billion yuan, accounting for more than 30% of the global industry.

At present, about one-third of the enterprises engaged in FPC production and manufacturing in mainland China are foreign-invested enterprises, whose total output value accounts for about 80% of the total output value of the mainland.

Future application trends

1

Smart phone upgrades never stop, FPC development never stops

Whether it is unlocking mobile phones, changing passwords, or mobile payments, fingerprint recognition has unlimited imagination, and indirectly promotes the fingerprint recognition of FPC shipments. In recent years, the application field of FPC has become a relatively rapid growth of FPC.

2

Automotive electrification, automation and networking are the driving points for the subsequent outbreak of FPC. Automotive electronics has become an important trend in the automotive industry. It is expected that automotive electronics will account for more than 50% of automotive costs in the future.

3

Wearable devices are widely used in sports health, entertainment, sleep, smart home, life, medical, military and other fields, including smart watches, fitness tracking devices, smart glasses, smart clothing, medical equipment, earphones, hearing aids and other product categories.

4

High frequency FPC will usher in huge development opportunities

With 5G accelerated landing, millimeter wave, Massive MIMO and other technologies continue to innovate, high-frequency FPC will usher in huge development opportunities.