September 2, 2003
Furukawa Electric has recently developed and begun marketing two types of high-performance electromagnetic wave absorbing sheets for electronic equipment that are low-molecular-weight siloxane-free, "F-CO TM Sheet EE/EMI" and "F-CO TM Sheet EMI".
1. Developmental Background
With the downsizing and performance upgrading of electronic components, electronic equipment of recent date are urgently required to take measures against the increased heat and the electromagnetic noise that these components generate. Heat conductive sheets are used against heat generation, whereby the sheets are sandwiched between the components and heat sinks. Because silicone materials are generally used in conventional heat conductive sheets, however, low-molecular-weight siloxane contained in the material sublimates as the temperature rises, causing a problem of defective electrical contact in electronic components. To cope with the electromagnetic noise, on the other hand, electromagnetic wave absorbing sheets comprising magnetic materials compounded in plastics have generally been used. However, such sheets have problems of low heat conductivity in addition to poor flexibility.
2. Features of Developed Products and Marketing Plan
Addressing the problems mentioned above, Furukawa Electric has developed and begun marketing two types of siloxane-free electromagnetic wave absorbing and heat-conducting sheets with superior electromagnetic wave absorbing characteristics.
- F-CO TM Sheet EE/EMI has a standard thickness of 1 mm~4 mm, and features high heat conductivity in addition to superior electromagnetic wave absorbing characteristics. Thus, the product is suitable for various electronic equipment such as TV receiver, game machine and car navigating system.
- F-CO TM Sheet EMI has an extremely small thickness of 0.1 mm~1 mm, and is very flexible, so that the product is suited for compact mobile equipment such as handy phone, still digital camera and camcorder.
These products are based on application of the extrusion and rolling technologies for insulation tapes that the company has long fostered, which makes it possible to mass-produce thin and flexible sheets in spite of the high inclusion of fillers for enhancing heat conductivity and electromagnetic wave absorbability.
Meanwhile, "F-CO TM Sheet" (0.5 mm~5 mm), a heat-conductive sheet the company has already brought into the marketplace, has been adopted in large quantities in such applications as TV game machine, video equipment, automotive equipment, audio equipment, communications equipment, electronic equipment equipped with HDD or DVD and PDP, and its production volume is currently over 5 million sheets per month. We plan to sell 10 million sheets (100 million yen) per month by the end of fiscal year 2003, and 20 million sheets (200 million yen) by fiscal year 2004, strengthening the product lineup of entire sheets by launching of "F-CO TM Sheet EE/EMI" and "F-CO TM Sheet EMI".
Notes
Low-molecular-weight siloxane: Silicone rubber is obtained by ring-opening polymerization of low-molecular-weight siloxane using catalysts. Residual low-molecular-weight siloxane tends to vaporize adhering to electrical contacts, causing contact malfunctions.