Integration of RF shielding is a critical element in a widening variety of product designs, especially the mobile handheld devices that have become a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. As these products are getting smaller, more complex, and are offering higher performance features, the integration of RF shielding has become more challenging.
For example, longer shields (over 30mm) can exhibit a gap between the shield and the PCB. This can be due to a combination of coplanarity issues with the PCB and/or the RF shield itself. It can also result from warping of the PCB during production line assembly and soldering, in which case, the problem does not become apparent until after initial assembly.
The extra thin PCB materials, denser circuitry and higher frequency signals in new-generation devices are all combining to make these shield assembly problems a critical issue.
