3M Boron Nitride Cooling Fillersfor Communications Infrastructure

As the 5G landscape evolves, new and innovative solutions for increasing signal transmission are constantly in demand. This is especially the case for copper clad laminates used in printed circuit boards in base stations and other devices. Unfortunately, many thermally conductive fillers exhibit suboptimal dielectric properties – including relatively high loss factors – that can interfere with signal integrity.

3M™ Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers address this challenge. Featuring a dielectric constant (Dk) of 4.30 and an extremely low loss factor (Df) of 0.0005 at 1 GHz, they can help you dissipate heat while enhancing signal-to-noise ratios and facilitating high-speed data transmission. They maintain a consistent loss factor across a wide range of frequencies and temperatures.

Many thermally conductive fillers are also electrically conductive. Additional insulation layers may be needed to avoid shorting adjacent circuitry and maintain electrical system integrity. These layers can drive up component size and cost while impeding efficient heat dissipation.

3M™ Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers provide high thermal conductivity and powerful electrical insulation in one package. They feature an intrinsic electrical resistivity of > 10¹⁵ Ω⋅cm with a breakdown voltage of > 67 kV/mm. This grants them far better insulation than other ceramic fillers such as alumina or aluminum nitride, minimizing the need for added layers.

Alongside thermal and dielectric properties, 3M™ Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers feature excellent processability to help you reduce wear and extend the life of your manufacturing equipment.

They are soft, non-abrasive substances with a Mohs hardness of 1. Usable in compounding, extrusion and injection molding, their high material purity facilitates reliable processing and application. Their low impact on viscosity can enable you to tailor polymer material viscosity to your precise processing needs.

In thermal management for 5G devices, less is more. With a low bulk density, 3M™ Boron Nitride Cooling Fillers can help you enable higher thermal conductivity levels – at lower compound densities – than mineral or alumina fillers. They can help you target precise thermal conductivity values while also reducing weight in your end application.