Blueshift, a U.S.-based technology leader in advanced materials, will showcase PhaseBlue® 1500 at the European Microwave Week 2026 to spotlight how high-performance substrates are designed for engineers seeking to reduce weight and signal loss while enabling more flexible approaches to RF, antenna and PCB design.
PhaseBlue® 1500 is built around Blueshift’s proprietary nanoporous polyimide aerogel platform, with a core comprising 85% air and 15% polyimide. Combining low density, flexibility and high-frequency performance, it is up to 80% lighter than conventional laminates, with a density of 0.27–0.45 g/cm³. Dielectric thicknesses from 0.0065–0.030 inches (165–750 µm) allow engineers to develop lightweight, thin, conformable solutions for 3D structures, conformal antennas, phased arrays, radomes, CubeSats, UAV systems and high-speed aerospace communications.
The material provides a relative permittivity (εr) of 1.3–1.5 at 1 GHz and an ultra-low dissipation factor (tan δ) of less than 0.001 at 1 GHz. Across the 1–10 GHz range, PhaseBlue® maintains stable dielectric behaviour without the ‘dielectric knee’ associated with conventional perfluorinated materials, helping support consistent signal performance at elevated temperatures.
With a glass transition temperature (Tg) of 305°C and a decomposition temperature of 530°C, PhaseBlue® is designed to withstand the thermal demands of soldering, processing and long-term operation beyond the limits of many PTFE-based systems.
Manufactured in the United States and formulated without intentionally added per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), PhaseBlue® offers an alternative to conventional PTFE-based substrates as designers require lighter weight, lower-loss materials in responding to increasingly demanding technical, environmental and regulatory requirements
The material is compatible with established FR-4 PCB processes, including direct imaging, drilling and etchback. This enables manufacturers to assess PhaseBlue® within existing production workflows without investing in specialist equipment or introducing costly process changes.
Tim Burbey, President at Blueshift, says: “European Microwave Week is an important opportunity to demonstrate how PhaseBlue® 1500 can help engineers address the competing demands of RF design. By combining low-loss electrical performance with a lightweight, flexible and thermally robust format, the material offers designers greater freedom without requiring them to rethink established manufacturing processes.”
He adds: “Since its launch, PhaseBlue® has been applied across multilayer antenna boards, CubeSats, UAV communications and aerospace and defence platforms. These applications demonstrate the material’s potential to support reliable performance where size, weight and temperature are critical design considerations.”
Visit Blueshift at Booth L326 during European Microwave Week 2026 in London, 4–9 October.