Arlon vs Rogers Laminate: Which PCB Material Should You Actually Choose?

Let’s get one thing out of the way upfront: this isn’t a question with a single right answer, and anyone who tells you “just use Rogers” — or “just use Arlon” — probably hasn’t sat down with a real RF stackup problem in a while. The Arlon vs Rogers laminate decision comes down to your frequency band, your thermal requirements, your fabrication partner’s capabilities, and yes, your budget. Get any one of those wrong and you’ll spend weeks chasing a performance gap that was baked in at material selection.

This guide is written from a design and process engineering perspective. We’ll compare the actual material families side by side, highlight where each manufacturer excels, and give you a decision framework you can use on your next board — whether it’s a 5G base station antenna, an automotive radar module, or a defense-grade phased array.

Why the Arlon vs Rogers Comparison Matters More Than Ever

Rogers Corporation acquired Arlon LLC’s electronic materials division back in 2014, which means technically these are now products under the same corporate umbrella. But the product lines have remained distinct, the material formulations are different, and the design community still treats them as competing options — because in practice, they are. Rogers and Arlon laminates have different resin chemistries, different fabrication profiles, and different sweet spots in terms of application fit.

Both companies offer PTFE-based materials and non-PTFE alternatives for RF and microwave applications. Both serve telecom, aerospace, defense, automotive, and satellite markets. But the depth and character of their product portfolios diverge significantly, and understanding those differences is what this guide is really about.

Understanding the Core Material Chemistries

Before diving into direct comparisons, you need to understand what’s actually in these materials, because the chemistry determines everything else: loss, Dk stability, CTE, processability, and cost.

H3: How Rogers Laminates Are Formulated

Rogers splits its high-frequency product line into two main categories. The RO4000 series — including the widely used RO4003C and RO4350B — is a hydrocarbon/ceramic composite reinforced with woven glass. Critically, this is not PTFE. That distinction matters enormously from a fabrication standpoint: RO4000 materials process like standard FR-4 using conventional epoxy press cycles, do not require sodium etch or plasma surface activation, and don’t need the special plated through-hole treatments that PTFE materials demand. This makes them dramatically easier for most PCB shops to handle.

The RT/duroid series (5870, 5880, 6002, 6006) is a different story entirely. These are PTFE composites — the 5870/5880 family uses randomly oriented glass microfiber reinforcement, while the 6000 series uses ceramic reinforcement. They deliver some of the lowest loss tangent values available in any commercial laminate, but they require PTFE-specific processing and are primarily the preserve of specialized aerospace and defense fabricators.

The RO3000 series bridges the gap: ceramic-filled PTFE composites that offer very low loss while benefiting from matched CTE across different Dk values — making them attractive for complex multilayer designs mixing multiple dielectric constants.

H3: How Arlon Laminates Are Formulated

Arlon’s high-frequency product line anchors around the AD Series: woven fiberglass-reinforced PTFE composites with a higher glass-to-resin ratio than most PTFE competitors. That higher fiberglass content is deliberate — it improves dimensional stability and reduces Z-axis CTE, which directly benefits plated through-hole reliability. The AD Series spans dielectric constants from 2.5 (AD250A) up to 10.2 (AD1000), with ceramic loading in the higher-Dk variants providing additional thermal and dimensional control.

Arlon’s CLTE family takes a different approach — ceramic powder filling in a woven micro-fiberglass PTFE composite, engineered for extremely stable Dk vs. temperature performance. CLTE and its enhanced variant CLTE-XT are among the best-performing materials available for applications like phased array antennas where phase consistency across temperature is a primary specification.

Arlon’s electronic substrates division (25N, 35N, 85N, and polyimide grades) targets the high-reliability and high-temperature markets with thermoset resin systems — these compete less directly with Rogers’ RF materials and more with high-Tg epoxy and polyimide systems used in aerospace, defense, and downhole applications.

Head-to-Head: Key Property Comparison

The table below compares frequently specified grades from each manufacturer at equivalent frequency bands, giving you a practical reference for design work.

Property	Rogers RO4003C	Rogers RO4350B	Arlon AD320A	Arlon CLTE	Rogers RT/duroid 5880	Arlon AD255A
Dielectric Constant (Dk @ 10 GHz)	3.38	3.48	3.20	2.97	2.20	2.55
Dissipation Factor (Df @ 10 GHz)	0.0027	0.0037	0.0032	0.0025	0.0009	0.0014
Base Resin System	Hydrocarbon/Ceramic	Hydrocarbon/Ceramic	PTFE/Ceramic/Glass	PTFE/Ceramic	PTFE/Glass Microfiber	PTFE/Ceramic/Glass
PTFE-Based	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Z-Axis CTE (ppm/°C)	~46	~32	<40	~16	~24	<40
Thermal Conductivity (W/m·K)	0.64	0.69	~0.30	0.55	~0.20	~0.30
UL 94 V-0	No (non-FR)	Yes	Varies by grade	Varies	No	No
FR-4 Compatible Process	Yes	Yes	No (PTFE process)	No (PTFE process)	No (PTFE process)	No (PTFE process)
Typical Price Relative to FR-4	5–8×	6–10×	8–12×	10–15×	15–20×	10–14×

Several things stand out in this comparison that most generic material guides miss. First, RO4350B’s dissipation factor is actually higher than RO4003C’s — which surprises people who assume “more expensive = better loss.” The reason is that RO4350B’s formulation was optimized for lower thermal coefficient of dielectric constant (TCDk) and better Z-axis CTE, not for absolute minimum loss. For applications where Dk stability across temperature is the priority — automotive radar, outdoor base stations, aerospace — RO4350B’s lower TCDk justifies the trade-off.

Second, Arlon’s CLTE is genuinely competitive with Rogers’ RO3000 series on loss and dramatically better on CTE stability. For phased array work where you’re worrying about beam pointing drift with temperature, CLTE deserves serious consideration against RO3003.

Arlon vs Rogers: Frequency Band Performance

Different applications drive you toward different parts of each manufacturer’s portfolio. The table below maps application frequency bands to the materials that most commonly serve them.

Frequency Band	Application Examples	Rogers Options	Arlon Options	Edge
Sub-6 GHz	WiFi, 4G/LTE base stations, IoT	RO4003C, RO4350B	AD320A, 25N/25FR	Rogers (easier fabrication)
6–30 GHz	5G sub-6, mmWave, radar, satellite	RO4003C, RO4350B, RO3003	AD320A, CLTE, AD260A	Roughly equal; application-dependent
30–77 GHz	Automotive radar, mmWave 5G	RO3003, RT/duroid 5880	CLTE-XT, AD255A	Rogers RT/duroid 5880 for lowest loss
77–100+ GHz	Automotive radar, imaging, 6G research	RT/duroid 5880, RT/duroid 5870	CLTE-XT	Rogers by margin
Wideband (multiple bands)	EW, phased arrays	RO3003, RO3035	CLTE, CLTE-XT	Arlon CLTE for phase stability

The general pattern: Rogers’ RO4000 series dominates in volume commercial applications below 30 GHz because of its FR-4 process compatibility and strong fabrication ecosystem. Arlon’s AD Series competes effectively in the mid-range PTFE tier for applications that need genuine PTFE loss characteristics without the premium pricing of Rogers’ RT/duroid family. And at the very high-performance end — applications pushing toward 100 GHz where loss budget is extremely tight — Rogers RT/duroid 5880 is the reference material that most everything else gets compared against.

Fabrication Considerations: Where Rogers Has a Clear Advantage

This is the section that often gets skipped in material comparison articles, and it’s arguably the most practically important.

H3: FR-4 Process Compatibility — Rogers’ Biggest Differentiator

The most underappreciated advantage of Rogers RO4000 materials is that any fabricator with a standard FR-4 lamination line can run them. No sodium etch. No plasma activation. No special PTFE press cycles. No transfer cooling press requirements. RO4350B and RO4003C go through conventional epoxy press cycles, support standard oxide and oxide-alternative inner layer preparation, and drill and plate essentially like FR-4. This accessibility translates directly to shorter lead times, more supplier options, and better pricing in competitive situations.

Arlon AD Series materials require full PTFE processing — surface activation, controlled lamination pressure (often exceeding 500 PSI), vacuum lamination, and careful handling of the non-adhesive PTFE surfaces. The pool of fabricators qualified to run these materials correctly is smaller, which affects both availability and cost. If you’re specifying Arlon AD Series materials and your PCB shop doesn’t have PTFE experience, you’re going to have a bad day.

H3: Sequential Lamination and High Layer Count

Rogers RO4000 and RO3000 series materials support sequential lamination — the ability to build a board through multiple lamination cycles with blind and buried vias. Arlon’s PTFE-based AD Series materials have limited sequential lamination compatibility. For high layer count RF boards with buried vias, Rogers generally offers more flexibility.

H3: Dimensional Stability and Yield

The higher fiberglass content in Arlon AD Series materials provides better dimensional stability than some competing PTFE products, but even so, PTFE laminates experience more dimensional movement than hydrocarbon ceramic materials during thermal processing. For high-density inner layers with tight registration requirements, Rogers RO4000’s dimensional stability performance — more similar to standard laminates — can improve yield in production.

Where Arlon Holds a Genuine Advantage

H3: PTFE Electrical Purity and Loss Tangent at Mid-Range Dk Values

If you need a dielectric constant in the 2.5–3.5 range and you want genuine PTFE loss characteristics — not a hydrocarbon ceramic approximation — Arlon’s AD Series delivers that at a lower cost than Rogers’ RT/duroid or RO3000 families. For applications like base station antenna feed networks, power amplifier boards, and combiner assemblies running at frequencies between 1–20 GHz, Arlon AD255A or AD300A often provides the best cost-per-dB tradeoff in the PTFE tier.

H3: Phase Stability — Arlon CLTE vs. Rogers RO3000

One of the most underappreciated Arlon products in phased array and precision radar applications is CLTE and CLTE-XT. The formulation is specifically optimized to minimize the change in Dk caused by the 19°C second-order phase transition in PTFE’s molecular structure — a phenomenon that causes a small but non-trivial “hiccup” in electrical properties that can throw phased array beam pointing calculations. Arlon’s proprietary CLTE formulation suppresses this effect more effectively than most competitors, including comparable Rogers products. CLTE-XT also boasts some of the lowest moisture absorption values available in any commercial laminate, which is critical for systems exposed to humidity cycling.

H3: The High-Dk End — AD1000 for Circuit Miniaturization

Rogers has the RT/duroid 6000 series for high-Dk applications, but Arlon’s AD1000 (Dk ~10.2) is a strong contender in filter, coupler, and power amplifier applications where circuit miniaturization relative to wavelength is the driver. AD1000 is woven glass reinforced — giving it better dimensional stability and mechanical robustness than pure ceramic alternatives while still achieving the high dielectric constant needed for compact circuit geometries.

H3: Polyimide and High-Temperature Materials — Arlon’s Domain

In applications requiring operation at sustained high temperatures — aerospace avionics, downhole drilling, semiconductor test equipment — Arlon’s polyimide grades (33N, 35N, 85N) have a long track record. The 85N in particular offers a glass transition temperature of 250°C with a thermal decomposition temperature of 407°C, significantly outperforming standard high-performance epoxies. Rogers offers polyimide alternatives but the depth of Arlon’s qualification history in defense and aerospace applications gives it a meaningful advantage in these segments.

Cost Comparison: Getting Realistic About Budget

Cost is always context-dependent — it varies by region, supplier, order volume, and the specific board construction. That said, some general patterns hold consistently across the market.

Material Category	Rogers Grade	Arlon Equivalent	Relative Cost (vs FR-4)	Notes
Low-loss thermoset (non-PTFE)	RO4003C, RO4350B	25N, 25FR	5–10×	Rogers has broader fab availability; Arlon 25N somewhat lower cost
Mid-range PTFE composite	RO3003, RO3035	AD320A, AD300A	10–15×	Arlon AD Series often 10–20% less expensive than RO3000
Low-Dk PTFE composite	RT/duroid 5880	AD255A, CuClad 217	15–20×	Rogers 5880 commands a premium for proven mil/aero heritage
Phase-stable PTFE	RO3003 (limited)	CLTE, CLTE-XT	15–25×	Arlon CLTE is the go-to for phase stability; Rogers no direct equivalent
High-Dk PTFE composite	RT/duroid 6006/6010	AD1000	20–35×	Both comparable in cost at this tier
High-Temp Polyimide	(Rogers polyimide range)	85N, 35N	15–20×	Arlon has deeper defense qualification history

The cost story is nuanced. Rogers RO4003C and RO4350B are not the cheapest materials per sheet, but their FR-4 process compatibility often reduces total board cost by lowering fab complexity, improving yield, and expanding the supplier base. When you’re counting the real cost — material plus processing plus yield — RO4000 series materials often come out more economical than PTFE alternatives for sub-30 GHz applications.

For applications where you genuinely need PTFE performance, Arlon’s AD Series often costs slightly less than comparable Rogers PTFE products at equivalent performance, which matters in volume production.

Application Decision Matrix: Arlon vs Rogers

Use this as a quick reference when you’re staring at a blank stackup and need to start somewhere.

Design Scenario	Recommended Choice	Why
5G antenna panel, sub-6 GHz, high volume	Rogers RO4003C or RO4350B	FR-4 fab, broad availability, proven performance
5G mmWave (28/39 GHz), cost-sensitive	Rogers RO4003C or Arlon AD320A	Both viable; AD320A offers genuine PTFE loss at competitive cost
77 GHz automotive radar, volume production	Rogers RO3003 or RO4350B	Tight Dk tolerance, thermal stability, broad fab support
Phased array radar, phase stability critical	Arlon CLTE or CLTE-XT	Industry-leading Dk vs. temperature stability
Satellite communication, mil-spec	Rogers RT/duroid 5880	Unmatched loss tangent, long qualification history
Aerospace/defense, high temperature	Arlon 85N polyimide	Superior Tg, proven defense heritage
Base station power amplifier, 1–4 GHz	Arlon AD255A or AD260A	Low loss, good value in PTFE tier for this frequency range
Prototype/NRE cost-sensitive	Rogers RO4003C	Widest fab availability, fastest lead times
High-Dk filter/coupler miniaturization	Arlon AD1000 or Rogers RT/duroid 6006	Both viable; AD1000 offers better mechanical robustness
HDI multilayer, 5G digital section + RF	Rogers RO4000 + FR-4 hybrid	RO4000’s FR-4 compatibility makes hybrid builds practical

Useful Resources for Engineers

Resource	Description	Link
Rogers Laminate Properties Tool	Interactive database for all Rogers material grades	rogerscorp.com/laminate-properties-tool
Arlon Microwave & RF Materials Guide	Full AD Series, CLTE, CuClad portfolio overview	arlonemd.com
Arlon Laminate FAQ Guide (PDF)	Comprehensive processing and application guide	arlonemd.com (Technical Literature)
Rogers PCB Fabrication Guidelines	Process guidelines for RO4000, RO3000, RT/duroid	rogerscorp.com (Documentation)
IPC-4103	Specification for high-frequency PTFE-based laminates	ipc.org
IPC-TM-650	Standard test methods for Dk, Df, and other properties	ipc.org
Arlon PCB Design Guide	Material selection and PCB engineering for Arlon laminates	pcbsync.com/arlon-pcb
Rogers MWI Calculator	Microstrip and stripline impedance calculator for Rogers materials	rogerscorp.com/resources/calculators
NW Engineering RF Materials List	Comparison database of Dk/Df across major brands	nwengineeringllc.com

5 FAQs: Arlon vs Rogers Laminate

FAQ 1: Is Arlon now the same as Rogers? Do I need to choose between them?

After Rogers Corporation acquired Arlon LLC’s electronic materials division in 2014, both product lines continued operating under the Rogers corporate structure. However, the Arlon and Rogers product lines remain distinct — different formulations, different trade names, different fabrication profiles, and different distribution channels. Engineers still specify “Arlon AD320A” vs “Rogers RO4350B” as different materials with different properties. The acquisition means you can purchase both from Rogers’ sales network, but the choice between them is still a real technical decision, not just a brand preference.

FAQ 2: For a 5G base station antenna at 3.5 GHz, should I use Rogers RO4350B or Arlon AD255A?

Both are capable at 3.5 GHz, but the practical answer for most engineers comes down to three things. First, fabrication: RO4350B processes like FR-4, which means lower fab complexity and a wider choice of manufacturers. AD255A requires full PTFE processing, which limits your fab options and typically extends lead time. Second, electrical: at 3.5 GHz the dissipation factor difference between the two materials is real (RO4350B Df ~0.0037 vs. AD255A Df ~0.0014) but in absolute insertion loss terms the difference per unit length is small at this frequency. Third, cost and volume: for high-volume antenna panel production, the lower loss of AD255A can improve antenna efficiency measurably, but RO4350B’s simpler processing often wins on total cost and supply chain reliability. For lower-volume designs or prototypes, RO4350B is typically the faster, safer choice. For antenna arrays where gain and efficiency targets are tight and you have a qualified PTFE fabricator, AD255A is worth considering.

FAQ 3: What is the main advantage of Arlon CLTE over Rogers RO3003 for phased arrays?

The primary advantage of Arlon CLTE over Rogers RO3003 in phased array applications is its thermal coefficient of dielectric constant (TCDk) — the rate at which Dk changes with temperature. Arlon’s CLTE formulation was specifically engineered to suppress the anomalous Dk change associated with PTFE’s 19°C phase transition, which produces a small non-linearity in electrical properties that can translate to beam pointing errors in tightly controlled phased arrays. CLTE-XT adds exceptionally low moisture absorption to this advantage. Rogers RO3003 is an excellent material for its matched CTE across Dk values in multilayer designs, but for the specific requirement of minimizing Dk drift across temperature cycles, Arlon CLTE is the specialist product. If beam pointing stability and phase consistency across temperature are your primary requirements, CLTE is worth the extra evaluation effort.

FAQ 4: Can I mix Arlon AD Series layers with Rogers RO4000 layers in a hybrid multilayer stackup?

Technically yes, but you should approach this carefully. Hybrid stackups mixing PTFE-based Arlon AD Series layers with Rogers RO4000 hydrocarbon ceramic layers face a significant CTE mismatch at the material interface. RO4000 materials have a Z-axis CTE around 32–46 ppm/°C, while AD Series materials run lower (typically under 40 ppm/°C), but the more important difference is the in-plane CTE and the mechanical modulus difference between PTFE-based and thermoset-based materials. The bonding interface between these two material classes requires careful prepreg selection and press cycle engineering. For the digital section paired with a PTFE RF section, a more common and manufacturable approach is to pair the Arlon AD Series RF layers with Arlon’s own thermoset materials (such as 25N or 25FR) at the hybrid interface rather than mixing with Rogers RO4000. Always involve your fabricator in the stackup design before committing.

FAQ 5: Where can I download official datasheets for Arlon AD Series and Rogers RO4000 materials?

For Rogers materials, all datasheets are available at rogerscorp.com under the Advanced Electronics Solutions section. Rogers also provides an interactive Laminate Properties Tool that lets you filter by Dk, Df, thickness, and application — it’s one of the more useful material databases in the industry. For Arlon materials, datasheets are available at arlonemd.com under the Products section. Note that since Rogers’ acquisition of Arlon, the Arlon product documentation is hosted through the Rogers-Arlon corporate structure. For fabrication-specific processing guidelines beyond the datasheets — including press cycle recipes and surface preparation guidance — it’s worth contacting Arlon’s applications engineering team directly, as the most current process documentation is not always fully visible on the public website.

The Bottom Line: Making the Choice Work for Your Design

The Arlon vs Rogers laminate debate doesn’t resolve to a single winner — it resolves to a decision framework. Start with your frequency band and loss budget. If you’re below 30 GHz and your loss budget can tolerate a Df in the 0.003–0.004 range, Rogers RO4003C or RO4350B will give you the fastest path to a manufacturable, competitively priced board. If you need genuine PTFE loss characteristics at mid-range Dk values (2.5–3.5) and have a qualified PTFE fabricator, Arlon AD Series materials often deliver the best cost-per-dB ratio in that tier.

For specialized requirements — phase stability in phased arrays (Arlon CLTE), minimum insertion loss approaching 100 GHz (Rogers RT/duroid 5880), high-temperature reliability in harsh environments (Arlon polyimide grades) — the decision becomes more specific and application-driven, and the right answer often diverges significantly from the generic recommendation.

What both manufacturers share is a deep product portfolio, well-documented fabrication guidelines, and decades of production history in demanding applications. The engineers who get the most out of these materials are the ones who read the datasheets carefully, involve their fabrication partner early, and right-size their material selection to their actual application requirements rather than defaulting to the most expensive option on the table.

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For further guidance on Arlon PCB material selection and fabrication support, see the resources section above or consult with a PCB manufacturer experienced in both PTFE and hydrocarbon ceramic laminate processing.