Annals of the University of Oradea: Fascicle of Textiles, Leatherwork (May 2020)
INFLUENCE OF PLASMA COATED WOVEN FABRICS YARN’S DENSITY ON ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDING EFFECTIVENESS
Abstract
Electromagnetic radiation in our environment means hazards for human’s health and interference for electronic equipment. One method of protection according to electromagnetic compatibility is shielding. Conductive textiles represent a modern solution for electromagnetic shielding, due to their specific properties like lightweight, flexibility, mechanical resistance and 3D – shape ability. There are mainly two methods for imparting electric conductive properties on textile materials: insertion of conductive yarns within the fabric structure and coating of the fabric surface with conductive raw materials. This paper presents textile EM shields achieved by combining these methods: woven fabric structures with inserted silver yarns in warp and weft direction with various fabric densities were designed and manufactured and afterwards coated by magnetron plasma with a copper thin film. Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness (EMSE) measurements were conducted on these fabrics in the frequency range of 0.1-1000 MHz. Values of EMSE reached 40-55 dB. The main aim of the paper is to show that fabrics with a low yarn density have a better gain of EMSE values after plasma coating with copper. This fact may be explained by an interpenetration of the copper films from one side to the other side within the woven fabric structure for low yarn densities and formation of electrically conductive paths.
