A Practical Guide to

Low Frequency Magnetic Shielding

STUART KOCH
Vice President of Technical Products
Amuneal Manufacturing Corp.
Philadelphia, PA
 A Practical Guide to
Low Frequency Magnetic Shielding
• Introduction to Amuneal
• Typical Magnetic Shielding Projects
• Common Terms in Magnetic Shielding
• The Major Magnetic Shielding Mechanisms
• Shield Design Considerations
• Fabrication and Handling
• Questions, Comments, and Discussion
Introduction to Amuneal
Industries and Technologies Supported
• Particle and Nuclear Physics

• Atomic Magnetometry

• Medical Systems

• Metrology

• Wafer Processing Equipment

• Microscopy

• Aerospace and Defense

• Astrophysics

• Biomagnetics
Magnetic Shields of All Sizes
Common Magnetic Shielding Terms

“The Beginning Of Wisdom Is To

Call Things By Their Right Names”

. . . . Ancient Chinese Proverb

Common Magnetic Shielding Terms

• Field Strength (H)

• Flux Density (B)

• Frequency (F)

• Permeability (µ)

• Saturation (Bs)

• Attenuation (A)
 Field Strength (H)
(Oe, mOe, A/M)

Field strength
depends on the
intensity level of
the source and its
distance from the
shield.
 Flux Density (B)
(G, mG, T)

Flux density
measures lines
of flux per
square
centimeter.
 Permeability (µ=B/H)

Permeability
measures the
capacity of a
material to provide
a flux path.
 Permeability Factors

• Manufacturers’ µ data on rings, not shields

• Flux density evenly distributed and measurable

• Known factors: diameter, length, spacing, material

thickness, frequency, etc.

• Unknown factors: end caps, holes, stress, seams,

joints, doors, furnace loading variation, material lot
variation, etc.
B H Curves
Permeability vs. Thickness
 Saturation (Bs)

Saturation is the
maximum level of
magnetic flux that
a given material
can conduct.
 Saturation

𝑩𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 ∗ 𝟐 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝑹𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒊

𝑩𝒎𝒂𝒕′ 𝒍 =
𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔

• Assumes high permeability (µ) material

• Flux lines which are within 2 radii from the center of the
shield will be pulled into the shield material
𝑩𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒅 ∗ 𝟐𝒓
• The shield will not saturate as long as 𝑩𝒔𝒂𝒕 >
𝑻
 Frequency (f)
Permeability @ B40 vs. Frequency and Material Thickness

Permeability
affects the overall
shielding factor as
a function of
frequency and
material thickness.
Major Magnetic Shielding Mechanisms

• Flux Shunting
– Ferromagnetic Materials
– Function of Permeability

• Eddy Currents
– Conductive Materials
– Function of Frequency
Magnetic Shield Design Considerations

• Magnetic Field Intensity and Frequency

• Material Selection

• Shield Configuration and Geometry

 Common Magnetic Shielding Materials

Material Saturation Permeability (µ ) Resistivity

(Gauss) Mill Cert / Effective (µohm-cm)

Amumetal 8,000 60,000 15,000 72

Amumetal 4K* 9,000 70,000 17,500 72

ULCS/LCS 22,000 1,000 500 12

Aluminum N/A 1 1 5

Copper N/A 1 1 2
* Cryogenic application
 University of Maryland
Four Layer Magnetic Shield Components for the Study of
Intrinsic Magnetic Characteristics of Superconductors
Permeability vs. Operating Temperature
 Shield Configuration / Geometry

• Shape

• Dimensions

• Number of Layers

• Seams and Connections

• End Effects
 Attenuation as a Function of Layers
1000000

100000
Attenuation

10000

1000

100
0 1 2 3 4 5

Number of Shield Layers

Seams
Joiner Bands
Stanford University Atomic Equivalence Experiment
“End Effects”
End Caps
Three Layer Magnetometer Shield with
Access Door and Flanged Lid
 LAWRENCE BERKELEY

NATIONAL LABORATORY

Advanced Light Source

MAGNETIC SHIELD FOR THE

THIRD GENERATION PHOTON

EMISSION ELECTRON

MICROSCOPE (PEEM3)
Magnetic Shield Fabrication and Handling

• Sheet Metal....Not Machining!

• Hydrogen Annealing

• Handle Like Glass

SEM Photos of Grain Boundary Grooves in Amumetal

Figure 1: 1,000x Magnification Figure 2: 2,100x Magnification

Attenuation Testing
 Effects of Mishandling
Drop Test Data

1.800

1.600

1.400
Drops from 30.5 cm
1.200
Drops from 61.0 cm
1.000
Drops from 93.0 cm
µ/105

0.800

0.600

0.400

0.200

0.000
Demagnetization
 Procedure for Cylinder Demagnetization

𝑁𝐼
𝐻=
𝐿𝑓𝑒

H = Magnetization field in A/cm (1.0 A/cm for Amumetal)

N = Number of coil windings
I = Current Amperes
Lfe = Outer circumference of cylinder in cm

Method: This method allows varying the current in order to minimize the number of coil
windings.
Using a VARIAC, ramp up slowly to the selected current over 15 seconds, hold for 15
seconds, and then ramp down to zero amps over 15 seconds.
Repeating the cycle three times will optimize demagnetization. Additional cycles
beyond that tend to have little, if any, benefit.
 Major Cost Factors

• Material Cost

• Shield Dimensions and

Complexity

• Engineering

• Fabrication

• Hydrogen Annealing

• Ease of Assembly and

Installation
One final note…

• The terms
• How magnetic shielding works
• The right material for your
application
• Important design
considerations
• Does the shield meet my
attenuation needs?
• Why hydrogen annealing is so
important
• And please remember to get us
involved early in your project.
 SOME REFERENCES FOR LOW FREQUENCY MAGNETIC SHIELDING
(1)

• “A New Estimation of the Axial Shielding Factors for Multishell Cylindrical Shields”, E. Paperno, H.
Koide, I. Sasada, Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 87, Nbr 9, 1 may 2000

• “Amuneal’s Cryoperm Magnetic Shielding”, 4 pages. COLD FACTS Buyer Guide December 2004
Volume 20, Number 5

• “Application of Atomic Magnetometry in Magnetic Particle Detection”, S. Xu, M. H. Donaldson,

• A. Piners, S.M. Rochester, D. Budker, V. V. Yashchuk. Applied Physics Letters 89, 224105 (2006)

• ASTM A753-02 “Standard Specification for Wrought Nickel-Iron Soft Magnetic Alloys”, 6 pages.
American Society for Testing and Materials. 2002

• “Conventional Magnetic Shielding”, T. J. Sumner, J. M. Pendlebury,

K. M. Smith, J. Phys. D: Applied Physics 20 (1987) 1095-1101

* Cryomodule Design for a Superconducting LINAC with Quart-Wave, Half-Wave and Focusing
Elements”, M. Johnson et. al, National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, Michigan State
University

• Cryoperm 10 Data Set HT-EM, 11 pages. Vacuumschmelze GmbH

• “Custom Magnetic Shielding for Low Temperature Applications”, 4 pages. Amuneal Manufacturing
Corporation

• “Definitive Guide to Magnetic Shielding”, 27 pages. Amuneal Manufacturing Corporation

 MORE REFERENCES FOR LOW FREQUENCY MAGNETIC SHIELDING
(2)

• “Designof the Magnetic Shield for TRASCO Low Beta Elliptical Cavities”, P. Pierini, S. Barbanotti, L.
Monaco, N. Panzeri, INFN Milano - LASA

• “Experience With Magnetic Shielding of a Large Scale Accelerator”, S. Nagaitsev, C. Gattuso, S.

Pruss, J. Volk, FNAL

• “Ferromagnetism”, Richard M. Bozorth, IEEE Press, 1951, Rev 1978, (968 pages)

• “Magnetic Shielding”, Vacuumschmelze GmbH Publication FS-M9, 1989 (46 pages)

• “Magnetic Shielding Theory and Practice”, L. Maltin and A. Kamens, in ITEM EMC Directory &
Design Guide, 2001 (3 pages)

• “Magnetic Shields”, Albrecht Mager, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, March 1970

• “Material Efficiency in Magnetic Shielding at Low and Intermediate Frequency”, U. Adriano, O.

Bottauscio, M. Zucca, IEEE Transactions on magnetics, Vol. 39, No. 5, September 2003

• “Optimal Shell Separation for Closed Axial Cylindrical Magnetic Shields”, Eugene Paperno, Saee
Peliwal, Michael V. Romalis, Anton Plotkin, Journal of Applied Physics 97, 10Q104 (2005)

• “Optimal Three-Layer Cylindrical Magnetic Shield Sets for Scientific Applications”,

E. A. Burt and C. R. Ekstrom, Review of Scientific Instruments Vol 73, Number 7,
July 2002, 2699-2704
 MORE REFERENCES FOR LOW FREQUENCY MAGNETIC SHIELDING
(3)

• “Principles of Quasistatic Magnetic Shielding with Cylindrical and Spherical Shields”,

J. F. Hoburg, IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility, Vol 37, No. 4, November 1995

• “Review of Magnetic Properties of Fe-Ni Alloys”, Gilbert Y. Chin, IEEE Transactions on Magnetics,
Vol MAG-7, No. 1, March 1971

• “Simple Formula for Multiple Mu-metal Shields”, D. Dubbers, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in
Physics Research A243 511-517 (1986)

• “SNS Cavity Intrinsic Quality Factor Requirements Based on a Cryomodule Magnetic Shielding
Calculation”
• Sun An, SNS-NOTE-CRYO-120, March 2004

• “Soft Magnetic Materials Handbook: Fundamentals, Alloys, Properties, Products, Applications”,

Richard Boll (ed.) Vacuumschmelze GmbH, 1979 (353 pages)

• “Systematic Design of Magnetic Shields”, E. Baum and J. Bork, Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic
Materials 101 (1991) 69-74

• “The Drop Test: Deterioration of Magnetic Shielding Due to Mishandling or Abuse”, S. M. Kamens
and R. M. Koren, in EMC Technology 1987

• Westinghouse Designers Handbook: The When, Why and How of Magnetic Shielding, C. H. Arendt,
Jr., Westinghouse Electric Corporation publication, (1966) 35 pages
For a complimentary copy of today’s
presentation and the list of reference
documents, please visit:

www.amuneal.com/workshop