《GF Overseas Electronics & Communications》

☄️ CCL: PTFE material adopted for orthogonal backplanes

👉 Nvidia has confirmed the adoption of PTFE as the core material for Rubin Ultra orthogonal backplanes. Below is our related analysis.

☀️ Orthogonal backplanes officially adopt PTFE material

According to our industry-chain checks, the previous M9 + Q-glass cloth solution failed to meet the required electrical performance standards. As a result, PTFE was ultimately selected as the core material for orthogonal backplanes.

PTFE offers excellent high-frequency transmission characteristics, with lower signal loss, and can support 337G and above SerDes signal transmission on the Rubin Ultra platform.
Traditional PTFE materials are relatively soft, making them prone to burr formation during drilling, which creates challenges for mass production. However, the newly developed silicon dioxide, SiO₂, filler-modified PTFE has significantly improved mechanical rigidity. This material has now successfully passed electrical performance testing and mass-production feasibility validation.

☀️ PTFE to gradually replace traditional glass-fiber materials

PTFE CCL no longer uses glass-fiber cloth. The production process involves coating hydrocarbon resin onto the PTFE surface, then directly laminating it with copper foil.

According to our checks, the unit price of the modified PTFE material is around RMB 150,000 per ton, and each CCL sheet uses approximately 800g of PTFE. The selling price of a finished PTFE CCL sheet can reach RMB 2,500.

At present, the final design of the orthogonal backplane has not yet been determined. Candidate designs include mixed-stack combinations of 78-layer and 108-layer structures using PTFE CCL / M9-Q cloth / ABF-filled CCL. The final design is expected to be confirmed in July.

☀️ Summary of PTFE industry-chain beneficiaries

We expect Shengyi Technology, 600183.SH, to become the primary supplier of PTFE CCL. Taiflex, 8039.TT, is currently in the product qualification stage and has a high chance of becoming a secondary supplier.

On the upstream raw-material side, Dongyue Group, 0189.HK, is currently Shengyi Technology’s key PTFE raw-material supplier. Daikin, 6367.JP, and Haohua Chemical, 600378.CH, are potential raw-material suppliers.

Based on the initial order scale, the PTFE CCL TAM corresponding to the 2027 Kyber platform could reach RMB 8 billion. Subsequent volume ramp from the Feynman platform is expected to drive additional demand.

Due to the complexity of the manufacturing process, mass production of midplane-related products is expected to begin from the end of 2026.

The new process is also positive for PCB manufacturers. In current HLC PCB products, the ratio of total PCB value to CCL material value is around 2–2.5x. Under the new design, this ratio could rise to 3–3.5x, significantly increasing the product value for PCB manufacturers.