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I want to quantify the radio-frequency shielding properties of a sheet of aluminum. I have an RFID antenna shooting at 865 MHz and I want to shield the antenna so that I don't pick up tags behind the shield.

How would I solve this? Can I do it analytically or must simulate in software? Approximating is ok.

Data are:

  • Consider infinite sheet for simplicity (no edge leakage).
  • Aluminum sheet of thickness = 0.15 mm
  • Frequency of 865 MHz
  • Distance antenna - sheet = 10 cm
  • Power = 10 mW (approximate the antenna as a perfect source, no lobes)
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  • \$\begingroup\$ One problem you're going to have is that unless the aluminum sheet is of infinite extent, there will be leakage around the edges of the sheet. \$\endgroup\$
    – SteveSh
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:30
  • \$\begingroup\$ Also. need to know the directivity of the antenna - how much energy is emitted from the back side (the backlobe) and edges (sidelobes) vs the front (main beam) of the antenna. \$\endgroup\$
    – SteveSh
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you! I've added these details. \$\endgroup\$
    – nndei
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 13:42
  • \$\begingroup\$ well, OK, now I'm a bit conflicted: If you can make an unrealistic assumption such as inifinite aluminium sheets, you can do anything, basically, because you stopped caring about the results representing reality. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:45
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you, Marcus. The thing is that I'm simulating a sheet, when in reality the antenna shoots against walls covered in aluminum tape with the specified thickness. The box is enclosed. Yet, experimentally, the aluminum tape must be applied a couple of times to avoid misreadings. Therefore, I want to simulate a single sheet to demonstrate shortly that the specific thickness I've found experimentally is enough to shield the RF. \$\endgroup\$
    – nndei
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 14:55

1 Answer 1

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To quantify the radio-frequency shielding properties of the aluminum sheet in this scenario, you can use analytical approximations and simulations. Let's break down the process of the analytical approximations.

First, you can use some analytical approximations to get a rough idea of the shielding effectiveness of the aluminum sheet. The shielding effectiveness \$\text{SE}\$ is usually measured in decibels \$\left[\text{dB}\right]\$ and represents the reduction in electromagnetic field strength when passing through a material. It's given by:

$$\left|\text{SE}\right|=\left|20\log_{10}\left(\frac{\displaystyle\text{E}_\text{i}}{\displaystyle\text{E}_\text{t}}\right)\right|\tag1$$

Where \$\displaystyle\text{E}_\text{i}\$ is the incident field strength (without the shield) and \$\displaystyle\text{E}_\text{t}\$ is the transmitted field strength (with the shield).

For an infinite sheet of metal, the shielding effectiveness can be estimated using the "Skin Depth" \$\delta\$ at the frequency of interest. The skin depth represents how deeply electromagnetic waves can penetrate a conductor and is given by:

$$\delta=\frac{\displaystyle1}{\displaystyle\sqrt{\pi\mu_0}}\cdot\frac{\displaystyle1}{\displaystyle\sqrt{\sigma\text{f}}}=\frac{\displaystyle500\sqrt{10}}{\pi}\cdot\frac{\displaystyle1}{\displaystyle\sqrt{\sigma\text{f}}}\tag2$$

Where \$\mu_0=4\pi\cdot10^{-7}\space\text{H/m}\$ is the vacuum magnetic permeability, \$\sigma\$ is the conductivity of the material (for aluminum, approximately \$3.5\cdot10^7\space\text{S/m}\$) and \$\text{f}\$ is the frequency in \$\left[\text{Hz}\right]\$.

Once you have the skin depth, you can use it to approximate the fraction of the incident field that gets through the sheet:

$$\frac{\displaystyle\text{E}_\text{i}}{\displaystyle\text{E}_\text{t}}=\exp\left(-\frac{\displaystyle\text{d}}{\displaystyle\delta}\right)\tag3$$

Where \$\text{d}\$ is the thickness of the sheet.

Now you can plug this fraction into the shielding effectiveness formula to get an approximate shielding effectiveness in dB. So, we end up with:

$$\left|\text{SE}\right|=\frac{\displaystyle20}{\displaystyle\ln\left(10\right)}\cdot\frac{\displaystyle\pi\text{d}\sqrt{\sigma\text{f}}}{\displaystyle500\sqrt{10}}\approx0.01725814\text{d}\sqrt{\sigma\text{f}}\tag4$$

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  • \$\begingroup\$ What is "exp" in equation 3? \$\endgroup\$
    – AnalogKid
    Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 16:50
  • \$\begingroup\$ @AnalogKid $$\exp\left(x\right):=e^x$$ \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 24, 2023 at 18:28
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you, this is similar to the math I saw online but the explanation makes it very helpful. May you provide sources to them? Best \$\endgroup\$
    – nndei
    Commented Aug 27, 2023 at 13:21
  • \$\begingroup\$ @nndei this is just my knowledge, no source needed :). \$\endgroup\$ Commented Aug 27, 2023 at 13:59
  • \$\begingroup\$ Note that any good EMC text will have the equation Jay Eerland sowed above. The one text by Henry Ott is considered an EMC bible. \$\endgroup\$
    – SteveSh
    Commented Aug 27, 2023 at 14:18

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