Smartphones

With over 150 years of experience in advanced chemistry, Syensqo continues to execute industry-leading innovation in the smart devices market. Our broad portfolio of specialty polymers for smartphones provides OEMs with the ability to improve the processing and performance of integral structural elements of today’s most advanced smartphones. As consumers demand next-generation smartphones with more radio-frequency (RF) functions and a reduced module size, our wide selection of high performance fluoroelastomers, ultra polymers, and sulfone resins facilitate the design flexibility these technological advancements require. Syensqo’s polymers for smartphones impart essential properties such as outstanding permittivity and permeability to tomorrow’s plastic-metal hybrid applications and antenna splits.  

Specialty Polymers for Structural and Cosmetic Frames 

As structural applications in smartphones require a challenging combination of properties to achieve cost-effective high performance and durability, specialty polymers continue to provide viable alternatives to traditionally used metals for these components. Today’s smartphone frames demand high dimensional stability in thin-walled cross sections, high-strength and impact capabilities, and ease of processing for OEMs.
 

Structural and Cosmetic Frames

Structural and cosmetic frames in modern smartphones require tensile modulus close to metal, as these features undergo significant wear over extensive use. These components must simultaneously be equipped with excellent aesthetics and a pleasurable finish to deliver elevated sensory experiences for consumers. 

Design Requirements: High stiffness, good flatness, cost-performance balance, lightweight material, high impact strength and good dimensional stability

Featured Product

Kalix® HPPA offers an optimal combination of stiffness and ductility that facilitates complex parts for electronic devices which require extremely high strength, outstanding impact resistance and high-quality surface finishes. Kalix® HPPA also shows low moisture absorption and retains high dimensional stability and flatness even after long term usage, which makes it an ideal structural material for precision electronics components. This impressive blend of unique characteristics meets and exceeds the performance demands of structural and cosmetic frames for smartphones, as well as enables improved design flexibility for OEMs during processing. 

Specialized Structural Applications: Antenna Splits and Plastic-Metal Hybrid Structures

Antenna Splits

Antenna splits in modern smartphones present OEMs with difficult design challenges, as the structural attributes are just as integral as their conductivity properties. Additionally, materials for specialized structural applications in smartphones must be particularly well-suited for their respectively unique processing techniques. Antenna splits, for instance, require non-metallic components with excellent RF transparency and dielectric performance. Plastic-metal hybrid structures in smartphones, however, require superior NMT and overmolding capabilities, good impact properties and optimal resilience through anodization. 

Specialized structural applications such as antenna splits challenge OEMs to provide electrical insulation as opposed to conductivity. The materials used for these aspects of smartphones must exhibit low to no conductivity, suitable permittivity and permeability around the antenna to facilitate maximum data transmission efficiency.

Design Requirements: Thin-walled, part moldable, high strength and rigidity, flatness, suitable dielectric properties, good RF transparency, NMT and overmolding capability

Featured Product

Ixef® PARA introduces exceptional dielectric properties and tremendous rigidity ideal for antenna splits and cover applications in modern smartphones. The excellent dielectric performance of this alloy of semi-crystalline aromatic polyarylamide provides antenna splits with good radio frequency signal transparency when it is over molded with stainless steel frames. Additionally, Ixef® PARA is equipped with high strength and stiffness and displays superior flow for ultra thin-walls which are commonly needed for antenna splits and covers in next-generation smartphones.

Plastic-metal hybrid structures

Plastic-metal hybrid structures provide modern smartphones with an array of design and aesthetic advantages through processes such as NMT and anodization. NMT materials combine plastics and metal at a molecular level to provide components with both geometry design freedom and the stiffness and rigidity of metal. Anodization, typically for aluminum housings or overmoldings, involves the thickening of the natural oxide layer on metallic or plastic-metal parts. This provides components with improved impact performance and superior chemical and UV resistance.

Design Requirements: Ease of processing, high stiffness and rigidity, superior tensile strength and excellent durability

Featured Product

AvaSpire® PAEK provides outstanding mechanical properties, chemical resistance and thermal stability for specialized structural applications such as plastic-metal hybrid structures. This impressive combination of characteristics enables compatibility with NMT, overmolding and anodization to give OEMs unrivaled design flexibility.