After 5 years, the IEEE P2715 and P2716 study group has completed the IEEE’s Guide for the Characterization of Shielding Effectiveness of Flat and Board Level Shielding Materials.’
These collaborative and consensus-based projects were developed under the IEEE Standards Development process.
Schlegel Electronic Materials actively participated in both study groups. Both working groups initiated a ‘round robin test’ during which 9 different materials were tested with the 14 different measurement methods performed by 10 participants from different universities and companies. To support this research, Schlegel Electronic Materials provided its industry-recognized fabrics.
In P2716, a slightly modified stripline technique based on the ASTM ARP6248: “Stripline Test Method to characterize the shielding effectiveness of conductive EMI gaskets up to 40 GHz,” is used to perform the testing of BLS materials.
A paper on the P2715 round-robin test will be published in the next issue of EMC Magazine.
The P2716 team is finalizing a paper on the P2716 round-robin test.
IEEE 2716-2022
Guide for the Characterization of the Effectiveness of Printed Circuit Board Level Shielding
IEEE 2715-2023
Guide for the Characterization of the Shielding Effectiveness of Planar Materials
History of the Project
In 2013, researchers discussed the need for an IEEE standard to characterize the shielding effectiveness of smaller enclosures and planar materials.
Under the guidance of electromagnetic shielding expert Prof. J. Catrysse from KU Leuven, a study group identified academic and industrial questions and needs in the field and submitted two Project Authorization Requests (PARs) to the IEEE EMC Society’s Standards Development and Education Committee (SDECom) in 2014 and 2015.
One PAR was for “Guide for the Characterization of the Shielding Effectiveness of Planar Materials, P2715” and the other was for “Guide for the Characterization of the Effectiveness of Printed Circuit Board Level Shielding, P2716.”
Researchers led by Prof. J. Catrysse reviewed existing methods related to small shielding enclosures and planar materials. They presented two Project Authorization Requests to the IEEE EMC Society’s Standards Development and Education Committee, focused on characterizing the effectiveness of planar materials and printed circuit board level shielding.
The IEEE P2716 Guide offers advice for manufacturers and users of printed-circuit-board-level shielding. It helps select the best test method to determine the level of shielding for the intended application. However, characterizing the shielding effectiveness of board-level shielding is challenging due to specific factors such as the method of connection, the small size, the contents within the shield, and the definition of shielding effectiveness.
The shield may also be enclosed within another housing on the printed circuit board. A test was done to evaluate 7 Board Level Shields using various methods with participants from different universities and companies, including Schlegel Electronic Materials.