How EMI Shielding Compounds Work in Automotive Radar and Sensing System Components?

As the wireless technology advances at a rapid rate, the electronic devices are also getting smaller in size at the same rate. Both these factors have given a boost to the EMI industry because the challenges never stop coming. GPS, 4G, Bluetooth, WI-Fi, and RFID – all these developments have caused EMI problems to occur more randomly, giving designers the opportunity to solve them extensively with the help of updated EMI shielding materials and techniques.

How Rapid Advancement in Technology Brings Further EMI Challenges?

A significant section of the EMI shielding industry will remain incomplete if the special mention of automobile technology is missed out. A substantial number of the models that roll out in the market nowadays come with default features which were considered a luxury even a decade back. However, in the current scenario, cur buyers don’t even consider those units complete if they come without these technologies. Even though these features enhance the convenience of the drivers, they end up being the unwanted sources of EMI. Apart from the additional use of electronics within modern vehicles, the focus has also been on reducing the noise interference created within the cars as well. Besides embedded electronics, there are tablets, smartphones and many wireless devices which keep creating noise interference within the vehicles.

Why Is EMI Shielding Getting More and More Crucial for the Automobile Industry?

The smarter the vehicles are, the more crucial is the need for EMI shielding. The conventional cars are usually made of metal sheets which are capable of protecting the electronic parts from external EMI. But what about the EMI created within the vehicles? This is precisely where the shielding designers have to work on now. But the challenges do not stop coming. Automobile companies are now making cars out of non-metallic elements. Also, the electric cars, which have the least amount of metal shielding in their body have started dominating the industry. The electronic drive-train components create a significant amount of EMI making the conditions tougher for EMI designers.

Also, the self-driving cars are on the horizon. The wireless components integrated within these vehicles are transmitting hundreds of signals in a minute within a confined space. To prevent the electronic equipment from emitting EMI, designers are brainstorming ways to find out affordable solutions. Since the design and regulatory compliance of the shielding environment get complicated every single day, the size and costing will always remain as the most significant issues.

EMI Shielding Technologies Used in Automotive Radar and Sensing System

To increase fuel efficiency, car manufacturers are focusing on reducing the mass of their new models. Against this backdrop, EMI designers are focusing on creating lightweight EMI shielding solutions. The newly designed EMI compounds prove to be the ideal solution as they can replace the metal components without sacrificing the critical EMI shielding performance. All the freshly designed EMI compounds can provide design, fabrication, and corrosion resistance advantages over the traditional products used till now. Earlier, molded plastic parts were given a conductive layer to inculcate EMI shielding features into it. But this took too much time, and manufacturing cost also increased. On the other hand, the EMI compounds proved to be an economical approach.

Over the years, as the automobile industry has evolved, the EMI shielding challenges have reached a new level. Under this circumstance, you need to find out the right EMI shielding material, proper design, and right manufacturing process to effectively shield today’s complicated automobile applications.

Elvis Moore is an active blogger with an extensive industry experience in the field of electronics and technology.