LAMINATES: DK, DF AND TRACE WIDTH

What are the Dk and Df of Rogers TMM 10i?

Rogers TMM 10i has a dielectric constant (Dk) of 9.8 and a loss factor (Df) of 0.002 at 10 GHz, as published by its maker. A 50 ohm surface microstrip over a 0.2 mm dielectric comes out about 0.169 mm wide on it, against 0.353 mm on standard FR-4.

  • Dielectric loss on that microstrip is about 0.105 dB per inch at 10 GHz, and the signal travels at about 207 ps per inch.
  • Buried as a stripline between planes 0.4 mm apart, 50 ohms needs a trace about 0.028 mm wide.

50 ohm surface microstrip, 1 oz copper

Dielectric heightTrace width on TMM 10iOn standard FR-4
0.1 mm0.076 mm0.166 mm
0.2 mm0.169 mm0.353 mm
0.5 mm0.455 mm0.920 mm
1.6 mm1.52 mm3.02 mm

As published

PropertyValue
SeriesTMM
Dk @ 10GHz9.80
Df @ 10GHz0.0020
Thermal Cond. (W/m·K)0.76
Key ApplicationAlumina replacement, miniaturized circuits

How this was counted

Dk and Df are the maker's published values at 10 GHz, from the MPBxChange material catalogue, which keeps each source's test frequency and method. Where a maker publishes a range, the midpoint is used. Widths are solved with the Hammerstad and Jensen microstrip equations and Wadell's stripline form, for 1 oz copper, and are a starting point: Dk moves with frequency, resin content and glass style, and a fabricator's field solver is the authority. Standard FR-4 here is the median of 22 FR-4 grades in the catalogue (Dk 4.4).