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PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes vs. Silicon

Compare PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes vs. Silicon strength, stiffness, weight and thermal properties.

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PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planesComposite
SiliconGrown single crystal
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Mechanical
Yield strengthnot given (tensile used)not given (tensile used)
Ultimate tensile strength246–385MPasourcethe bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane: cross direction .. length direction (ASTM D3039)130MPasourcemodulus of rupture (bending fracture stress); brittle, no yield point
Flexural strengthnot sourced130MPasourcemodulus of rupture
Elongation at breaknot sourcednot sourced
Young's modulus (stiffness)21.9–25.8GPasourcethe bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane: cross direction .. length direction (ASTM D790-15e2); the copper planes are left out131GPasourcetypical (single quoted value of an anisotropic crystal)
Densitynot sourced2,329kg/m³sourcetypical
Strength to weightnot sourced55.8kN·m/kg
Stiffness to weightnot sourced56.2MN·m/kg
Poisson's ratio0.171–0.177sourcethe bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane: cross direction .. length direction0.221sourcetypical
Shear modulus10.2GPa53.6GPa5.28x stiffer in shear
Bulk modulus12.2GPa78.3GPa
Speed of soundnot sourced7,500m/s
Thermal
Thermal conductivitynot sourced163W/m·Ksourcetypical at 313 K (40 °C)
Thermal expansion13–14µm/m·Ksourcethe bare laminate's (fr4-370hr), in-plane X/Y-axis, below Tg (IPC-TM-650 2.4.24C)2.62µm/m·Ksourcetypical at 300 K
100 mm part over a 50 °C swing67.5µm growth13.1µm growth5.15x less
Specific heatnot sourced732J/kg·Ksourcetypical
Heats up and cools (diffusivity)not sourced95.6mm²/s
Thermal shock resistancenot sourced48,095W/m
Melting pointnot sourced1,412°Csourcetypical
Max service temperaturenot sourced300°Csourceproducer's maximum application temperature (optical components)
Values forA whole circuit board read as one orthotropic plate: the JEDEC high-K thermal test board (JESD51-7, "2s2p"), 0.062 in (1.575 mm) thick with two internal solid copper planes 0.0014 in (1 oz) thick, as Texas Instruments SZZA017A Table 1 gives it. Copper C110 and the Isola 370HR laminate from this library; the layers conduct in parallel along the board and in series through it (boardStackup.ts). Its two 0.0028 in trace layers cover little of the board and are left out; vias are ignored. Mechanical values are the bare laminate's.Synthetic single-crystal silicon (cubic, diamond structure), Korth Kristalle (crystal grower) material data; Korth usually supplies Floating Zone (FZ) material, Czochralski (Cz) also offered. Silicon is elastically anisotropic; the producer quotes one modulus and the solver is isotropic.

Every value links to the document that states it. "Not sourced" means no citable source states it (or only a specification minimum); figures computed from it are left out too.

Questions

Is PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes stronger than Silicon?

PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes is stronger: its tensile strength is 315 MPa against 130 MPa for Silicon (2.43x).

Which is stiffer, PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes or Silicon?

Silicon is stiffer: Young's modulus 131 GPa against 23.9 GPa for PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes, so the same part in Silicon deflects less under the same load.

Which expands less with temperature?

Silicon expands less: 2.62 µm/m·K against 13.5 µm/m·K for PCB Board FR-4, 2 copper planes.

Among 73 materials

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Stiffness against density
1k10k101001kDensity (kg/m³)Yield strength (MPa)Plastic PLAPlastic PETGPlastic ABSPlastic TPUPlastic NylonRubberAluminumSteelIronTitaniumSteel AISI 1018Stainless Steel 304Stainless Steel 316Aluminum 6061-T6Aluminum 7075-T6Brass C360Copper C110GlassSteel AISI 1045Steel AISI 4340Steel A992Stainless Steel 303Stainless Steel 17-4PHAluminum 2024-T351Aluminum 5052-H32Aluminum 7050-T7451Titanium Ti-6Al-4VBrass C260Nickel Inconel 718Magnesium AZ31B-H24Zinc Zamak 3Plastic ABS (bulk/injection)Plastic PolycarbonatePlastic POM/AcetalPlastic Nylon PA6Plastic Nylon PA66Plastic PEEKPlastic PTFEPlastic UHMWPEPlastic HDPEPlastic PolypropylenePlastic PMMAFDM ASAFDM PolycarbonateFDM PAHT-CFFDM HIPSSLA Resin Tough 2000SLA Resin Elastic 50ASLS PA12 NylonDMLS AlSi10Mg AluminumDMLS Ti-6Al-4V ELI TitaniumDMLS 316L Stainless SteelDMLS 17-4PH Stainless SteelBrickPCB Laminate FR-4Ceramic Alumina 96%Aluminum A380Aluminum 6063-T6Aluminum 1100-OAluminum ADC12Magnesium AZ91DSolder SAC305Plastic PBT GF30Plastic PPS GF40Plastic LCP GF30Silicon
Strength against density

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