There are many types of electromagnetic shielding materials, among which electromagnetic shielding films are a major category. Electromagnetic shielding films are mainly used in conjunction with FPC products (flexible printed circuit boards). Electromagnetic shielding films instead of printing silver paste ink have become the main solution for FPC electromagnetic shielding, gradually expanding the market scale and gaining the favor of FPC manufacturers.
Overview of electromagnetic shielding film
Electromagnetic shielding film is used for the outermost layer of FPC. Due to the advantages of high wiring density, light weight, thin thickness, foldable bending, three-dimensional wiring, and other advantages that conventional rigid PCB boards do not have, it has developed rapidly in recent years.
Electromagnetic shielding films have also developed into three types: metal alloy type, conductive adhesive type, and micro needle type, of which the metal alloy type is the most widely used type.
Conductive electromagnetic shielding film is actually a layer of conductive adhesive added to the insulating layer, but the shielding effectiveness is low and the cost is high.
The metal alloy type covers the insulating layer with a thickened alloy layer such as copper and silver, and the next layer is a thin conductive adhesive layer (conductive particles with better consistency in diameter and size). The production process is mature, low cost, and high shielding efficiency, which is also the most mainstream at present.
The microneedle type is to cover the insulating layer with a needle shaped metal alloy layer, generally using copper, and covering a layer of adhesive (but unlike the metal alloy type, it does not contain conductive particles). The microneedle penetrates the adhesive layer to achieve electrical conductivity. Although the shielding effectiveness is also high and can significantly reduce insertion loss, the structure and production process are complex.
Overview of electromagnetic shielding film industry
The appearance of electromagnetic shielding film is used in FPC instead of printing silver paste ink. At first, due to excessive bending, it is easy to cause the silver paste to break and fail.
In 2002, Japan's Tetsuta launched its first electromagnetic shielding film, which began to be applied to flip/slide phones. Subsequently, in 2007, smart phones became widely available and began to rapidly expand the market by replacing printing silver ink in a large amount.
Although electromagnetic shielding materials have been developed for many years, especially electromagnetic shielding films, which were completely monopolized by Japanese companies before 2012, Chinese companies began to develop and gradually promote domestic electromagnetic shielding films to FPC companies. After 2014, the technology and market of electromagnetic shielding films in China began to start, and customer recognition gradually increased.
The reason why electromagnetic shielding films have received such attention depends entirely on the FPC drive. FPC is mainly used in mobile phones, computers, and other consumer electronics products, accounting for approximately 80%. Electromagnetic shielding film is one of the core materials for FPC to achieve electromagnetic shielding functions and ensure normal operation.
Automotive electronics have also begun to grow in recent years, requiring 100 FPCs for traditional vehicles alone, while new energy vehicles require 5-8 times as much FPC as traditional vehicles due to a large number of electronic devices. In addition, global FPC production capacity has further shifted to domestic markets. It is predicted that by 2030, global FPC production capacity will reach 38.7 billion US dollars, with China accounting for 72% of the total. The proportion of electromagnetic shielding film in FPC will increase from about 30% to 40%, The demand will increase from about 38 million square meters to 84 million square meters.
In the early stage, the market share of electromagnetic shielding film in China and the world were completely occupied by developed countries, mainly Japan. Up to now, there have been more than ten companies in China. Currently, the representative enterprises in the industry include Japan Tetsuta, Toyochem, GZFB Electronic Material Technology Corporation, SZKN, ZZ Group, etc.
In the past 10 years, China's electromagnetic shielding film technology companies have continuously increased their research and development investment to increase production capacity, and their market share has continuously expanded, which has greatly narrowed the gap with Japanese companies.