Reliability

Material selection for a PCB is rarely driven by electrical requirements alone. The operating environment — temperature, humidity, chemical exposure, thermal cycling — defines the boundary conditions within which the laminate must perform reliably over its service life. Choosing a material adequate for the bench but wrong for the field is one of the most consistent sources of premature failure in electronic assemblies. The Four Laminate Families # For the purposes of environmental selection, the relevant laminate families are: