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SHIELDING EFFECTIVENESS
In order to make a straightforward comparison of the shielding
capabilities of one material to another, the simple geometry of a planar
metallic shield of thickness t in air is considered, as shown below. The
shielding effectiveness of a given shield is actually a function of the
distance from the incident wave source (near-field sources and far-field
sources). The source is initially assumed to be a far-field source such that
the incident wave can be approximated by a normally-incident uniform
plane wave. As the incident wave encounters interface #1at z = 0, a portion
of the wave is reflected away from the interface, while the remainder of the
wave is transmitted into the metal, and is attenuated as the wave travels
through the metal. A portion of forward wave in the metal is reflected from
interface #2 at z = t producing a reverse wave, while the remainder of the
wave is transmitted into the air region (z > t). The reflection/transmission
process at the two interfaces produces, in theory, an infinite number of
reflected, forward, reverse and transmitted wave components.
The electric field shielding effectiveness (SEE) and the magnetic field
shielding effectiveness (SEM) in dB of the planar shield are defined by
For far-field sources, SEE = SEM since the ratio of the electric field to the
magnetic field for a uniform plane wave is constant (equal to the wave
impedance of the medium).
For near-field sources, in general, SEE SEM given the rapid variation of
the near fields in the vicinity of the source. Thus, the electric and magnetic
shielding effectiveness terms are different and vary as a function of
distance from the source.
The shielding effectiveness of the planar shield is governed by three
distinct mechanisms involving the interaction of the incident wave with the
air/conductor interfaces and the conducting medium of the shield. These
mechanisms are:
(1)
Reflection loss
A portion of the incident wave is reflected from interface
#1. The amplitude of the reflected wave fields are equal
to those of incident wave fields multiplied by the
reflection coefficient for waves moving from air into the
conductor (a-c).
(2)
Absorption loss
All of the forward and reverse waves propagating within
the conducting shield are significantly attenuated
according to the attenuation constant for the conducting
shield. This attenuation of the wave corresponds to the
loss of wave energy in the form of heat. The complexvalued propagation constant () within the conducting
shield is given by
(3)
Multiple reflections
A portion of each of the forward waves within the planar
shield is transmitted into the air region (z > t). The
transmitted fields used in the SE calculations are the
vector sum of the fields associated with these forward
waves. Likewise, a portion of each of the reverse waves
within the planar shield is transmitted into the air region
(z < 0). The reverse waves transmitted out of the planar
shield represent additional losses which enhance the
shielding effectiveness value. Both of these transmitted
waves are proportional to the transmission coefficient for
waves moving from the conductor to air (Tc-a).
Interface #1
z=0
Interface #2
z=t
Given the incident field amplitude, the preceding four equations can be
solved for the four unknowns (the reflected, forward, reverse and
transmitted amplitudes). The resulting ratio of the incident field to the
transmitted field is
The three terms in the equation above can be identified separately as the
contributions to the shielding effectiveness from reflection loss, multiple
reflections and absorption loss.
The shielding effectiveness in dB can then be written as
where RdB, MdB and AdB represent the contributions to the shielding
effectiveness in dB due to reflection loss, multiple reflections and
absorption loss, respectively.
This gives
(a.)
(b.)
(c.)
(d.)
where r represents the distance from the source (see Figure 10.10, p. 738).
Note that the electric field is dominant in the near field of a Hertzian dipole
while the magnetic field is dominant in the near field of the small loop.
The wave impedances of both sources approach o in the far-field.
Inserting the respective wave impedance into the far-field shielding
effectiveness terms yields the near-field shielding effectiveness
contributions. The reflection loss and multiple reflection terms are
functions of the wave impedance (type of source) while the absorption loss
term is not.
Electric sources
Magnetic sources
The wave impedances very close to the electric field or magnetic field
source (assuming or n 1) can be approximated by
The magnitude of the wave impedances very close to the source in terms
of wavelength are
Example
Determine the shielding effectiveness in dB for a 20 mil thick sheet
of copper ( = 5.8 107 S/m) at 1 MHz given (a.) an electric source
at a distance of 1 m from the shield (b.) a magnetic source at a
distance of 1 m from the shield.
(a.)
Note that the multiple reflection loss and absorption loss for this nearfield electric source are the same as that found for the previous farfield shielding example.
(b.)