What are Halogen Free PCB's and Why are they Important
Halogen free PCB’s are those that have very low or negligible content of Halogens in them. Chlorine and bromine are the primary elements that make Printed Circuit Boards toxic in nature. When boards made out of these materials are subjected to high temperatures, they release harmful gases in to the atmosphere. For a PCB to be halogen free, it should have less than 900 parts per million of chlorine and bromine and less than 1500 parts per million of total halogens in them.
There is an increasing demand for environment friendly PCB products in electronics industry as they are trying to reduce and eventually eliminate toxic elements. Since Halogens free PCB's do not contain these toxic elements, they have been in high demand.
Properties of Halogen Free PCB's
- They don’t release harmful gases into the atmosphere unlike halogen PCB’s that have high concentration of chlorine and bromine which are toxic for the environment.
- Adding Halogen flame retardant to the PCB increases the Dielectric Constant of the material impacting design targets and other design considerations.
- Halogen free PCB’s have comparatively higher rigidity and lesser strength of the laminate.
- They have lower machinability of the laminate that affects processing cost and via reliability.
What are the harmful effects of Chlorine and Bromine?
Chlorine is used as an antibacterial agent in bleaches and pools and as solvents for cleaning computer chips and circuit boards in electronic industry whereas Bromine is used as a sterilizing agent and as flame retardant in electronics components. Due to these reasons, there use have been kept persistent for so long. However, their harmful effects greatly outweighs the benefits.
On exposure to high temperature, they release toxic gases which leads to coughing, nausea, blurred vision, skin irritation, trouble breathing and burning in the eyes, nose and throat. Prolonged exposure can lead to unconsciousness. They even form deadly chemicals on combination with hydrocarbons. Hence Halogen free PCB’s were introduced to curb the impending danger.
PCB Directory has listed the leading Halogen-Free PCB fabricators and manufacturers and made them searchable through their location and capabilities. You can select the country or state to narrow down on local Halogen-Free PCB manufacturers or companies that can develop your printed circuit boards who are close to where you are located. In addition to this, you can also select the capabilities that you are looking for in a Halogen-Free PCB supplier, like - Number of Layers, Type of Board, board thickness etc. - We narrow down the list to show you the companies who can cater to your requirement.
