EMI SHIELDING: WHICH WAY TO GO?

There's no single ″best″ approach yet discovered for shielding plastic housings for electronic equipment from electromagnetic interference (EMI). Rather, there is a plethora of available technologies - some simpler to use and some more complex, some more economical and some more costly, some proven in production and some not. How to choose among these alternatives is the question facing many processors today - and this article is intended to provide some answers. It's a state-of-the-art report on conductive finishing methods - metallizing, plating and painting - providing a nuts-and-bolts view of the merits and drawbacks of each. An onlook for future technology is concluded.