Taconic Materials for RF & Microwave PCB Applications

Taconic offers several PTFE laminate series. The TLY series (TLY-5A, TLY-5, TLP-5, TLY-3) covers Dk values from 2.17 to 2.33 with Df as low as 0.0009 — equivalent to Rogers RT5880 in loss performance. TLY-5A (Dk 2.17 ±0.02) provides the tightest Dk tolerance in the range, useful for precision antenna designs. The RF series (RF-35 Dk 3.5, RF-60A Dk 6.5) covers mid to high Dk for RF modules and compact designs. CER-10 (Dk 10.0) is used for very high Dk filter and coupler circuits. Minimum thickness starts from 0.09mm for the TLY series.

TLY-5A (Dk 2.17 ±0.02, Df 0.0009) and RT5880 (Dk 2.20 ±0.02, Df 0.0009) have virtually identical electrical performance — both are PTFE-glass laminates with the same Df and similar Dk tolerance. TLY-5A has a slightly lower Dk (2.17 vs 2.20), which can be an advantage for designs requiring the lowest possible Dk. The main differences are brand recognition and price — Rogers RT5880 is more commonly specified in aerospace and defense programs due to its longer qualification history. Taconic TLY-5A is a cost-effective alternative for commercial applications where Rogers brand is not specifically required. We can supply both.

TLY-5A is manufactured with tighter process control to achieve Dk 2.17 ±0.02, compared to ±0.04 or ±0.05 tolerance for many other PTFE laminates. This tighter tolerance is important for precision antenna designs where the resonant frequency is directly determined by substrate Dk. For a 5GHz patch antenna, a Dk variation of ±0.02 causes about 30MHz frequency shift — acceptable for most designs. A ±0.04 variation causes roughly 60MHz shift, which may push the antenna outside its intended frequency band for narrowband applications.

Taconic RF-35 (Dk 3.5, Df 0.0018) has about half the dielectric loss of Rogers RO4350B (Df 0.0037), making it a better choice when insertion loss is a design constraint but you need a Dk close to 3.5 rather than the ultra-low Dk of TLY-5 (2.22). RF-35 is commonly used for RF antenna modules, communication PCBs and microwave circuits where RO4350B's Df is too high but PTFE TLY-5's very low Dk (2.22) would change the circuit geometry too much. Choose RF-35 when you need better loss than RO4350B without the impedance design changes that come with switching to a much lower Dk material.

Yes. All Taconic materials are PTFE-based and require the same specialized processing as other PTFE laminates. We use plasma treatment before copper sinking on Taconic boards to activate hole walls and ensure reliable copper bonding in plated through holes. Standard FR4 drilling and plating processes are not suitable for Taconic materials. Taconic TLY series is available from 0.09mm thickness, which requires careful handling during lamination and drilling to prevent material deformation at very thin dielectric layers.

Yes. Taconic + FR4 hybrid stackups are supported. Similar to PTFE + FR4 hybrids, Taconic layers require plasma treatment for hole wall preparation, and the lamination sequence must account for CTE mismatch between PTFE and FR4. Engineering review is included before production for all Taconic hybrid stackup designs to confirm material compatibility, lamination feasibility and impedance calculation.

Please prepare: Taconic material name and thickness (e.g. Taconic TLY-5A 0.25mm or RF-35 0.51mm), Gerber files (ZIP format), PCB stackup, board thickness, copper thickness, surface finish, quantity, impedance requirements and working frequency. For hybrid stackups, specify the Taconic material and thickness for each high frequency layer. Application details help us confirm material availability and PTFE processing requirements before production.