Defence EMI and Mesh Coating
What it EMI Coating?
Introduction to EMI Coating
Electronic equipment emits a certain degree of electromagnetic radiation. EMI shielding countermeasures are often used to suppress the emission of these electromagnetic noises to the outside of the electronic equipment. Different shielding materials have different shielding effects on the noise of different frequencies. The following figure describes the shielding effect of several common materials.
EMI Shielding Type
There are two types of front EMI shielding:- Transparent Conductive Coating, often used for products with high light transmittance,
- EMI Mesh, have better shielding.
Table 1. EMI shielding comparison
Transparent Conductive Coating | EMI Mesh | |
---|---|---|
Sheet Resistance | 5~10 ohm/sq | <1 ohm/sq |
Transmissivity | 80%-90% | 70%-80% |
Attenuation | 20~40db | 30~60db |
Effective Attenuation Range (MHz) | 20-1000 | 10-10000 |
Good optical properties | Moderate optical properties | |
Low to moderate EMI shielding | Excellent EMI shielding |
Transparent Conductive Coating
The most common transparent conductive coating is ITO (indium tin oxide) coating. This is an ideal choice when the display requires high-quality optical properties. The light transmittance can reach 80-90%. The most commonly used method is Coated Glass and Coated Film. Coated Glass directly coats the ITO coating on the glass of the display or touch screen. Coated Film coats the ITO coating on a PET film. When applied, the coated film is attached to the object to be shielded.
ITO Coated Glass
The high-quality conductive coating on glass for EMI/ RF shielding.
Specifications- Vacuum deposited ITO(indium tin oxide) coating index-matched to specification are offered in various levels
- ITO coatings on glass offer high-quality optical properties and optical shielding effectiveness
- ITO coatings glass is offered as a laminated filter or single pane glass
- Additional coating such as anti-reflection and anti-glare are also available
- Levels of ITO offered on the glass are as follows: ≥ 5 ohm/sq
ITO Coated Films (Transparent Conductive Films)
Multi-layer transparent conductive coatings on flexible PET film.
Specifications- High visible transmission with low resistance
- Reduce EMI/ IR from the display surface
- The film can be laminated to touch screens, glass or acrylic
- Levels of ITO/ EMI shielding film offered: ≥ 8-10 ohm/sq
ITO Coated Glass
EMI Mesh
EMI Mesh provides excellent EMI shielding. Typical EMI mesh is woven into a matrix pattern from stainless steel wire or copper wire. The matrix density is in units of OPI (Openings per inch). For example, 60 OPI means there are 60 openings per inch. The smaller the OPI value, the better the EMI shielding effect.
Wire Mesh EMI Shielding
Wire mesh EMI shielding is used for optical shielding of electronic displays.
Specifications- Wire mesh is ≥ 1 ohm/sq
- 80 or 100 opi (openings per inch)
- Stainless steel or copper base
- Stainless steel wire diameter - .0012” (31 μm)
- Copper wire diameter - .0022” (56 μm)
- Mesh can be laminated in between optical substrates or to the rear surface of the touch screen
- Mesh can be applied to metal frames secured with gasket material
Application EMI Mesh
Winmate applies EMI mesh coating to our display on request for a very high shielding performance. EMI mesh coating suppresses the electromagnetic noise emission to the outside of the electronic equipment. The most common application is for a Defence product line.