Shielded Cable Assemblies and EMI Performance

Jim Nadolny

Audio Information Dial: 1-800-944-8766 (within the US) Dial: 1-317-713-0002 (outside the US) Use Participant Code: 24075

December 5, 2007, 2:00pm EST

Outline
EMI Compliance Shielding measurements Cable assembly shielding
Aperture leakage Coax cables Multi-pin cable assemblies Differential shielding Circumferential resonance

Conclusions

EMI
What is it?
Electromagnetic Interference

Electric Pencil Sharpener

Magnetic Fields from Motor

Video distortion on CRT

Source

Coupling path

Victim

EMI Compliance
Why we care
All active electronic systems have to pass an EMI test if they are sold in the world. Federal governments have departments to enforce this rule.

Connectors, flex assemblies and cable assemblies can cause electronic systems to fail the test.

Imagine
Your flight to California crashes because you turned on your laptop. Your pacemaker stops because you used your new quad-band cell phone.

EMI Compliance
EMI Compliance is critical in the Aviation, Transportation and Medical markets.
This is where lives are at stake.

EMI Compliance is mostly an expense in the telecom/datacom markets.

This is where product functionality is at stake, or you have to pass a test before you can legally sell your product.

EMI Compliance
Specifications for when you cant sleep In the US
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 47, subpart A, Class B FCC CFR 47 Class B EMI requirement for computing equipment

Similar specs for Europe, Asia and Military

(IEC 61000-4-21 Annex F, Reverberation Chamber) (IEC 61000-4-21 Annex F, Reverberation Chamber)

Shielding Measurements

Control PC

Multi-device Controller
P2

Detection shielded box

Receive line
P1

DUT 9 meter cable

Tuner

Transmit Antennas

VNA

SW

Termination shielded box

AMP AMP

Aperture Leakage
Semi-rigid cable
Consider a perfectly shielded coaxial structure with a single hole. The hole (aperture) provides a means for current to transition from the inner surface to the outer surface of the shield. Apertures can be characterized by their electric and magnetic polarizabilty. In a coax cable, the polarizability can be related to a mutual inductance. The result is that:
SE = 45.76 20log10(Zt )
Zt = 2fM12
M12 =
Zt = transfer impedance (), 45.76=10*log (Z1*Z2), Z1= impedance of free space (377), Z2=cable impedance (50) M12=Mutual inductance due to aperture (H) 0=4x10-7, m=magnetic polarizability, D=cable diameter (m) A=aperture radius (m)

0m (D)2

4a 3 m = 3

Aperture Coupling to a Coaxial Airline:Theory and Experiment,D. A. Hill, NIST A Simplified Relationship between Surface Transfer Impedance and Mode Stirred Chamber Shielding Effectiveness of Cables and Connectors, L.O. Hoeft, Consultant

Aperture Leakage
To investigate the theory, we created two custom samples
1 meter long SMA connectors on both ends

0.25 diameter semi-rigid cable with 0.25 diameter aperture

Aperture Leakage
Shielding Effectiveness 1 meter semi-rigid with single aperture
110 100 90 80 70 (dB) 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 100 1000 (MHz)
calculated SE (0.125" Aperture) calculated SE (0.25" Aperture) Measured SE (0.125" Aperture) Measured SE (0.25" Aperture)

10000

100000

Coax Cable
Coax cable assemblies are the simplest cable assemblies to test
RF connector interface (SMA, N-type, etc.) For single braid shields, the multiple openings act as an array of apertures

Opening in braid

Measured Results RG-58

Recieved Power vs Frequency
20 Power (dBm) 0 Reference - in- band antenna

Shielding Effectiveness vs Frequency

70 60 SE (dB)
RG-58

-20 -40 -60 -80

RG-58

50 40 30 20 10

Sealed box - noise floor

-100 100 1000 10000 100000 Frequency (MHz)

100

1000 10000 Frequency (MHz)

100000

RG-58 sample was 1 meter long with SMA connectors and with a braided shield

Coax Cable

RG 316 Braid Only

White Foil and Braid Shield

Lets compare two coax cables that use different shield constructions.

Coax Cable
EMI Shielding Effectiveness - "White" vs RG316 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 0 1 2 3 4 5

White

RG316

SE (dB)

10

Frequency (GHz)
The white cable had a foil and braid shield resulting in better SE performance

Multi-pin Cable Assemblies

Samtec V-Port Plus

Cable Assembly Shielding

shield folded over ferrule

What is needed for excellent performance?

360 degree crimp contact

ferrule

shield

signal conductors

Cable braid capture

Shielded enclosure

Connector Shell

connector plug

detents to approximate 360 degree contact (5 shown)

Shielded cable positive retention mechanisms (4 shown)

Connection across separable interface

connector receptacle separable interface

shielded enclosure

Mounting Hardware

Connection to chassis

signal conductors

connector receptacle

mounting nut plate

Influence of Cable Braid Capture

HDMI/HPDPI HDMI/HPSTP

Connector shell to PCB to cable shield

Cable braid soldered to copper foil, foil soldered to connector shell

Influence of Braid Capture (HDMI)

80 70 60 cable braid terminated to PCB cable braid terminated to plug

SE (dB)

50 40 30 20 10 100 1000 10000 100000

Frequency (MHz)

Influence of Connection to Chassis

VRDPC/VPSTP

Nominal panel connection

Oversized panel connection

What happens when the panel cutout for an I/O connector is oversized?

VRDPC Cable Assembly used for this test

Shielding Effectiveness Influence of Connector Cutout

110 100 90 80 SE (dB) 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 100 1000 10000 Frequency (MHz) 100000 proper size panel cutout oversized panel cutout

Conclusion - 20+ dB degradation in SE using an oversized panel cutout

I/O Connector Leakage

Do connectors degrade the performance of a shielded box? If so, how much?

I/O Connector Leakage Test

I/O connector without cable

I/O connector with cable

Connector Only vs. Cable Assembly

Shielding Effectiveness - Connector Only 110 90 SE (dB) 70 50 30 10 100 1000 10000 100000
HDMI (connector only) VPDP (connector only)

Shielding Effectiveness - Cable Assemblies 110 90 SE (dB) 70 50 30 10 100 1000 10000 100000 HPDP/HDMI VRDPC/VPDP

Frequency (MHz)

Frequency (MHz)

Conclusions Coupling to the pins of the connector is significant above 3.5 GHz. Connector apertures degrade the SE of a shielded enclosure.

Raw Cable vs. Cable Assembly

Consider a state of the art shielded cable assembly
Foil and braid cable Carefully engineered connector

What type of shielding performance is achievable? How much (if any) does the connector degrade the performance of the cable?

Raw Cable vs. Cable Assembly

(PCIE 4x example)
Shielding Effectiveness PCIe raw cable vs PCIe cable assembly
110 Shielding Effectiveness (dB) 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 1000 (MHz) PCIe cable only PCIe Cable Assembly 10000 100000

Common vs. Differential Shielding

High speed digital transmission across cables is typically differential.
To reduce crosstalk in the connector To reduce EMI

How much is the EMI reduced using differential signaling?

Effect of Differential Mode

Shielding Effectiveness - PCIe 4X Cable 110 100 90 80 (dB) 70 60 50 40 30 20 100 Differential Mode Common Mode Balun upper limit

Wide bandwidth balun used for Differential response

1000 (MHz)

10000

100000

An improvement of roughly 20 dB is achieved using differential signaling with zero source induced skew.

Circumferential Resonance
When the cable circumference approaches /2, a peak in radiation is expected. For a PCIe 4x cable, the diameter is roughly 0.35, equates to a resonant frequency of ~5 GHz.

At C= /2, a loop antennas radiation resistance (and efficiency) peaks

Antenna Theory, Analysis and Design, C. Balanis

Example of Circumferential Resonance

Shielding Effectiveness - PCIe 4x Raw Cable
110 100 90 80 (dB) 70 60 50 40

Circumferential resonance predicated

Cable B

Cable A

perfect shield termination cable braid soldered to brass plate

30 20 100 1000 10000 100000

(MHz)

Conclusions
The shielding effectiveness of a coaxial structure with single aperture can be predicted by simple equations. Real coax cable assemblies can have a range of shielding performance based on shield construction. Multi-conductor differential cable assemblies can have degraded shielding performance due to
Braid capture Connection across the separable interface Panel connection

Theory predicts additional leakage mechanisms in the 5-10 GHz range due to circumferential resonance.

Thank You and Questions

For additional questions regarding the information contained in todays presentation, please contact our Signal Integrity Group at SIG@samtec.com. For a copy of todays presentation, please contact us at ewebinar@samtec.com.