Flexible Printed Circuits

Designing and manufacturing Flexible Printed Circuit boards is Mektec’s DNA. Our customized boards base on ultra-thin, flexible but robust, and light-laminated substrates. Chose from different base materials that best fit to your requirements and benefit from special features like translucency or ultra-fine copper structures.

The Basics

The basic version of a Flexible Printed Circuit board consists of polyester or polyimide layers and up to eight layers of rolled or electro deposited copper. An etching process structures the conducting paths of each copper layer. Plated-through holes and blind vias interconnect the individual copper layers resulting in complex circuits. Finally, a transparent film or printed colored lacquer protects the top copper structure against harsh environments and cares for electrical isolation.

Which material fits best for my application?

Polyimide (PI)

Maximum operation temperature of 150°C and excellent chemical resistance against fluids like cleaners, motor and gear oil and acids. Polyimide based Flexible Printed Circuit boards are fully capable for beeing populated with electrical components by reflow soldering processes.

Low reset forces allow polyimide to easily adapt to small and complex installation spaces and to tolerate dynamic stress without any difficulties.

Polyethylene Naphthalate (PEN) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

PET is Mektec's most cost efficient base for Flexible Printed Circuit boards. It features a maximum operation temperature of up to 105°C. Lowest costs make it the first choice for large-format applications such as antennas.

PEN provides a maximum operation temperature of up to 135°C. A high short-term temperature resistance offers brazeability.

PET and PEN have a white appearance and are visually unremarkable. Both materials are perfect for humidity exposed installation spaces as they absorb little amount of water.

Roll-to-Roll Production

Mektec is one of the most experienced manufacturers and was the first industrial company to mass-produce Flexible Printed Circuit boards. Not only our superior products and innovations represent our expertise, but also our production philosophy. We remain pioneers: whenever possible, Mektec relies on unique and customized production equipment and on cost-efficient and fast roll-to-roll production processes.

It's Not Only About Appearance

Various copper surface treatments at Mektec enable a multitude of further processing options or add important product features: gold- or silver-plated copper creates an ideal surface for subsequent soldering processes or wire bonding. A gold-plated surface is also resistant to heavy mechanical loads. For example, this makes it possible to use Flexible Printed Circuit boards in connection with sliding contacts. Organic solderability preservation or tinning ensure cost-efficient brazeability.

Ultra-miniaturized Precision

Mektec’s technology provides ultra-fine copper structures down to 30μm distance between two traces. To get a better idea: a human hair is twice as thick.

Please note that the shown Flexible Printed Circuit board demonstrates only about 70μm distance between two traces as it is difficult to compare our precise technology with everyday objects.

Improved Thermal Setup

Thermal resistance of conventional Flexible Printed Circuit design can cause heat accumulation around populated high-performance LEDs. Conventional insulated metal substrates may help but demonstrate a lack of smart features compared to Flexible Printed Circuits designs.

Mektec’s enhanced layers design improves thermal conductivity by up to 400%. This improves heat dissipation to the commonly used aluminum backplate. Thinner as well as chemically improved layers make our customers benefit from superior thermal performance while they enjoy all the Flexible Printed Circuit features.