CHANDLER, AZ -- Isola Group has completed of the beta testing and internal qualification for I-Speed, the company's lead-free compatible, low-loss, high-speed digital laminate.

The developer of copper-clad laminates and dielectric prepreg materials for printed circuit boards said I-Speed, part of Isola's UL family of high-speed digital products (IS415, FR408 and FR408HR), offers both thermal and electrical improvements over competitive products.

"We have completed a number of field evaluations on board designs with our customers in Asia, North America and Europe that were used to validate the product's electrical benefits and thermal robustness," said Tarun Amla, chief technology officer. "We are confident that I-Speed will address the performance gaps that exist today in the high speed and high frequency design space."

I-Speed has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 180C by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and a decomposition temperature of 356C. In three separate signal integrity test vehicles designs, it delivered a 15% reduction in z-axis expansion and demonstrated a 25% improvement in dielectric loss over some of Isola's existing products. In elevated temperature testing, I-Speed withstood 260C as received (i.e., without conditioning) after prolonged exposure to high humidity and temperature. Testing was performed on thick, very high layer-count boards with an extremely tight pitch.