Arlon Laminates for Aerospace & Defense PCBs: A Complete Guide

If you’ve spent any time designing hardware for avionics, missile guidance, satellite communications, or electronic warfare, you already know that FR-4 isn’t a conversation worth having. The real question is which high-reliability laminate family actually meets your program requirements — and more specifically, whether Arlon aerospace PCB laminate products belong in your stack-up. This guide answers that question in detail, from the specific material properties that drive qualification decisions to the IPC and MIL-SPEC compliance path that determines whether your board ships or gets sent back for a re-evaluation.

Why Aerospace and Defense PCBs Cannot Compromise on Laminate Choice

A commercial product that fails in the field triggers a warranty claim. A PCB assembly that fails inside an aircraft flight control system, a missile seeker head, or a radar fire control unit triggers a very different kind of investigation. The entire qualification philosophy around aerospace and defense PCBs — IPC Class 3/3A, MIL-PRF-31032, AS9100D, ITAR — exists because the consequences of latent laminate failures play out catastrophically under conditions that lab benches don’t fully replicate.

The thermal environment alone disqualifies FR-4 from most serious aerospace applications. Standard FR-4 has a glass transition temperature (Tg) of approximately 130–140°C. High-Tg FR-4 pushes that to 170–180°C. Neither is adequate for avionic electronics that may see 200°C+ during lead-free soldering assembly, operate near engine compartments at sustained high temperatures, or cycle through -55°C to +125°C (or wider) in qualification thermal shock testing. Polyimide laminates with Tg values at or above 250°C handle that environment routinely. That’s the entry point for Arlon’s aerospace-relevant portfolio — and from there, the material selection decisions become much more nuanced.

The Arlon Aerospace and Defense Laminate Portfolio at a Glance

Arlon PCB materials for aerospace and defense work organize into three primary families, each serving a distinct performance tier and application category. Understanding which family addresses your specific constraints is the fastest path to a correct first material selection.

Arlon High-Temperature Polyimide Family: The Backbone of Military PCB Reliability

Arlon’s polyimide product line — covering the 33N, 35N, 85N, 85HP, and 86HP grades — represents the core of their aerospace and defense laminate offering. These materials are not new to the military electronics supply chain. They have decades of field history in avionics control systems, satellite payload electronics, down-hole oil and gas (a proxy environment for aerospace thermal cycling), burn-in board applications, and high-layer-count multilayer assemblies where via reliability under repeated thermal excursions is the critical design constraint.

What distinguishes these materials from commodity polyimides is Arlon’s IPC Qualified Products List (QPL) standing. Arlon is the only laminator to have achieved IPC QPL recognition across all three polyimide slash sheets of IPC-4101E — slash sheets /40, /41, and /42 — simultaneously. The 33N, 35N, and 85N are validated to /40 and /41. The low-flow prepregs 37N and 38N are validated to /42. The 85HP additionally achieved validation to /43, which is the most thermally demanding polyimide specification in the IPC-4101 standard. That qualification chain matters enormously to aerospace program managers and procurement officers who need documented, audited evidence that a material meets specification — not just a vendor claim.

Arlon Microwave and RF Laminate Family: Enabling Radar and EW Systems

Aerospace and defense electronics aren’t just about surviving temperature extremes — a large portion of the hardware budget in modern defense programs goes into radar systems, electronic warfare receivers and jammers, satellite communications terminals, and phased array antenna arrays. These applications require laminates that maintain precise, stable electrical properties across the operating temperature and frequency range.

Arlon’s CLTE, CLTE-XT, TC350, and AD-series materials address this requirement. CLTE (ceramic-filled PTFE composite, nominal Dk ~2.94–3.0) and its premium variant CLTE-XT (ultra-low Df of 0.0009–0.0012 at 10 GHz) are specifically cited for phased array radar and base station antenna applications. The CLTE series has been deployed in global communication satellites in constructions up to 64 layers — a multilayer capability that is directly relevant to complex aerospace phased array feed networks.

For power amplifier boards in transmitter subsystems, TC350’s thermal conductivity of approximately 1.0 W/mK (roughly 2–3× standard PTFE laminates) combined with its low-loss RF performance makes it the practical choice when junction temperature control and signal integrity coexist on the same board.

Arlon QM100 and Specialty Materials: Space and Extreme Environments

QM100 is Arlon’s cyanate ester laminate, positioned for the most extreme space and deep aerospace environments. Its near-hermetic properties and validated performance through 700+ thermal cycles from -55°C to +125°C make it relevant for satellite bus electronics, deep space probes, and other applications where outgassing, dimensional stability, and radiation tolerance are primary drivers. For most avionics and defense ground system applications, the polyimide and PTFE families cover the requirements adequately — QM100 is the material to evaluate when those aren’t enough.

Arlon Aerospace Polyimide Grades: Technical Specifications Compared

Understanding the differences within Arlon’s polyimide lineup is where the real material selection work happens. Engineers sometimes treat the polyimide family as a single interchangeable group, but the 33N, 35N, 85N, 85HP, and 85NT variants have distinct properties, IPC qualification levels, and processing characteristics that affect both design and fabrication outcomes.

Property	Arlon 33N	Arlon 35N	Arlon 85N	Arlon 85HP	Arlon 85NT
Tg (°C)	250	250	250	>250	250
Td (°C)	389	406	407	430	426
Z-axis CTE (50–260°C)	<3%	<3%	1.2%	<1%	Low
Moisture Absorption	0.21%	0.26%	0.27%	0.19%	0.60%
Thermal Conductivity	~0.25 W/mK	~0.25 W/mK	~0.25 W/mK	0.50 W/mK	—
UL94 Flammability	V-0	V-1	HB	HB	HB
IPC-4101 Qualification	/40, /41	/40, /41	/40, /41	/40, /41, /43	—
Reinforcement	Woven glass	Woven glass	Woven glass	Woven glass	Non-woven aramid
Primary A&D Use Case	High-flame-area avionics	Reduced cure time programs	High layer count MLB	Mission-critical, deep space	Lightweight, HDI, flex-adjacent

A few observations worth calling out from this table. The 33N’s V-0 flammability rating makes it the default choice where FAR 25.853 compliance (aircraft flame propagation) is a hard requirement — which covers essentially all commercial aviation electronics and most military aircraft interiors. The 35N offers V-1 with the advantage of a reduced cure time, which matters for high-volume production runs where press time is a cost driver.

The 85N and 85HP differ in ways that show up most clearly in demanding sequential lamination applications. The 85HP’s Z-axis CTE of less than 1% between 50°C and 260°C — validated by IPC testing at 300°C time-to-delamination (withstanding more than 60 minutes versus the /43 specification requirement of just 5 minutes) — makes it the correct choice for high-layer-count military multilayers using multiple sub-lamination cycles. Its thermal conductivity of 0.50 W/mK is approximately double that of standard polyimide, which matters for dense boards with significant internal power dissipation. The 85NT trades moisture absorption performance for the dimensional stability and light weight of its aramid reinforcement — relevant for navigation system boards where weight reduction and HDI capability are valued.

Arlon Microwave Laminates for Defense RF Applications

The radar, EW, and communications hardware that constitutes a large fraction of defense program electronics spending requires laminates where the electrical specification is the primary driver. Here’s how the relevant Arlon materials compare against the most common competing choice (Rogers RO4350B) for defense RF work:

Property	Arlon CLTE	Arlon CLTE-XT	Arlon TC350	Rogers RO4350B
Dk @ 10 GHz	2.94–3.0	2.94	~3.5	3.48
Df @ 10 GHz	~0.0025	0.0009–0.0012	~0.004	0.0037
Thermal Conductivity	~0.42 W/mK	~0.42 W/mK	~1.0 W/mK	0.69 W/mK
TCDk (temp. stability of Dk)	Very low	Near zero	Low	Low
Moisture Absorption	<0.1%	<0.02%	Low	0.06%
Z-axis CTE Reliability	Good	Best in class	Good	Excellent
Max Multilayer Count	High (64L satellite-rated)	High	Moderate	Very high
Defense RF Application	Phased array, satcom	mmWave radar, EW	PA boards, RRU	General RF infrastructure

CLTE-XT’s near-zero moisture absorption (below 0.02%) is particularly relevant for outdoor and airborne defense hardware. Field-deployed radar systems and aircraft-mounted antenna assemblies see precipitation, condensation, and wide humidity variation throughout their service life. A laminate that absorbs moisture shifts its effective Dk, which changes impedance-sensitive structures like feed networks, power dividers, and filter circuits. CLTE-XT removes that variable from your environmental sensitivity budget in a way that most competing materials cannot match.

Mapping Arlon Materials to Specific Aerospace and Defense Hardware Categories

Avionics Flight Control and Navigation Systems

The core requirement for flight control computer boards and inertial navigation system electronics is thermal reliability over a long service life — typically 15–25 years for commercial aviation hardware and potentially longer for military platforms. These systems cycle through ground-to-flight temperature transitions repeatedly, accumulating thousands of thermal excursions over their installed life.

For this category, Arlon 85N and 85HP are the natural starting points. The 85N has the longer field history in avionics multilayer applications and is widely familiar to aerospace-certified fabricators. The 85HP is the correct choice when the board design involves sequential lamination (common in high-density HDI avionics boards), thick copper internal planes for power distribution, or layer counts above 20 where Z-axis expansion stress on plated through holes becomes a via reliability risk that cannot be managed by design alone.

The V-0 rating of the 33N is the specification to reach for when the assembly must meet FAR 25.853 for installed aircraft electronics — not just board-level fire resistance, but system-level flame propagation compliance.

Radar and Electronic Warfare RF Boards

Phased array radar front ends and electronic warfare receivers represent the most technically demanding RF design work in the defense electronics space. A modern AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar integrates hundreds to thousands of transmit/receive (T/R) modules, each built around high-frequency PCBs where Dk stability across temperature directly determines beam pointing accuracy.

CLTE-XT is Arlon’s highest-performance material for this application. Its near-zero TCDk means that the electrical length of feed lines in the antenna array does not change meaningfully with temperature — which is the primary mechanism by which a phased array antenna maintains its calibrated beam direction across the operating temperature range. For a system operating at X-band (8–12 GHz) with 1,024 elements, a Dk shift of 0.5% at temperature extremes causes measurable beam squint that degrades radar resolution and detection probability.

For electronic warfare receiver and jammer boards where insertion loss budget is tight and operating frequencies reach into Ka band (26.5–40 GHz), CLTE-XT’s Df of 0.0009–0.0012 delivers the lowest available dielectric loss in Arlon’s portfolio. At these frequencies, even the difference between Df 0.001 and Df 0.003 over a 15 cm transmission line is a meaningful fraction of your link margin.

Missile Guidance and Seeker Electronics

Missile seeker electronics face a combination of requirements that tests every material in the selection process simultaneously: extreme mechanical shock and vibration during launch and flight, wide operating temperature range, and in some cases high radiation exposure in the terminal guidance phase.

The key laminate properties for this application are high Tg (surviving processing and any sustained high-temperature exposure), low Z-axis CTE (maintaining via integrity through shock-induced thermal spikes), and mechanical robustness under the high-G launch environment. Arlon 85HP addresses all three with its validated Z-axis CTE below 1% and its decomposition temperature of 430°C — the highest Td in Arlon’s polyimide portfolio, which provides margin against the brief thermal spikes that seeker electronics can experience in flight.

The 85NT variant with its aramid reinforcement offers a path to lighter-weight boards where the reduced mass of the aramid substrate (compared to glass-reinforced polyimide) contributes to meeting weight budget constraints — relevant in a missile airframe where every gram counts against performance.

Satellite and Space Electronics

Space electronics introduce outgassing requirements that have no equivalent in terrestrial applications. Materials that release volatile compounds in the vacuum of space deposit contamination on optical surfaces, sensor windows, and solar panels — a failure mode that is irreversible once the satellite is on orbit.

Arlon QM100 cyanate ester laminates are qualified for space applications specifically because cyanate ester resin systems have very low outgassing characteristics compared to standard polyimides and epoxies. Combined with near-hermetic void structure and validated performance through 700+ thermal cycles from -55°C to +125°C, QM100 addresses the space electronics requirement set that standard polyimides do not fully satisfy.

For the RF and microwave subsystems aboard satellites — frequency converters, amplifier chains, beacon transmitters — the CLTE series has a proven track record in multilayer satellite microwave board construction at layer counts up to 64. The thermal stability of CLTE’s Dk through the wide temperature excursions of orbital operation maintains frequency accuracy in satellite communications payloads without active tuning compensation.

Compliance, Qualification, and Supply Chain Considerations

IPC-4101 Qualification: What Arlon’s QPL Listing Means in Practice

When a defense program office, prime contractor, or aerospace OEM specifies IPC-4101 compliance for their laminate, they are referencing a formal qualification process administered by IPC Validation Services. Being on the QPL is not a marketing claim — it requires submission of physical test samples, independent testing against defined acceptance criteria, and documented traceability back to the manufacturing facility.

Arlon is the only polyimide laminate manufacturer that holds QPL recognition across IPC-4101E slash sheets /40, /41, and /42 simultaneously, and has extended that to /43 for the 85HP. This matters specifically on programs where the BOM note reads “IPC-4101/40 or /41 qualified material” — Arlon 33N, 35N, and 85N are directly callable against that specification without waiver.

The requalification process Arlon has gone through periodically reinforces that their production material continues to meet the original qualification data. For supply chain managers on long-duration programs, that ongoing qualification discipline is as important as the initial QPL listing.

Understanding the MIL-SPEC Stack for Aerospace PCBs

Material qualification is only one layer of the compliance picture. The board fabricator must also meet performance specifications that govern how that material is processed. The relevant MIL-PRF standards for aerospace and defense PCBs are:

Standard	Scope	Relevance to Arlon Laminate Selection
MIL-PRF-31032	All rigid and flex PCBs for defense	Requires IPC-4101 compliant base material
MIL-PRF-55110	Legacy rigid boards (still required by existing programs)	Arlon polyimides meet base material requirements
MIL-PRF-50884	Flexible and rigid-flex PCBs	Arlon 38N (low-flow prepreg) used in flex-rigid constructions
IPC-6012 Class 3/3A	Acceptance criteria for rigid boards	Laminate selection is upstream; Arlon materials support Class 3 fabrication
IPC-6012ES Addendum	Space and military avionics addendum	Requires Arlon 85HP/QM100 tier materials for most applications
AS9100D	Aerospace QMS (fabricator requirement)	Arlon materials must be sourced from AS9100D qualified supply chain

One nuance worth calling out: MIL-PRF-31032 qualification belongs to the PCB fabricator, not the laminate supplier. Arlon’s role is to supply a base material that meets IPC-4101 specification so that the fabricator can build boards that comply with MIL-PRF. The two qualifications are independent but both necessary. When selecting a fabricator for Arlon-based aerospace boards, confirm their MIL-PRF-31032 DLA approval scope and verify it covers the specific board technology (layer count, via type, feature size) your design requires.

ITAR Considerations for Arlon Material Sourcing

Arlon Electronic Materials Division is a U.S.-based, veteran-owned manufacturer with domestic production facilities. For defense programs under ITAR jurisdiction, this domestic manufacturing base is a supply chain qualification advantage — the material traceability chain stays within U.S. borders without requiring ITAR export licensing for the raw laminate.

Defense programs that specify “domestic source” requirements for base materials can call out Arlon as a qualified supplier without the foreign source justification documentation that would be needed for laminates manufactured in Asia. This is a practical procurement consideration that often gets less attention in technical material selection discussions than it deserves.

Processing Arlon Aerospace Laminates: What Your Fabricator Needs to Know

Material performance on a datasheet is realized — or lost — in the fabrication process. Arlon’s polyimide materials have specific processing requirements that experienced aerospace board shops know well, but that general commercial fabricators sometimes get wrong.

Cure Profile and Lamination for Polyimide Materials

The 85N requires a cure temperature of 218°C (425°F), with cure time starting when the product temperature exceeds 213°C. The heat rise rate between 100°C and 150°C should be controlled to 4.5–6.5°C per minute. Vacuum lamination is preferred for all Arlon polyimide materials. These are not suggestions — deviating from the cure profile produces boards that appear structurally sound but have compromised inter-laminar bond strength that will show up as delamination during qualification thermal shock testing.

Drilling and Hole Preparation for Polyimide Multilayers

Arlon polyimides drill well with standard equipment at approximately 350 SFM. For vias 0.018″ (0.45mm) and smaller, undercut drill bits are recommended. De-smear using alkaline permanganate or plasma with parameters appropriate for polyimide — the plasma preference for polyimides is well established and is the method of choice for high-reliability defense fabricators. Standard plating processes are compatible with 85N and related materials.

The practical difference from FR-4 processing that catches inexperienced fabricators is the pre-bake requirement: baking for 1–2 hours at 250°F (121°C) prior to solder reflow or HASL surface finishing. Polyimide moisture absorption, while lower than many materials, is enough to cause solder defects if moisture is not driven out before high-temperature surface finishing operations.

Handling PTFE-Based Arlon Microwave Materials

The CLTE and CLTE-XT materials require PTFE-specific lamination process knowledge. Inner layer preparation using plasma treatment or sodium etching is necessary for reliable PTFE-to-copper adhesion. Lamination temperature and pressure profiles for PTFE differ from polyimide and epoxy systems. For fabricators new to CLTE-XT, running process qualification coupons with impedance TDR measurements before committing production panels is a mandatory first step — not a nice-to-have.

Arlon Aerospace Laminate vs. Standard FR-4: The Real Performance Gap

This comparison is sometimes framed as cost vs. performance. It’s better understood as risk vs. mission assurance. The table below quantifies the performance differences that drive material selection decisions on aerospace and defense programs.

Performance Parameter	Standard FR-4	High-Tg FR-4	Arlon 85N Polyimide	Arlon 85HP
Tg (°C)	130–140	170–180	250	>250
Td (°C)	~300–320	~310–340	407	430
Z-axis CTE (50–260°C)	3–4%	2.5–3.5%	1.2%	<1%
Operating Temp Range	-40°C to +130°C	-40°C to +150°C	-200°C to +300°C	-200°C to +300°C
Lead-Free Solder Compatibility	Marginal	Adequate	Excellent	Excellent
IPC-4101 QPL Qualification	/21 (epoxy)	/24, /26	/40, /41	/40, /41, /43
PTH Reliability (Thermal Cycling)	Moderate	Good	Excellent	Best-in-class
Typical Aerospace Use Case	Ground support equipment	Non-critical avionics	All avionics, military	High layer, deep space, missile

The operating temperature range column tells the story most clearly. FR-4 in any form is disqualified from the environments where Arlon polyimides are specified. The discussion isn’t about which one is better — it’s about which applications require the performance that only polyimide delivers.

Useful Resources for Arlon Aerospace PCB Laminate Design and Qualification

These are the references that belong on an aerospace PCB engineer’s desk before the stack-up review meeting.

Arlon EMD Official Datasheet Library arlonemd.com/resources/#data-sheets — Download current datasheets for 33N, 35N, 85N, 85HP, 38N, CLTE, CLTE-XT, TC350, QM100, and the full aerospace-relevant portfolio. Always verify you have the latest revision before writing a material specification into a program BOM.

IPC Validation Services QPL/QML List for IPC-4101 ipcvalidation.org/qualifications/qpl-qml-list/ipc-4101/ — The authoritative source for confirming which materials are currently QPL-listed under each IPC-4101 slash sheet. Use this to verify Arlon’s current qualification status before citing it in a program document.

IPC-4101E Standard: Specification for Base Materials for Rigid and Multilayer Printed Boards ipc.org/TOC/IPC-4101E.pdf — The foundational laminate specification. Understanding the slash sheet structure and test requirements is necessary for writing correct material callouts in aerospace board fabrication drawings.

IPC-6012ES Addendum: Space and Military Avionics Available through ipc.org — Defines the additional requirements beyond standard IPC-6012 Class 3 for boards in space and avionics applications. Essential reading before finalizing acceptance criteria for any aerospace PCB program.

MIL-PRF-31032 (Defense Acquisition University Issuance) everyspec.com — The performance specification governing military PCB fabrication. Required reading for programs where MIL-PRF-31032 compliance is contractually mandated.

Arlon EMD Application Notes and Technical Guides arlonemd.com/resources/ — Includes processing guides for polyimide lamination, cure profile recommendations, and application-specific guidance. The “Everything You Wanted to Know About Laminates” reference is a technically dense but practically valuable document for stack-up engineers working with Arlon materials for the first time.

PCBSync Arlon PCB Material Overview pcbsync.com/arlon-pcb/ — Comprehensive practical overview of the Arlon material family with application mapping and selection guidance across the full product portfolio.

5 FAQs on Arlon Aerospace PCB Laminate Selection

Q1: What is the difference between Arlon 85N and 85HP, and when does it actually matter on an aerospace program?

In standard avionics multilayer construction with layer counts below 16–18, the 85N and 85HP will deliver comparable results. The 85HP becomes the clearly superior choice in three situations: sequential lamination programs where the board goes through the press multiple times (each cycle thermally stresses the Z-axis); thick copper constructions with 2 oz or heavier internal planes where copper mass concentrates thermal expansion stress on nearby via structures; and programs where the board will be operated continuously at sustained high temperatures (engine controller proximity, downhole-equivalent environments). The 85HP’s Z-axis CTE below 1% and its IPC /43 qualification — requiring less than 1% Z-axis CTE between 50°C and 260°C, validated at 300°C for more than 60 minutes — defines the performance margin between the two materials. If your program document calls for IPC-4101/43, 85HP is the only Arlon material that qualifies.

Q2: Can Arlon CLTE-XT be used in the same multilayer stack-up as an Arlon polyimide, and what are the bonding challenges?

Hybrid stack-ups mixing CLTE-XT (PTFE-based) with polyimide materials are technically achievable but require careful process engineering. The two material systems have different cure temperatures, different lamination pressure profiles, and — critically — different CTE values that create internal stress during thermal cycling. The adhesion between PTFE-based and polyimide layers requires plasma treatment of PTFE surfaces before lamination to activate the surface for bonding. The practical consequence is that most aerospace fabricators capable of handling this hybrid construction are specialty shops, not general-purpose military board houses. Before specifying a hybrid PTFE/polyimide stack-up in a military program, confirm with your fabricator that they have prior process qualification data for that specific material combination, not just experience with each material in isolation.

Q3: Does Arlon’s IPC-4101 QPL qualification expire, and how do I confirm the current status for a program BOM?

Yes — IPC QPL listings require periodic requalification to remain active. Arlon has gone through multiple requalification cycles and maintained listing across /40, /41, and /42 for their polyimide family. The definitive current status is available directly from the IPC Validation Services website (ipcvalidation.org/qualifications/qpl-qml-list/ipc-4101/), not from Arlon’s marketing materials. For a program BOM or approved materials list (AML), cite the IPC-4101 slash sheet and then verify the QPL listing at time of purchase, not just at time of design. A laminate that was QPL-listed when the design was approved may need re-verification at production kickoff if significant time has elapsed.

Q4: What surface finishes are compatible with Arlon polyimide aerospace boards, and are there any restrictions for high-temperature applications?

Arlon polyimide materials accept all standard surface finishes: ENIG (Electroless Nickel Immersion Gold), ENEPIG, immersion tin, electrolytic tin, and HASL. The one process discipline that matters for HASL is the mandatory pre-bake before the high-temperature solder coating operation — 1–2 hours at 121°C (250°F) to drive absorbed moisture from the polyimide. Skipping this step is how HASL-finished polyimide boards develop solder blistering or steam-induced delamination during surface finishing. For high-reliability aerospace work, ENIG and ENEPIG are the surface finishes most commonly specified — they avoid the thermal spike of HASL entirely and provide the solderability shelf life needed for long aerospace program production cycles. ENEPIG is increasingly preferred for boards with mixed BGA/wire bond assembly, which is common in defense high-density packaging.

Q5: How should an aerospace PCB program specify Arlon materials on fabrication drawings to ensure the correct material is supplied throughout production?

The most robust approach is a three-layer material callout: (1) the resin system type and reinforcement (e.g., “polyimide woven glass laminate”), (2) the IPC-4101 slash sheet (e.g., “/41” for 85N, “/43” for 85HP), and (3) the specific Arlon product designation as the primary approved source or in an Approved Materials List (AML) attached to the fabrication drawing. Calling out only the IPC-4101 slash sheet without a named material allows substitution by any QPL-listed product, which may or may not be desirable depending on program requirements. Calling out only the Arlon product name without the slash sheet reference creates a qualification ambiguity if the material ever needs substitution due to supply chain reasons. The combination of both — slash sheet plus Arlon product designation as primary source — gives your program office the clarity and flexibility it needs throughout a multi-year production program.

Making the Right Arlon Aerospace Laminate Call

The most common mistake aerospace PCB engineers make with laminate selection is defaulting to the polyimide they used last time without verifying that its specific properties align with the new program’s thermal, electrical, and qualification requirements. The Arlon aerospace PCB laminate portfolio is wide enough that a first-pass selection that gets you 80% of the way there will often cost you fabrication cycles and qualification test failures before the right material is identified.

Map your program requirements against Tg and Td for thermal survival, Z-axis CTE for via reliability, UL94 rating for flammability compliance, and IPC-4101 slash sheet for formal qualification. Cross those against Arlon’s QPL-listed portfolio. For RF and microwave boards, add Dk stability over temperature and Df at operating frequency as the primary electrical drivers. That systematic approach, applied early in the design phase before the stack-up is locked, is what puts the right Arlon material in the right program from the first build.