Polar Instruments’ Speedstack Materials Library extended to include new PCB materials from Ventec Europe

Citation

(2013), "Polar Instruments’ Speedstack Materials Library extended to include new PCB materials from Ventec Europe", Circuit World, Vol. 39 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2013.21739baa.012

Polar Instruments’ Speedstack Materials Library extended to include new PCB materials from Ventec Europe

Article Type: New products From: Circuit World, Volume 39, Issue 2

The Materials Library in Polar’s Speedstack PCB stack-up design and documentation system has been extended to include Ventec’s latest PCB fabrication materials. The extended Speedstack library includes new materials such as Ventec’s latest VT464 halogen-free low-loss laminates which support RoHS-compliant assembly processes. The new library will enable OEM designers and PCB fabricators to assess the impact of Ventec’s wide range of PCB laminates and pre-pregs on the cost, performance and manufacturing yield of high-speed, low-loss PCBs.

The extension of the Speedstack Materials Library is a result of close cooperation between Polar Instruments and Ventec Europe on the continued development of the state-of-the-art technologies and materials for optimising the design and fabrication of high-speed, low-loss PCBs. This combines Ventec Europe’s expertise in PCB laminates and pre-preg bonding materials with Polar Instruments’ knowledge as a global developer and manufacturer of signal-integrity tools.

With information on a comprehensive range of materials, Speedstack collates cost and supplier data with design criteria such as the dielectric thickness, transmission line or impedance specifications of different PCB materials. Using the generic materials in the Speedstack Materials Library allows stacks to be designed without specifying a particular material type or manufacturer. This gives PCB fabricators the flexibility to analyse the cost, performance and manufacturing yield for different materials and to identify the optimum materials for each layer in a PCB build. For OEM designers who prefer to specify and control the materials used in the PCB stack-up, the Speedstack Materials Library enables materials to be specified for each layer, and produces accurate and detailed documentation which can be shared at every stage of the PCB supply chain.

Ventec Europe’s products range from standard and high-reliability FR4 to specialist materials for lead-free and halogen-free assembly, as well as for signal-integrity and flex-rigid PCBs; Polar Instrument’s range of signal-integrity tools includes the Speedstack stack-up design system in addition to tools for transmission-line and loss modelling; impedance control and testing.