Ulta-thin magnetic sheet material thwarts EMI

TDK Corporation has expanded its Flexield family of noise suppression sheets with an ultra-thin copper-clad laminated sheet with high magnetic permeability. The new IFM10M magnetic sheets are 60 percent thinner than existing sheets with a magnetic layer of the same thickness, but offer an equivalent noise suppression performance over a broad frequency range from 500 kHz to 10 GHz. The total thickness of the new Flexield sheets is just 0.04 mm. The size of the sheets is 300 mm x 200 mm. Volume production is scheduled to begin in June 2017.

This improvement was made possible by TDK’s unique laminated design: The IFM10M sheet consists of a magnetic layer and a copper-plated layer of polypyrrole resin and no longer requires a layer of double-sided tape. With these sheets TDK has succeeded in creating an ultra-thin copper cladding of just 1 µm based on plating process technology developed by Achilles Corporation. Thanks to their low profile, the new Flexield IFM10M noise suppression sheets are suitable for use in slim devices such as smartphones, tablets, notebooks and stylus pens.

As electronic devices, including smartphones, have become smaller and thinner as well as more multifunctional with a higher degree of integration, the need for better and more efficient noise suppression is growing, for example, to ensure the reliable function of NFC (near-field communication) and wireless charging in the same device. In addition to noise suppression within the circuit using EMC components and standard circuit design measures and, it is essential to suppress unexpected and unwanted interference. Magnetic sheets are used to absorb noise and prevent from leaking externally or reflecting internally.