EMI Shielding by Electroless Plating of ABS Plastics

By N.V. Mandich, CEF

to 1/e or 37% of its original value, and is called “skin” depth.

Electronic equipment, especially computers, needs to It
1
be shielded from stray electromagnetic interference is given by the equation δ =
πfµσ
(EMI). Most equipment is contained in plastic hous-
ings, so is transparent to EMI. Plating on plastics
offers a method for economical and reliable EMI (4)
shielding. This review explains the plating process and
compares the capabilities of shielding techniques. where f is frequency in Hz, µ is the permeability of free space
Theoretical principles of shielding theory are also and σ is conductivity.
discussed.
For copper, µ = 4π x 10-7 H/m, σ =-2 5.82 x 10 7 S/m.

E
6.6·10
lectromagnetic interference (EMI) is the unwanted σ=
Accordingly, √f
energy emitted in the frequency range from below 60
Hz to more than 1,000 MHz (see figure). Radio-
frequency interference (RFI) is the portion of EMI in the range 6.6·10-2 1 (5)
of 0.01 to 1,000 MHz. Electromagnetic waves in this range σ= x
and for any material: √f √µ rσr
can interfere with radio communications. Many electronic
devices emit noise in this range that will be picked up directly
by other devices or by conduction through power lines that act (6)
as antennas. Electronic noise is caused by rapidly changing
voltage and is found in radio signals, video games, lightning, where µr is the relative permeability and σr the conductivity
static electricity, computers, calculators, motors, etc. Elec- relative to the copper.
t
tronic noise is both natural and man-made and can wipe out A = 8.69 ( ) = 1.317 t √µrσrf
δ
Absorption loss (A) in decibels (dB) can now be written:
computer memories or cause arithmetic errors in computers,
just as power surges and outages do.
(7)
Shielding Theory
Shielding effectiveness (SE) in decibels (dB) is a measure of where t is the coat-
the reduction of electromagnetic field achieved by a coating ing thickness in
and is defined as:1 meters.
E0 Ho
SE = 20 log = 20 log (dB)
Et Ht It is shown in Eq.
(1)
(7) that A is directly
where E0 and H0 are the electric and magnetic field intensities proportional to the
incident on the coating and Et and Ht are the transmitted thickness, and in-
signals intensities. Attenuation is achieved by absorption and versely propor-
deflection of the incident radiation and can be written as: tional to the skin
depth (δ) of the
SE = A + R + B (2) shielding material.
The skin depth cor-
where A is the absorption loss, R is the reflection loss and B responds to an at-
is a correction factor to account for multiple reflections. tenuation of 8.7 dB.
Although only the total of these terms is usually measured, it Therefore, several
is important to appreciate the significance of the individual skin depths are
components. needed in order to
achieve significant
Absorption Loss attenuation by ab-
When an electromagnetic wave passes through a medium, it sorption. Table 1
loses energy because of interaction with the electrons and shows skin depth
atoms of the material. If the initial intensity of the wave is given for several materi-
by E 0, its intensity, E1, at a distance t in the material is: als at different fre-
quencies.2 As
0 can be seen, thick
E1 = E e-t/δ (3) shields will be
needed to attain
where δ is the distance required for the wave to be attenuated modest shielding Deposit thickness,

60 Plating and Surface Finishing

 Table 1 Table 2
Skin Depth (δ) for Various Materials Electromagnetic Interference Guide

Frequency Copper Aluminum Steel Frequency Type of

Hz µm δm δm MHz radiation

10 20.88 26.72 2.09 0.01–0.1 Maritime communications

30 12.04 15.42 1.20 0.1–1.0 AM radio
100 6.58 8.43 0.66 Approx. 1–100 Short wave
500 2.95 3.78 0.29 Approx. 100–1,000 Television and FM radio
1000 2.09 2.67 0.21 1,000–10,000 Radar, microwaves

by absorption alone. For example, about 40 µm of copper paint and zinc arc-spray have a particular advantage. Nickel
would be needed to absorb 30 dB of radiation at 30 MHz. paint and zinc arc-spray coating uniformities depend upon the
Absorption, therefore, will not contribute significantly to the accuracy and skill of the person applying the coating. In
total attenuation for the most practical shielding processes. addition, blind holes, bottoms of parts, and odd configurations
From Eqs. (2)-(7), it follows that reflection is the predomi- can have nickel paint or sprayed zinc thicknesses signifi-
nant mechanism for attaining effective shielding in a practical cantly different from flat, uniform surfaces. Electroless nickel,
manner. Therefore, the most effective shield must be made electroless copper, and electroless multilayer deposits have
from materials with high conductivity and low permeability. completely uniform coverage, regardless of the part configu-
ration. Electroless coatings can be economically applied by
Cost Comparison bulk processing methods rather than one-at-a-time, as with
Electroless copper has less than one-sixth the resistivity of nickel paint or zinc arc-spray. Electroless coatings deposit on
electroless Ni-P layers of equal thickness, and has 30 to 50 both the inside and outside of a part to provide a continuous
dB more attenuation, depending on frequency. Total attenu- metal layer, which in case of rupture of one side, still has the
ation is readily increased with thicker copper layers. other for shielding protection. Nickel paint and zinc arc spray
The data for composite coatings of electroless nickel on elec- are normally applied only to the inner surface.
troless copper or electroless copper on electroless nickel Thin electroless films do not easily rub off from parts and
show that shielding levels are controlled by the copper layer. 3- such films are integrally bonded to a part. They are continu-
6
The electroless copper dominates the system and the ous and coherent and will pass tape adhesion testing. EN has
electroless nickel contributes only 1 to 2 percent additional very high abrasion resistance; no coating loss will be evident
shielding, at best. This allows a convenient way to achieve upon rubbing or handling. The weight gain of electroless
tailored shielding efficiencies at relatively low cost, because deposits is normally very minor. Most deposits are in the
only the less expensive electroless copper layer needs to be range 0.5 to 2.0 µm thick, which corresponds to an increase
varied in thickness. in weight of only 10 to 20 g/m2.
Composites of electroless copper with electroless nickel
Comparison of Other Coatings have about the same shielding efficiency as electroless
Of the various types of coatings for EMI/RFI shielding, plated copper. The only time this might not be true is when the
plastics and zinc arc-spray can give 60 to 120 dB attenuation electroless copper layer is less than 10 percent of the total film
or more; copper-based paint and conductive fillers, 30 to 70 thickness. The common practice, however, is to use a layer
dB; and nickel-based paint 20 to 60 dB.25 Very thin copper of electroless copper at least 25 to 50 percent of the total film
coating, less than 1 µm, can give plane wave shielding thickness.
efficiencies of more than 50 dB when using magnetron When the two coatings are combined, the composite of
sputtering.1 electroless copper overcoated with a layer of electroless
All plated plastics process costs are based on coating both nickel offers superior RFI shielding. The shielding efficiency
the inside and outside of the part. Consequently, costs are in is as high as that of electroless copper alone, but the corro-
terms of 2 ft2, where all other coating methods are for 1 ft2 only, sion resistance, wear resistance, and general durability are
(e.g. , the inside of the part), except for conductive fillers that much increased. Electroless copper oxidizes readily and is a
are based on total plastic volume. The relative costs of these soft, ductile metal, less expensive than electroless nickel.
coatings are: Plated plastics, 1.0; silver-based paint, 9.7; Electroless nickel does not oxidize readily, is very wear-
copper-based paint, 1.9 to 2.5; nickel-based paint, 2.6 to 2.9; resistant, is a good paint base, and provides stable contact
zinc arc spray 2.75; and conductive fillers, 3. resistance. Consequently, the ratio of Cu/Ni thickness should
For plated plastics, the plastic part is completely coated always be optimized for a particular application.
with an adherent layer of electroless copper. The copper Shielding efficiency of electroless copper is much higher for
thickness is a function of the shielding requirement (dB a given thickness than for electroless nickel—as much as 25
attenuation) of the end product ( i.e., the thicker the copper, to 50 dB greater. For 0.75 µm of electroless copper, shielding
the better the attenuation). A “typical” copper thickness range efficiency can be 65 dB at 1 MHz, increasing to over 100 dB
would be about 0.5 to 2 microns. The higher figure would be at 1,000 MHz. Most electroless coppers give essentially the
sufficient for almost all current needs. same results, inasmuch as a pure copper film is usually
Uniformity of electroless coatings compared with nickel deposited.

October 1994 61
 Cu-Ni composite gives a shielding efficiency which can be 4. Catalysis
the same as electroless copper. The shielding efficiency 5. Acceleration
varies only with the thickness of the copper layer for practical 6. Electroless plating
multilayer films. Over a range of 0.5 to 2.5 µm of electroless
Each solution used is an integral part of the operation, and
copper, it will vary from 60-85 dB at 1 MHz to 90 to 120 dB or
each has its own complexity. Although the bulk of plating on
more at 1,000 MHz. This can be explained as follows: Deci-
R1 plastic is done on ABS, other resins can be processed for
bels of shielding efficiency is a logarithmic term; simple
R electroless plating: PBT/polycarbonate blends, PET, polyes-
addition of two decibel measurements 2 cannot be used. If an
ter, PVC, polyurethane, polyphenylene sulfide,
electroless copper film provides 65 dB of shielding and is
polyetherketone and some liquid crystal polymers. Steps 1
coated with an electroless nickel film providing 40 dB of
and 2 are different for these plastics.
shielding by itself, the total shielding efficiency is 65/.01 dB.
The relevant equation is:
Pre-etch
SE = 10 log (dB) (8) This step consists of treating the plastic with a solvent blend
formulated to soften the surface chemically to allow more
where R1 is the RF transmission without any shielding and R2 efficient subsequent etching. ABS plastic does not need this
step but most other platable plastics do.
is the transmission with the shielding in place.
Electroless nickel alone has somewhat better shielding
ability than nickel-filled paint at a fraction of the thickness of
Etch
Etching is accomplished with the well-known solution of
a nickel paint layer (0.5-2.5 µm vs. 25-50 µm). Electroless
chromic acid dissolved up to saturation in concentrated
nickel films are much better than conductive fillers, but zinc
sulfuric acid. A simplified description of the process is that the
arc-spray has much higher shielding values.
etch will oxidize the acrylonitrile-styrene (AS) portion of ABS
On the other hand, electroless copper offers about the
selectively, and more slowly, than the polybutadiene (B)
same shielding ability as zinc arc spray, at much lower
portion and chemically roughen the surface. The overall
thicknesses. Electroless copper of 2.5 to 5.0 µm total thick-
reaction is given by:
ness should equal or exceed the shielding efficiency of zinc
arc-spray at 25 to 50 µm. Electroless copper has 40 to 60 dB 2C15H17N + 81H2SO 4 + 54CrO3 →
(or more) greater shielding ability than nickel paint or conduc- 30CO2 + 2NO2 + 98H 2O + 27Cr2(SO 4) 3 (9)
tive fillers. A 40-dB difference means 10,000 times more
shielding ability. Neutralization
The conductivity of the outside film bears a direct relation Neutralization removes and reduces the Cr+6 to Cr+3, because
to EMI shielding—the more conductive the coating, the better hexavalent chromium acts as a poison for catalytic and
the shield against EMI. Conductivity is easily measured in electroless plating steps.
terms of ohms/square. From the above, it can be concluded
that electroless coatings are more conductive than any other Catalysis
EMI method except zinc arc spray. Almost universally, the tin-palladium catalyst solution is used.
Representative shielding abilities vs . thickness for the case It serves only to initiate electroless copper or nickel plating. As
of EN can be explained as follows: Shielding ability (and soon as the initial catalytic sites are covered with Cu or Ni, the
conductivity) varies with phosphorus content, with metal film newly deposited metal will assume and continue the catalytic
thickness and with the frequency of radiation. Typical shield- function.
ing abilities are 40 to 50 dB at 1 MHz for a 0.75-µm film. The
shielding efficiency increases with frequency, so that at 1,000 Accelerator
MHz, typical shielding efficiencies increase to the range of 60 The accelerator provides activation of the catalyst by removal
to 80 dB. Higher-phosphorus alloys are, however, less con- of excess tin from the surface to have fresh Pd atoms ready
ductive, but more corrosion resistant and, in certain cases, for their catalytic role.
this can be an important factor to consider.
Having two coatings in a form of sandwich offers additional Electroless Plating
protection. When one coating is scratched or removed from Two steps are used in electroless plating for EMI shielding.
one side, the coating on other side still possess enough The first step is electroless copper plating—a thick layer of
conductivity for proper shielding efficiency. Moreover, elec- copper is deposited, using formaldehyde in a special plating
troless Cu and/or Ni metallic coatings are excellent bases for bath. The general reaction is given by:
subsequent decorative painting without prior surface treat-
ment, and they ensure an integral bond between molded-in CuSO 4 + 2HCOH + 4NaOH →
metal inserts needed for electrical grounding. Cu0 + H2 + Na2SO4 + 2NaCOOH + 2H2O (10)

Plating of Plastic for EMI Shielding The highly electrically conductive electroless copper does
Successful electroless plating on plastic is a complicated the actual EMI shielding. The thickness used depends on the
process, both chemically and technologically. Its practical exact shielding densities. Typically 0.5 to 2 µm are sufficient.
use depends on the optimized interaction of six separate The two-sided coating gives double shielding protection—if
complex chemical solutions. the product exterior should become scratched, the interior
The process steps are defined as: coating will shield the product satisfactorily. Another advan-
tage of copper is its relatively low cost.
1. Pre-etch Copper has some disadvantages, however. It has low wear
2. Etch resistance, it oxidizes readily, giving it high electrical contact
3. Neutralization resistance, and it has relatively poor corrosion resistance.
Layers of oxidation products at enclosure mating surfaces, for

62 Plating and Surface Finishing

example, will allow large amounts of RFI leakage. surface on the side touching the mold and a rough surface on
As mentioned earlier, the reason for a combination with the opposite side. Molten polymer is then injected into the
electroless nickel (EN) is to coat copper with a corrosion- mold, forming a bond with the rough side of the metal. At this
resistant layer. A low temperature plating bath, based on stage, a final decorative finish can be applied.23
hypophosphite as a reducing agent for nickel, is needed to
deposit Ni-P alloy, which is more corrosion resistant than pure Summary
nickel. The EN plating reaction is also a dehydrogenation and Electroless copper offers far more shielding capacity than
is given by: electroless nickel because of its higher conductivity. The
ideal combination, however, is a composite coating of both.
Ni+2 + H 2PO 2 + H2O → Ni 0 + H2PO 3 + H 2 (11) The superior corrosion and wear resistance of nickel, its
pleasing aesthetic appearance and ability to be an excellent
One unique property of electroless plating explains its paint base and to have stable contact resistance offer distinct
superiority to conventional electrolytic plating for EMI shield- advantages. The plating cycle is very close to the standard
ing and that is, its ability to plate uniformly over complicated preplate cycle used in electrolytic plating on plastic systems.
and irregular configurations. The advantages of copper and
nickel enhance the appeal of the process; the disadvantages References
of each metal are overcome by the advantages of the other. 1. J.J. Mason and Y. Zaka, Trans. Inst. Met. Finish., 64(3),
Because it is an all electroless process, it allows bulk plating 110 (1986).
About the Author
to be used in processing. This means that line throughput is 2. O.E.
Ned Roberto,
V. Mandich, CEF, FIMF,AESF
Proc. SUR/FIN
is founder, presi-
high because there are no electrolytic steps. dent Session
’85, and research
O. director of HBM Electro-
Recently, as an alternative for the Cu-Ni duplex layer, an chemical & Engineering
3. G.A. Krulik, Co., 2800
Prod. Finish., Bernice
48, 49 (Oct.
alloy bath, Cu-Ni-P, was reported. 7 By using low current Rd., Lansing, IL 60438. He holds the Dipl. Ing.
1983)
densities, the copper layer can be plated first, then by raising degree from the University of Belgrade, Yugo-
4. G.A.
slavia, an MS inIndust.
andKrulik, Finish.,
theoretical 5, from
chemistry 16
the current density, a copper alloy with high Ni content was (1983). University, Chicago. He is currently
Roosevelt
obtained. The number of plating steps is thus reduced without a
5.PhD candidate
J. Hajdu andatG.
Aston University,
Krulik, Birming-
Plat. and Surf.
loss of shielding capacity. Practical aspects (e.g., coating ham, 70,
Fin., UK. 42
He(July,
has published
1983). 36 papers and
distribution on deep, recessed areas) must be considered. holds 11 patents. He is chairman of the AESF
6. J.H. Ling, Trans. Inst. Met. Fin., 65(5)
There is another method of plating on plastics which has no Hard Chromium Plating Committee and is a
(1987).of the IMF.
Fellow
preplate cycle. A metal coating is deposited on the mold by 7. F. Matsui et al., Plat. and Surf. Fin., 78, 48 (Feb., 1991).
accelerated electrodeposition. This creates a smooth metal

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October 1994 63