An Overview of Glass Weave Impact on mmWave PCB Performance

Concerns for glass-weave effect having negative influences on circuitry have been considered for many years. In some cases, there have been lively debates as to whether this effect was real or was fear mongering to support newly developed glass fabrics formulated to minimize the glass weave effect. Historically, it was the high speed digital industry that embraced several studies related to the glass weave and the RF industry initially did not pay a lot of attention to the potential effect. That was probably due to the fact the majority of RF applications were at microwave frequencies and the wavelengths were not really affected by the glass fabric geometries.

However, over the past several years, there have been a lot of new RF applications at millimeter-wave frequencies, where the small wavelengths could potentially be affected by the glass weave patterns. This webinar is a practical approach to the glass weave effect and specifically in regards to its potential impact on millimeter-wave performance. The following topics will be covered: • Basic overview of different glass styles and laminate constructions • Several potential circuit-glass configurations where glass weave patterns can impact RF performance differently • Other laminate influences that can be mistaken for glass weave effects • Overview of recent studies evaluating glass weave effects at millimeter-wave frequencies