Materials Used in the Manufacturing of RF Shielded Enclosures

While testing and operating particular electronic equipment, manufacturing businesses may need to utilize specific types of enclosures that providing shielding from the unnecessary transmission of electromagnetic waves. Commonly used devices for this purpose are RF shielded enclosures. Industries that deal with manufacturing of cell phones, building phone towers, making of radio transmission instruments, etc., regularly utilize these devices.

A wide variety of shielding enclosures are available, depending on size, costs and other similar aspects. While going through available options for buying them, businesses should consider few factors. A crucial factor includes the ability of the enclosure to cover the entire unit, which is supposed to be tested. The internal surface should also be covered with suitable material that can absorb radio-frequencies. Such an absorbing characteristic can help to minimize internal reflections and multipath effects, while the machines are being tested (Spirent, DO YOU NEED A SCREENED ENCLOSURE TO TEST A GNSS RECEIVER? 2017).

The type of materials that are used to make the shielding enclosures can have a large effect on the functioning and overall performance of the devices. Hence, while choosing to buy radio wave and microwave RF shielded enclosures, businesses need to first consider the materials that are used to make the shields. Without knowing detailed information about such materials, it can become confusing for businesses to choose the right type of RF shielding equipment. Read the following points that give a brief idea about different materials that are used to make the shielding equipment, along with their material characteristics.

Aluminum

In case of RF equipment used for shielding purposes, aluminium can be used in the form of a foil to block low-frequency radio field waves. This material can also be integrated throughout the device construction process so that an entire aluminium shield is made to act against low radio frequencies. Apart from this, an aluminium shield enclosure can also be used to protect other internal machine portions from getting corroded, when exposed to the outdoor environment (leadertechinc.com, RF SHIELDING MATERIALS, 2016).

Steel

Apart from aluminium, steel is an alloy that is frequently used for making radio wave and microwave RF shielded enclosures. Shielding devices made from steel also offer magnetic field shielding capability. The attenuation of steel enclosures is not as large as the ones provided by shields made from copper and aluminium. In case of steel shielding, various processes like hot rolling, cold rolling, annealing of material, etc. can have a profound effect on the shielding capabilities. For example, steel subjected to cold rolling offers better shielding than steel subjected to hot rolling. But, the latter type provides more durability and mechanical efficiency. Thus, before choosing steel RF shields, the business should carefully consider these factors and then invest in them depending on the requirement (leadertechinc.com, RF SHIELDING MATERIALS, 2016).

Copper

As compared to the others, shields made from copper are easier to manufacture and install faster, as copper is quite flexible to mould in different shapes. As copper has high conductivity, it is an efficient shield against radio frequency waves. Copper also provides better resistance to oxidation and corrosion when exposed to outdoor environments.

Apart from material make, there are several other parameters such as material apertures, strength, radiation intensity, etc., that have a profound effect on RF shielding. Before buying RF shielding enclosures, businesses should definitely consider these factors before choosing the suitable ones.

“The above blog is written by a third party and is only for informative purposes. It does not reflect Ranatec’s position with regards to the provided information.”