May 18, 2023
(press release)
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“As increasing numbers of optical sensors are deployed on vehicles and space becomes more precious, fusion-based sensor systems offer a potential solution to that space shortage,” said Scott Fisher, business director, ULTEM Resins and Additives, SABIC. “In turn, the selection of the right materials for these combined sensor systems will be critical for enhancing design flexibility, boosting performance, and maximizing processing speed and efficiency. Our specialty thermoplastics can help achieve these goals. To assist customers in realizing the full potential of our materials, SABIC operates centers of excellence across the globe, which offer advanced support in design, testing and micro-molding.” SABIC’s transparent EXTEM and ULTEM™ high-heat thermoplastics are well-suited for refractive and diffractive lenses in optical sensor systems and enable free-form designs and the mass production of millions of parts. EXTEM RH1016UCL resin can withstand the 260°C peak temperature of lead-free reflow soldering used in printed circuit board (PCB) assembly while maintaining dimensional stability. This capability could help enable optical connectors to be mounted with other components in one step on a printed circuit board, avoiding the separate assembly and alignment processes required for lower-temperature lens materials. At the conference, SABIC will also spotlight ULTEM and NORYL™ resins and our award-winning LNP™ compounds and copolymers that could be used for various other ADAS sensor components, including housings, brackets, antennas, and radar absorbers. These materials can potentially enhance sensor systems by reducing weight, providing electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, improving radio wave absorption to reduce noise, providing greater freedom to design complex parts, and simplifying manufacturing compared to metal. They could also provide IR transparency, thermal conductivity, and dimensional stability for high-precision components. Combined, these features offer design freedom and process simplification, potentially reducing manufacturing cost and complexity. SABIC will display at its booth IR-transparent lenses micro-molded from ULTEM resins and LiDAR components made with ULTEM resins and LNP compounds. Sensors Converge 2023 will take place June 20-22 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, Calif., USA
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