Innovative manufacturing processes and materials for affordable Transmit/Receive (T/R) module Production

GVD Corporation (GVD) proposes to develop low-cost, conformal, board-level environmental coatings for phased array radar T/R module boards. These boards must survive harsh environmental conditions for long periods, such as humidity, bias, temperature cycling, and ionic contamination. Such conditions can cause delamination and migration of the boards metallic interconnects. Water absorption by the boards can change their RF performance. Conventional hermetic packaging for T/R modules is bulky and costly, and low-cost non-hermetic coatings are preferable. In an effort to reduce or eliminate adverse environmental effects, GVD will develop its solvent-free, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating as an alternative candidate for board encapsulation. PTFE is an ideal material for this application, possessing both low dielectric constant and hydrophobicity for water-shedding. Unlike conventional PTFE coatings, GVDs PTFE coatings require no post-processing (e.g., high-temperature sintering), and are immediately ready to use. In Phase II, GVD will screen its most promising formulations using tests designed to simulate environmental exposure.