The Isola Group has announced the successful completion of Class 2 testing of laminate materials for Conductive Anodic Filament (CAF) resistance; the laminate materials were constructed with glass fabric woven at Isola Fabrics, a subsidiary of Isola Group S.à r.l. Within the scope of the three-year HELP project (an interdisciplinary team from industry and academia), Isola collaborated to develop reliable and cost-effective electronics for electro mobility-applications using high-temperature resin system PCBs and succeeded in developing CAF-resistant laminate materials. Electro mobility is the concept of using electric powertrain technologies, in-vehicle information, and communication technologies and connected infrastructures to enable the electric propulsion of vehicles and fleets.
CAF is a failure mode in PCBs that occurs under conditions of high humidity and high voltage gradients. The successful completion of Class 2 of CAF testing for Bosch is very promising for future applications for electric vehicles. The electrochemical migration testing was performed at 85°C and 85% relative humidity using a 100V bias. The test vehicle samples were produced at Schweizer Electronic AG and incorporated 120 via holes at a 0.65 mm hole-to-hole pitch using two different resin systems in a six-layer stack up and with glass styles ranging from 106, 1080, 2116 to 7628. Isola’s laminate materials exceeded the 1000-hour testing protocol with no evidence of any electrical issues or CAF failures. This successful test provides great insight for the development of optimal CAF-resistant materials for electric vehicle and other high-voltage applications.
