CHANDLER, Ariz., Feb. 16, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Isola Group S.a.r.l., a leading global material sciences company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepreg materials used to fabricate advanced multi-layer printed circuit boards, today announced the successful completion of the beta site testing and internal qualification for I-Speed™, the Company's next generation lead-free compatible, low-loss, high-speed digital laminate product.
I-Speed joins Isola's UL family of High Speed Digital (HSD) products (IS415, FR408 and FR408HR), making it easier to qualify by fabricators and OEMs. I-Speed offers both thermal and electrical improvements over competitive products in the high-speed digital laminate arena.
"We have completed a number of field evaluations on board designs with our customers in Asia, North America and Europe that were used to validate the product's electrical benefits and thermal robustness. We are confident that I-Speed will address the performance gaps that exist today in the high speed and high frequency design space," stated Tarun Amla, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Isola.
I-Speed has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 180 degrees Celsius by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and a decomposition temperature of 356 degrees Celsius. In three separate Signal Integrity Test Vehicles designs, it delivered a 15 percent reduction in Z-axis expansion and demonstrated a 25 percent improvement in dielectric loss over some of Isola's existing products. These attributes make it an ideal product for OEMs demanding higher reliability and bandwidth for increasingly difficult designs.
In elevated temperature testing, I-Speed demonstrated the ability to withstand 260 degrees Celsius as received (i.e. without conditioning) after prolonged exposure to high humidity and temperature. Testing was performed on thick, very high layer-count boards with an extremely tight pitch.
Fred Hickman, Director High Speed Digital Products for Isola added, "We plan to offer the product at price levels very close to FR408HR. We are already seeing a lot of excitement and anticipation from the market based on the extraordinary field results."
I-Speed is currently being manufactured in Chandler Arizona and will ramp up production in Isola's Asian facilities. For more information, visit http://www.isola-group.com/products/.
About Isola
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 multi-layer 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. For more information, visit our website at www.isola-group.com/.