How Low-Dielectric-Loss Materials Empower Green Data Centers and Efficient RF Applications

Against the backdrop of global efforts toward carbon neutrality and sustainable development, energy consumption in the electronics and information industry has drawn increasing attention. Data centers, serving as the “heart” of the digital economy, present a pressing challenge due to their staggering power consumption. Among numerous energy-saving technologies, one often overlooked yet critical approach involves leveraging low dielectric loss materials at the material level to build more efficient hardware systems, thereby reducing energy loss at the source of signal transmission.

Dielectric loss, simply put, refers to the phenomenon where electromagnetic waves propagating through dielectric materials convert part of their electrical energy into heat, resulting in energy loss. On the PCBs of high-speed servers and switches, each digital signal pulse transmission incurs energy loss due to dielectric loss in the substrate material. At transmission rates reaching hundreds of Gbps, these minute losses accumulate. Not only do they degrade signal quality, necessitating increased power consumption for signal compensation and error correction, but they also generate substantial waste heat. This further burdens data center cooling systems, creating a vicious cycle of energy consumption.

High-frequency, high-speed hydrocarbon resins, exemplifying low-dielectric-loss materials, offer an ideal solution to break this cycle. Their core advantage lies in molecular-level purity. Through advanced synthesis and purification techniques, these materials contain virtually no polar groups capable of inducing dipole rotation loss under high-frequency electromagnetic fields. This results in a dielectric loss factor (Df) far lower than traditional materials, minimizing energy loss during signal transmission. Consequently, it directly reduces the power consumption of signal-driving and processing chips.

The application scenarios for this advantage extend far beyond data centers. In the RF power amplifiers (PAs) of 5G base stations, amplifier efficiency is a critical metric for performance and operational cost evaluation. Using low-dielectric-loss materials as substrates for PA circuits significantly reduces RF energy dissipation within the circuitry. This allows more electrical energy to be efficiently converted into transmitted wireless signals rather than wasted as heat. This not only translates to higher PA efficiency and lower power costs but also simplifies thermal management design, enabling smaller and lighter base stations.

Furthermore, the application of low dielectric loss materials holds significant importance in high-end consumer electronics, such as Wi-Fi 7 routers and smartphone RF front-end modules. It enhances device connectivity and battery life, enabling signals to travel farther and more stably while reducing performance degradation and poor user experiences caused by heat generation.
In summary, the promotion and application of low-dielectric-loss materials represent a profound “foundational energy-saving revolution.” Materials like high-frequency, high-speed hydrocarbon resins achieve energy savings by reducing signal transmission losses at the physical level, thereby minimizing inefficient energy dissipation. This provides a robust material foundation for building green, efficient, and sustainable digital infrastructure. Their strategic importance is particularly critical in today's era of increasingly constrained energy resources.