Preparation of Hydrophobic Low-k Epoxy Resins with High Adhesion Using a Benzocyclobutene-Rosin Modifier

With the development of high-frequency communication, the miniaturization of integrated circuits (ICs) has led to interconnected signal delays and losses. The dielectric properties of epoxy resins are no longer satisfactory, because of the presence of polar groups. Herein, a benzocyclobutene-rosin modifier was designed and synthesized to reduce the dielectric constant of epoxy resins. The recross-linking network of benzocyclobutene inhibits the polarizability of the polar groups, and rosin skeletons increase the free volume of epoxy resins. Consequently, the dielectric constant of epoxy resins decreased from 3.12 to 2.72 and their water absorption decreased from 1.06% to 0.861%. The dielectric constant and water absorption are lower than those of most commercial dielectric materials. Additionally, the adhesion of epoxy resins was improved, which broke the contradiction between the dielectric properties and the adhesion of traditional epoxy resins. The modified epoxy resin was finally applied to printed circuit boards. At 15 GHz, its signal loss was 28.8 dB, which was lower than that of a commercial epoxy resin (FR-4), demonstrating that the modified epoxy resin can better meet the miniaturization needs of ICs.