What is the typical shielding effectiveness of conductive coatings versus optical fine wire mesh?
For conductive coatings, the shielding effectiveness generally corresponds to the coating resistance. The lower the coating resistance, the better the shielding effectiveness. Most conductive coatings for EMI/RFI shielding are 30 ohms/sq or less. Optical fine wire mesh is often conductively plated to improve its shielding effectiveness and may have a surface resistance of 0.1 ohms/sq or less. Consequently, the shielding effectiveness of optical fine wire and printed mesh is usually 50-100% better than conductive coatings in the 10-30 ohms/sq. range, especially at the high frequencies. See VCF and OFW datasheets for specific performance data of conductive coatings and optical fine wire mesh.
