Computer Mushrooms in electronics
Ok …please bare with me on this one.
A research group from the Johannes Kepler University in Austria has developed a biodegradable alternative to some plastics found in batteries, computer chips, and PCB material. The material is made from the skins of mushrooms, more specifically, using Ganoderma lucidum mushroom skins to manufacture a substrate used in electrical circuits. Obviously, in our world of PCB board design and PCB architecture this is very interesting..
Innovations in PCB Substrates
A substrate is the base of a circuit board that insulates and cools the conductive metals sitting on top of it. known as a PCB – A Printed Circuit Board, where the electric flow is printed to connect the electronic components. Typically an electronic hardware designer currently designs and manufacturer these out of non-degradable plastics. PCB characteristic are traditionally formulated with PTFE, CTE, CEM, and a variety of other compounds.
Without going into too much detail here, as an example, Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS, (oh no not another acronym). A commonly known brand name of a PTFE-based composition is Teflon. So why is Total Board Solutions Ltd. mentioning this? In recent years, these materials are coming under scrutiny by health researchers because of evidence that this PCB material manufacture, and it’s disposal have adverse health effects, such as cancer.
PCB biodegradable material in board design
So back to mushrooms. Scientists have discovered that the mushrooms, form the compact protective skin made of mycelium, self produced in order to protect themselves from attack by other bacteria. ” So why should a pcb manufacturer near me be interested in this new insight?
Current information states that the mushroom skin is only marginally less insulating than plastic. It works effectively in electrical circuits, and has a thickness similar to paper. It has the ability to handle temperatures exceeding 200° Celsius (392° Fahrenheit), making it a good PCB substrate for products such as computer circuit boards.
The focus is on its properties as a fully biodegradable material, but can it be used in complicated multilayer pcb architecture? We can only wait to see, but it does not need energy, expensive or intensive processing to produce, so in the current state of the world, it has to become a necessity.
