Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Industry Co., Ltd.(Headquarters: Kadoma, Osaka; Representative Director, President, CEO: Shinji Sakamoto) announced today that it has developed the high-thermal conductive film R-2400 for multilayer circuit boards.

In recent years, electric vehicles (xEVs) have become increasingly popular due to growing interest in environmental issues. To improve the energy efficiency of electric vehicles, batteries, power supply modules, and drive units have become even more powerful. This increases the need for power semiconductors such as SiC and GaN, posing significant challenges for the thermal management of equipment. In addition, weight reduction and the miniaturization of power supply modules and drives are required to increase the cruising range of electric vehicles as well as improve passenger comfort by expanding vehicle interior space.

Accordingly, Panasonic Industry has developed the high-thermal conductive film R-2400 for multilayer circuit boards. The film has achieved industry firsts in both high-thermal conductivity of 2.7 W/m・K and excellent resin flowability that enables the multilayering of circuit boards.

The new product mitigates the effects of heat generated by power semiconductors and can be used in multilayer circuit boards?something difficult to achieve with conventional high-thermal conductive materials. It will also be appropriate for use in component-embedded circuit boards and those with thick copper foil. These features contribute to the reduction of power consumption (electricity costs) of electric vehicles and the reduction of CO2 emissions because of their effect on weight reduction and the miniaturization of power supply modules and drives.

Panasonic Industry's High-Thermal Conductive Film R-2400 for Multilayer Circuit Boards has the following features:

1. The industry's first high-thermal conductivity of 2.7 W/m・K as a film product for multilayer circuit boards helps reduce the number of thermal management components.

By utilizing high-thermal conductivity technology that employs inorganic filler design know-how[1], the film improves the heat dissipation of the entire electronic circuit board, contributing to the heat mitigation of power semiconductors. This helps reduce the number of thermal management components such as heat dissipation fins and cooling fans, which, in turn, contributes to the miniaturization of equipment.

Figure 1 Comparison of thermal conductivity

2. The excellent resin flowability enables multilayering of electronic circuit boards, contributing to the miniaturization of equipment.

By designing the optimal balance of inorganic fillers and insulating resins, the film has achieved excellent resin flowability. This allows for the use of high-thermal conductivity materials in multilayer circuit boards, which was previously difficult in terms of circuit filling properties and insulation reliability. The product will also contribute to the further miniaturization of equipment in the future through the development of applications for component-embedded circuit boards and thick copper circuits. In addition, since the film can be utilized in the processing of general electronic circuit boards, it is expected to reduce the process load, with batch molding in combination with prepregs also being possible.

Figure 2 Superiority of R-2400: Miniaturization of circuit boards by multilayering (cross-sectional view)

Figure 3 Proposed other applications (cross-sectional view)

3. Certified to meet the UL-specified rated temperature of 150°C and can be used in high-temperature environments.

Panasonic Industry's unique resin design and compounding technology has achieved higher heat resistance of materials. The film can withstand heat generated by power semiconductors and can be used in high-temperature environments, including vehicle-mounted applications.

Please note that this product can be used together with Panasonic Industry's halogen-free glass epoxy multilayer circuit board materials R-3566D (certified to meet the UL-specified rated temperature of 150°C).

Suitable applications:

Multilayer circuit boards and component-embedded circuit boards used for core power supply components that require heat management measures (vehicle chargers, power supplies for railroads, power conditioners for photovoltaic power generation, inverters, step-up converters, and more)

[Characteristic table]

Model number: R-2400

Lineup: 100 μm, 150 μm