High Frequency Measurements Web Page
Douglas C. Smith

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Copper Foil Tape, Anyone?

Often, an item intended for one use works very well for another unrelated use. Copper foil tape has a number of uses in board prototype and EMC work. Occasionally,  it is needed on short notice without enough time to go through regular purchasing channels at one's company. It can be pricey as well.

It turns out that your local hardware store may have just what you need along the lines of copper foil tape.  Apparently slugs and snails don't like copper, although I wonder if "electrical charge" has anything to do with it. Their loss is our gain. This tape is available in many areas on a moment's notice and if you catch it at the end of the "slug and snail" season, it can be an excellent value.

I doubt if the adhesive is conductive, but it is very thin so there is enough capacitance between the tape and the metal it is taped to so the tape works well at most frequencies of interest. When used to cover areas on a prototype board, I solder the edges anyway. This is the tape used in the DC-1GHz probe described on this website.

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Copyright © 2000 Douglas C. Smith