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3 Board Level Shielding Solutions Offered by Leader Tech for Electronic Applications

Leader Tech provides EMI designers flexibility and cost-effective custom solutions. This is achieved by stocking a large variety of standard “off-the-shelf” fence options, which can be formed and combined with a cover to create a fully custom design. Additional features such as special cutouts,vent holes, insulating materials and other special requirements can be added to create the right Circuit Board Shield for your application. Avoid long lead-times and expensive custom tooling by reviewing these EMI shielding innovations and selecting the right one for your next application.

Leader Tech’s product diversity ranges from simple one-piece shields to more complex multi-cavity shields using a variety of through-hole and surface mounting options.

Tech Clips

The Tech Clip is an EMI board shield clip which provides a cost effective alternative to using a 2-piece shielding solution and allows for EMI shield placement on a PCB without post soldering. The Tech Clip eliminates the need for hand soldering, as the parts are delivered in tape & reel packaging and are compatible with high speed automated placement equipment. The Tech Clip allows for easy shield removal and replacement for PCB rework or maintenance, and saves money on PCB costs by eliminating the need for through holes.

One-Piece Shields

Surface Mount PCB Shields offer a highly reliable, cost effective, off-the-shelf solution for most surface mount shielding applications. Our SMS shields are supplied in tape & reel packaging and are suited for any volume application including automated pick and place assembly operations. Leader Tech has more sizes and heights of standard off-the-shelf shields than any other supplier.  (refer to part numbers SMS-101, SMS-201, SMS-301, SMS-401, and more).

Slot Lok Standards

Slot Lok shields from Leader Tech represent a proprietary manufacturing process that increases shield design flexibility while reducing lead time and total product cost. Slot Lok Circuit Board Shields achieve this by applying standardized manufacturing methods to produce what would traditionally be a custom manufactured product. The proprietary Slot Lok manufacturing process has helped many companies reduce their design-to-delivery time by a factor of four without incurring tooling charges.

Whether you need small footprints, low profile applications or even multi-level board designs, Leader Tech has got you covered. Contact Leader Tech to find a suitable EMI shielding solution for your application.

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Types of Surface Mount Shields and Their Applications

As electronics usage becomes more widespread, the semiconductor devices used for manufacturing the products require protection from noise sources surrounding them. And the more sophisticated the system, the more susceptible it is to noise. Thankfully, there are various ways to protect the devices and ensure the desired performance, one of which is enclosing the noise sensitive components with a metal shield. What’s more, surface mount shields from Leader Tech offer a cost-efficient method to resolve noise issues, and the shield can be removed for testing and reworking when the need arises.

Types of Surface Shield Mounts

Leader Tech produces several types of surface mount shields to meet the shielding requirements of target customers – one-piece surface mount shields and two-piece surface mount shields. These off-the-shelf solutions are extremely reliable and cost-efficient, and require no tooling charges. These shields are also offered with & without ventilation holes for heat dissipation.  Leader Tech has always been known for its careful attention to detail, and the company supplies the ordered products in tape and reel packaging for extra protection during transit and for automated placement on the customer’s PCB.  Samples of these shields are readily available for customer testing.

Application

The surface shield mounts manufactured by Leader Tech are ideal for applications of any volume, including automated pick and place assembly operations. What sets these products apart from other suppliers in the industry is their versatility and range of offerings, especially when it comes to size and height. While the one-piece surface mount PCB shields are ideal for applications that require zero inspection or repair of shielded elements, two-piece surface mount shields are preferable if frequent inspection is needed.

The surface mount shields from Leader Tech are a suitable solution for electronics manufacturers who want to safeguard their products against EMI noise while saving printed circuit board real estate. If you want more information about these shielding solutions, contact Leader Tech about their SMS product line.

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How are Fingerstock Gaskets Beneficial in EMI Shielding?

As EMI shielding becomes a growing concern, designers continue to look for solutions that provide consistent performance. Copper Beryllium fingerstock gaskets have long been the go-to choice for EMI designers as the material yields the best electrical spring contact available in the industry. The Copper Beryllium mills have been working on the design specifications with unique applications for decades. Each of the alloys produced follow the ASTM, SAE, JIS and DIN specifications of the industry.

Why are Fingerstock Gaskets the Obvious Choice for EMI Shielding?

There are two main reasons why Fingerstock Gaskets are always a favorite.

  • Each profile has mechanical spring characteristics at the core of its design. Of all gaskets available in the industry, CuBe Fingerstock gaskets have the best spring characteristics.
  • Fingerstock gaskets have the highest EMI Shielding capacity available.

EMI Shielding is all about meeting the customer’s needs, and Leader Tech excels at the design and manufacture of Fingerstock gaskets to meet the customer’s expectations. They have been in the EMI shielding industry for decades and their years of experience speak for themselves.

Leader Tech has a proven method of stamping, forming and post-heat treating that is critical in the manufacture of CuBe gaskets. The products are proven to be operational in spaces as tight as even a material thickness of .002” inches.The gaskets are available in a multitude of styles and also in low compression force versions for most profiles.

The flexibility and versatility of fingerstock gaskets make them an excellent option for enclosure shielding solutions. Wherever or whenever you need, Leader Tech is there with a  comprehensive shielding solution. – Article by Leader Tech Inc.

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5G is here.. Are you ready?

5G is here and on everyone’s minds – whether it’s news from the regulatory groups about standards or bands of operation or a new product or trial, we see it everywhere. We last wrote that 2017 was the year of 5G – 5G trials, announcements, and demos – all contributing to the excitement. We started 2018 with industry anticipation for 5G at an all-time high.

The excitement started last December with the 3GPP Release 15, which specified the first elements of the 5G NR (5G New Radio) standard with far reaching implications – prompting the industry to move from experimental phase to development and deployment phases.

In February, MWC 2018 brought over 107,000 of the industry’s top innovators to Barcelona to explore how mobile is “Creating a Better Future”. On the first day of the event, U.S. FCC chairman Ajit Pai announced that the commission is prepared to quickly make 5G-ready wireless spectrum, including mmW, available through auctions. Pai noted, “To get spectrum into the hands of companies that are going to use it for 5G, the FCC has already approved secondary market transactions this year involving 28 and 39 GHz spectrum.” He added, “I’m excited to announce today that it is my intention for the United States to hold an auction beginning this November of spectrum in the 28 GHz band, followed immediately thereafter by an auction of spectrum in the 24 GHz band.” We are well aware of the U.S. spectrum use of 28 GHz and 39 GHz for mmW 5G; the surprising comment was that the 24 GHz band will be added to the mix. It is important to note that US service providers have spent >$3B in 2017 for mmW spectrum rights. This means that 5G deployment can move ahead without waiting for the auction since the FCC decided in 2016 that existing fixed services licensees could deploy technology in three key target bands: 28 GHz, 37 GHz, and 39 GHz for mobile services as well as fixed.

August finally brought the announcement of the FCC bidding procedures for the upcoming 28 GHz and 24 GHz auctions and proposed next steps in getting the upper 37, 39, and 47 GHz bands ready for a single auction in the second half of 2019.

The 24.25 – 27.5 GHz range, referred to the as the 24 GHz band in the U.S. and China and the 26 GHz band – deemed the Pioneer Spectrum band in Europe, joins 28 GHz and 37/39 GHz as the emerging 5G mmW bands worldwide. Looking at the below graphic, we see the world converging on these three bands.  -Article by Anokiwave

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A Bit About Lark Engineering

Established in 1986, Lark Engineering has a history of designing and manufacturing cost effective radio frequency (RF) solutions for the commercial, industrial, and military markets. An international supplier of RF and microwave filters, multiplexers, and multifunction assemblies, our absolute commitment to quality and complete customer satisfaction has been the cornerstone of our business from the start.

Lark Engineering employs 175 people and is headquartered in Anaheim, California. We have an ITAR-approved manufacturing facility in Tijuana, Mexico that supplies cost-effective, high quality RF solutions for our customers.

Lark Engineering’s products are being utilized in major digital and analog wireless devices ranging in use from communications systems to test equipment and military systems. We also produce filters for GPS, cellular, ISM, PCN, PCS and many other wireless applications. We offer an extensive product mix with filters and multiplexers that satisfy requirements from 1 MHz to 40 GHz. For each customer, we are committed to providing the very best quality of filters and are dedicated to meeting our customers’ microwave and radio frequency filter needs. Learn more about Lark Engineering.