Evaluation of very low bending radius of flexible circuits beyond the standard design rules

The Flexible Printed Circuits (FPC) used in high-end applications have some specific characteristics. It has a more complex build-up and must be compatible with repair processes. Moreover, they are used in harsh environment and long mission profile. Current FPC design are based on industrial standards, which propose design rules, such as minimum bending radius calculated from the maximum accepted copper elongation. This work is part of a large study focused on the development of a new generation of digital board solutions for electronic interconnection. In this paper, a finite element simulation study will be applied to FPC bending analysis beyond industrial standard limits. As a conclusion, we propose to consider the maximum copper strain and the bending shape for the minimum bending radius definition.