Low Cost Alternative to Copper EMI Tape

25 Sep Low Cost Alternative to Copper EMI Tape

Wayne Miller, General Manager of American Environments Company

Here is an interesting one I learned about recently. Slug and Snail barrier tape (Which is copper foil tape with a non-conductive adhesive) will work very well in place of regular EMI tape in many situations.

The real gem here is that the tape is far cheaper than standard EMI tape ($7 a roll versus 26$ a roll) and can be purchased at almost any hardware store. Since the adhesive is thin there is enough capacitance between the tape and metal it is taped to that it will work well over a fairly wide frequency range.

In summation a simple tip that can be a lifesaver when you run short of the good stuff, and you know it’ll always happens at the worst possible times with clients in house.