Application of PEI polyetherimide plastics in the field of 5G communication
PEI's excellent dimensional stability, high temperature resistance, electroplateability, and wave transmission make it unique in the field of 5G communications.
1: Optical communication
The significant increase in the deployment of 5G base stations and data centers, and the need for a large amount of data transmission to be interconnected via optical fibers, have brought new opportunities to the optical communications market. Since the optical communication signal transmission is mainly in the infrared band, the material is required to have high infrared band transmittance, low loss, and also need good long-term dimensional stability and weather resistance.
In the field of optical communication, PEI material is widely used in optical fiber connectors, optical transceiver modules, optical components. PEI material has good infrared penetration, with a transmittance of more than 88% in the 850nm-1550nm optical communication frequency band, and its high refractive index can remain constant with temperature and humidity changes, and can withstand up to 2000 hours of double 85 (85°C/85% humidity) harshness; At the same time, the long-term dimensional stability of PEI material provides reliable optical docking for signal transmission; PEI has high strength and high modulus and is used to replace metal fiber optic connectors, adapters, and other structural components, or to replace glass lenses for optical transceiver modules, which can optimize the structure of components, simplify their manufacturing and assembly processes, and maintain their dimensions, resulting in a significant reduction in the cost of the final product.
In addition, due to the high dimensional stability and high strength characteristics of PEI material, as well as very good weather resistance, it is used in the field of waterproof connectors of optical fiber splitters or base stations, which can meet the waterproof requirements of IP67 and significantly improve the long-term air tightness and reliability of the product.
2: RF connector
5G uses Massive MIMO technology. Each base station uses 2 to 3 antennas (AAUs), and each antenna can have multiple channels. Board-to-board connectors are used to connect the antenna board and the RF board, as well as between the antenna feeder board and the cavity filter board. Due to the significant increase in the demand for RF connectors for 5G antennas, the traditional use of thermosetting materials (PTFE) and mass production through CNC machining has become a constraint in the industry.
RF connector insulators need materials to provide good dielectric properties, low and stable dielectric losses, good mechanical properties, excellent dimensional stability for easy assembly, reliable mass production performance, PEI materials can meet the application needs in all of the above aspects, and have become the primary choice of RF connector insulator materials.
Whether it is for the traditional three-segment board-to-board connector or the pogo-pin design, PEI material can meet the needs of customers, reflecting the characteristics of PEI material that are superior to other engineering plastics in a wide range of temperature ranges, such as dimensional stability, stable dielectric properties, high mechanical strength, high melting wiring strength, temperature resistance, etc., providing customers with more stable product performance and reducing costs.
In addition to board-to-board connectors, feeder connectors are replaced by metal housings for DIN connectors, and PEI materials are widely used in traditional RF coaxial connector insulators and housings.
Phase shifter
PEI is also widely used in phase shifters, whether it is a dielectric sheet of a dielectric phase shifter or a PCB holder in a ring phase shifter, all of which benefit from the stability of PEI material's good size and dielectric properties over a wide temperature range, low dielectric loss, high mechanical strength and excellent resilience. With the gradual commercialization of 5G base stations and the pursuit of further reducing energy consumption and costs, traditional dielectric phase shifters or ring phase shifters will have the opportunity to replace chip phase shifters and be widely used in 5G ssive MIMO antennas.
To sum up, PEI has a wide range of application prospects in the field of 5G due to its unique advantages in heat resistance, dimensional stability, dielectric stability, and metal bonding compared with other engineering plastics.