Circuit board for use at 5G frequencies

1. A laminate for use in a circuit board, the laminate comprising:

a conductive layer; and

a film positioned adjacent to the conductive layer, wherein the film comprises a polymer composition that includes a polymer matrix comprising a liquid crystalline polymer and a hydrophobic material distributed throughout the polymer matrix, wherein the polymer composition exhibits a dielectric constant of about 5 or less and dissipation factor of about 0.05 or less at a frequency of 10 GHz, wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid in an amount of about 30 mol. % or more.

2. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the film is positioned between two conductive layers.

3. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the film has a thickness of about 500 micrometers or less.

4. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the film is formed by melt-extruding the polymer composition onto the conductive layer.

5. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the conductive layer comprises copper or an alloy thereof.

6. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the polymer composition has a melting temperature of from about 200° C. to about 400° C.

7. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein liquid crystalline polymers constitute from about 40 wt. % to about 99 wt. % of the polymer composition.

8. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from one or more aromatic dicarboxylic acids.

9. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline further comprises repeating units derived from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid.

10. The laminate of claim 8 , wherein the aromatic hydroxycarboxylic acids include terephthalic acid, isophthalic acid, 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid, or a combination thereof.

11. The laminate of claim 8 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer further contains repeating units derived from one or more aromatic diols.

12. The laminate of claim 11 , wherein the aromatic diols include hydroquinone, 4,4′-biphenol, or a combination thereof.

13. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer is wholly aromatic.

14. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid in an amount of about 50 mol. % or more.

15. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid in an amount of about 70 mol. % or more.

16. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid in a molar ratio of from about 0.1 to about 40.

17. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid in a molar ratio of from about 1 to about 5.

18. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer contains repeating units derived from 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid in an amount of about 10 mol. % or more.

19. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of liquid crystalline polymers to the hydrophobic material is from about 1 to about 20.

20. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic material includes a fluoropolymer.

21. The laminate of claim 20 , wherein the fluoropolymer includes polytetrafluoroethylene, perfluoroalkylvinyl ether, poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-perfluoroalkyvinyl ether), fluorinated ethylene-propylene copolymer, ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, polyvinylidene fluoride, polychlorotrifluoroethylene, and copolymers and/or mixtures thereof.

22. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the fluoropolymer and the liquid crystalline polymer are melt processed as a mixture to form the polymer composition.

23. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the liquid crystalline polymer is formed by polymerization of one or more aromatic precursor monomers in the presence of the hydrophobic material.

24. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the hydrophobic material has an average particle size of from about 1 to about 60 micrometers.

25. The laminate of claim 1 , wherein the polymer composition exhibits a dielectric constant of about 4 or less at a frequency of 10 GHz.

26. A circuit board comprising the laminate of claim 1 .

27. A 5G antenna system comprising a circuit board and at least one antenna element configured to transmit and receive 5G radio frequency signals, wherein the antenna element is coupled to the circuit board, wherein the circuit board comprises a laminate comprising a conductive layer and a film positioned adjacent to the conductive layer, wherein the film comprises a polymer composition that includes a polymer matrix comprising a liquid crystalline polymer and a hydrophobic material distributed throughout the polymer matrix, wherein the polymer composition exhibits a dielectric constant of about 5 or less and dissipation factor of about 0.05 or less at a frequency of 10 GHz.

28. The 5G antenna system of claim 27 , wherein the antenna element has a feature size that is less than about 1,500 micrometers.

29. The 5G antenna system of claim 27 , wherein the 5G radio frequency signals have a frequency that is greater than about 28 GHz.

30. The 5G antenna system of claim 27 , wherein the at least one antenna element comprises a plurality of antenna elements arranged in an antenna array.

31. The 5G antenna system of claim 30 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements are spaced apart by a spacing distance that is less than about 1,500 micrometers.

32. The 5G antenna system of claim 30 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements comprise at least 16 antenna elements.

33. The 5G antenna system of claim 30 , wherein the plurality of antenna elements are arranged in a grid.

34. The 5G antenna system of claim 30 , wherein the antenna array is configured for at least 8 transmission channels and at least 8 reception channels.

35. The 5G antenna system of claim 30 , wherein the antenna array has an average antenna element concentration of greater than 1,000 antenna elements per square centimeter.

36. The 5G antenna system of claim 27 , further comprising a base station, and wherein the base station comprises the antenna element.

37. The 5G antenna system of claim 27 , further comprising at least one of a user computing device or a repeater, and wherein the at least one of the user computing device or the repeater base station comprises the antenna element.