Optimization of the performance of transparent enclosures with deposited gold nanolayers using an analytical model

Abstract

Transparent enclosures formed of nanolayer composite panels have been proposed to provide high transmittance in the visible range as well as good shielding effectiveness in applications with challenging requirements in terms of low weight, small size, and transparency. We present herein a practical method to optimize the performance of such enclosures, then based on the Robinson et al. model, an analytical model is introduced to approximately calculate their shielding effectiveness. The results of the proposed model show acceptable agreement with CST simulation and measurement results, while the Robinson et al. cannot be used to analyze composite enclosures due to its inability to take into account the effects of multilayer panels. In the next step, gold nanolayers with various thicknesses were deposited on patterned indium tin oxide (ITO) glass panels using the thermal evaporation technique. Then, considering the tradeoff between the shielding effectiveness and optical transparency, an optimum thickness for the gold nanolayer was selected. To assess the results of the performance optimization, the results for the copper, ITO glass, and gold-deposited enclosures were compared, revealing that the 10-nm gold-deposited ITO glass enclosure provided good shielding effectiveness, similar to that of the copper structure (and about 20 dB better than that of the ITO glass enclosure) as well as acceptable optical transparency, whereas metallic enclosures cannot provide transparency.