Research regarding electromagnetic shielding achieved by the fabrics support

• Published in: IOP conference series. Materials Science and Engineering Vol. 827; no. 1; pp. 12060 - 12065
• Main Authors: Surdu, L, Aileni, R M, Radulescu, R I, Chiriac, L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Cotton; Electrical resistivity; Electromagnetic shielding; Fabrics; Magnetron sputtering; Physical vapor deposition; Silver; Stainless steels; Substrates; Thickness; Thin films; Yarns
• ISSN: 1757-8981; 1757-899X
• DOI: 10.1088/1757-899X/827/1/012060

Electromagnetic shielding achieved by flexible materials has gained an increased significance in today's radiation polluted environment. One of the modern approaches for obtaining electromagnetic textile shields with good surface electrical conductivity is the deposition of metallic thin films onto the fabrics. The use of the magnetron sputtering technique ensures some advantages, e.g. improved reflections of the fabric once metallic coatings are deposited on both sides of the fabric, as well as lightweight and excellent flexibility due to nanoscale thickness of layers. In the present work, cotton and polyester fabrics with various structural parameters, such as yarns count, fabric density, and specific mass were used as samples to be coated. PVD magnetron sputtering technique was utilized for the deposition of metallic layers with various thicknesses, either on one side or on both sides of the fabrics, in order to ensure good conductivity of the fabric. Besides, fabric samples with inserted conductive yarns of silver and stainless steel were considered as substrates, as well. The electromagnetic shielding tests using TEM cell evidenced good shielding effectiveness of 10-34 dB within 0.1-1000 MHz.