RF PCB performance starts with the laminate—and surface finish deserves the same attention.

Rogers offers different material options for different RF design priorities:
🔹 RO3000 series, including RO3003
Ceramic-filled PTFE materials for RF and microwave circuits. RO3003 combines low dielectric loss with stable dielectric properties across temperature and frequency, making it a strong candidate for radar, antennas and millimeter-wave applications. Higher-Dk options such as RO3006 and RO3010 offer additional design flexibility.
🔹 RT/duroid 5000 series
Materials such as 5870 and 5880 offer low dielectric constants and low dielectric loss, supporting microwave transmission lines, antennas and other loss-sensitive circuits.
🔹 RT/duroid 6000 series
Different grades address different priorities: 6002 offers electrical and dimensional stability, while higher-Dk 6006 and 6010.2LM can help reduce the size of RF structures.

Surface finish is part of that electrical design.
At high frequencies, current concentrates near conductor surfaces. On exposed microstrip and grounded coplanar waveguide structures, ENIG’s nickel layer can increase conductor loss. The impact depends on frequency, circuit geometry, substrate thickness and plating characteristics.

Nickel-free options such as immersion silver can offer lower insertion loss, while requiring careful handling, packaging and storage.
For an RF PCB, laminate, copper roughness, stack-up and surface finish should be reviewed together—with assembly and reliability requirements included.

Planning a Rogers-based RF board? Share your operating frequency, stack-up and fabrication requirements with ShinePCB to discuss suitable manufacturing options.

Originally published on ShinePCB’s LinkedIn company page: 2026-10-23.