Embedded waveguide and embedded electromagnetic shielding
OwnerMartin A. Cottoninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Construction of printed circuit boards (PCBs) containing electromagnetic shielding and conductive tubes forming signal lines and/or waveguides. The method of construction calls for forming of grooves through layers of the PCB and coating the interior surfaces of these grooves with conductive material. These conductor-coated groove walls serve as conductive surfaces between embedded conductive surfaces on different layers. The conductive surfaces thus joined form a continuous electrically conductive surface that can be configured to act as an electromagnetic shield. Such conductive surfaces may be configured with internal conductors to act as a signal line, or without internal conductors to act as a waveguide.
Claims6
A shielded interconnect structure for interconnecting plural devices on a printed circuit board, the shielded interconnect structure comprising:
- a plurality of multi-trace signal lines separated by trenches and enclosed within a conductive shield, wherein each multi-trace signal line comprises:
- at least one first level conductive trace disposed on an upper surface of the printed circuit board, and adapted for electrical connection to one or more of the plural devices,
- at least one second level conductive trace disposed on a buried level of the printed circuit board, and
- at least one third level conductive trace disposed on a further buried level of the printed circuit board;
- a conductive shield comprising;
- a top shield layer disposed on an upper surface of the printed circuit board,
- a conductive side wall electrically connected to the top shield layer, and
- a bottom shield layer electrically connected to the conductive side wall and buried within the printed circuit board at a level beneath the further buried level;
- and
- a plurality of trenches wherein at least a portion of each trench is parallel to at least one of said multi-trace signal lines and wherein adjacent multi-trace signal lines have at least one of said trenches positioned there between.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.