Leading Japanese chemical manufacturing company, Kaneka Corporation, has introduced a super heat-resistant polyimide film for high-speed, high frequency 5G applications. Pixeo IB reduces the dielectric loss tangent at high frequencies down to 0.0025, the global best level for polyimide films. Dielectric loss tangent is the amount of electrical energy lost within a material. This was achieved using the advanced polyimide development technologies that Kaneka has accumulated over many years.
Pixeo IB is a super heat-resistant polyimide film with excellent processability achieved through applying thermoplastic polyimide layers on both surfaces of the core polyimide film. It’s used in two-layer flexible print circuit boards. Two-layer flexible print circuit boards can be made thinner than conventional three-layer boards, and also have superior reliability and dimensional stability. This polyimide film makes it possible to handle 5G millimeter wave zones, which can realize high speed communications. Kaneka started offering samples in October 2020, and expect a full-scale rollout of the Pixeo IB in 2021.
With the emergence of 5G-equipped smartphones, which are said to reach communication speeds of around 100 times of 4G, 5G models in the global smartphone market are predicted to spread rapidly from here on. With both the millimeter wave-supporting “Pixeo IB” and the “Pixeo SR” that handles sub-6, Kaneka will expand their line-up of 5G-supporting products and grow sales of these materials that help digital devices reach more advanced functionalities.
In terms of materials for supporting high-speed information transmission, Kaneka owns a high share of the market with the super heat-resistant polyimide “Pixeo”. However, Kaneka continues to provide a variety of solutions through different kinds of polyimide products. These include transparent polyimide film for flexible displays that acts as a glass substitute, polyimide varnish for a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) substrate, and ultrahigh thermal conductive graphite sheets.
