Explain the difference between aluminum substrate and FR4 in one article!

Aluminum substrate is a material based on aluminum-based material, with isolation layer and other conductive layers plated on the aluminum-based material. FR4 is a fiberglass reinforced laminate, which is composed of multiple layers of fiber cloth and resin. This article will introduce the differences between aluminum substrates and FR4 from the perspective of thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, production difficulty, application range and thermal expansion coefficient.

Aluminum substrate is a material based on aluminum-based material, with isolation layer and other conductive layers plated on the aluminum-based material. FR4 is a fiberglass reinforced laminate, which is composed of multiple layers of fiber cloth and resin. This article will introduce the differences between aluminum substrates and FR4 from the perspective of thermal conductivity, mechanical strength, production difficulty, application range and thermal expansion coefficient.

1. Thermal conductivity
The aluminum substrate has good heat dissipation and its thermal conductivity is about 10 times that of FR4.

2. Mechanical strength
The mechanical strength and toughness of aluminum substrates are better than FR4, and they are more suitable for installing large components and making large-area PCB circuit boards.

3. Difficulty of making
The production of aluminum substrates requires more process steps, the production process is more complicated than FR4, and the production cost is higher than FR4.

4. Application scope
Aluminum substrates are suitable for high-power electronic products such as LED lighting, power supplies, frequency converters and solar inverters, while FR4 is suitable for low-power electronic products such as televisions, telephones and electronic game consoles.

5. Thermal expansion coefficient
The thermal expansion coefficient of the aluminum substrate is close to that of copper foil and smaller than that of FR4, which is good for ensuring the quality and reliability of the circuit board.

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