PCB Shielding Cans

[Claudia]

We plan to use shielding cans (multi-zone) to shield the RF parts on the PCB.

My question is now how to design the copper area where the can will be placed on. The wall thickness of the shield we want to use is 0.2mm walls.

Specifically I am looking for advice on:
1. what is the width of the Copper trace/area where the wall will reside?
2. what is the minimum distance, the components have to be away from the wall?
a) component to copper trace
b) component pad to copper trace

Is there a standard or common industry practice available which gives me the information I am looking for?

Claudia

[Tom]

Claudia,

There is no industry standard specification regarding the spacing requirements for your questions. There is a possibility, but I could never find one. If one does exist it would have been authored by an assembly shop and would more than likely be proprietary IP (for their customer use only) and not for public distribution.

We normally use a 1mm exposed copper perimeter to solder the can (RF Shield) to. All other spacing requirements are not applicable because they are enclosed by the can (RF Shield) and the can (RF Shield) is soldered from the outside. No other parts are affected as long as the can is soldered near the center of the 1mm copper perimeter.

Use your normal design rules for the answer to your question 2.

There are preformed (off the shelf) cans that have tabs that require slotted holes to solder to. I like these because they center the can (RF Shield) perfectly and are slightly easier to install on production volumes.