Reduction of inductive common-mode coupling of printed circuit boards by nearby U-shaped metal cabinet panel

The effect of a nearby U-shaped metal cabinet panel on the inductive common-mode coupling of a printed circuit board (PCB) is calculated in a two-dimensional (2-D) model by Schwarz-Christoffel (SC) transformations for doubly connected regions. Such an open metal cabinet can significantly reduce the mutual inductance between the microstrip lines on the PCB and the common-mode circuit if the cabinet is properly connected. But it may also increase the coupling for balanced pairs of tracks, in particular where the coupling for a single track varies strongly with position. Details of the SC approach are presented. The SC results agree with those of a static method of moments approach, but also clearly indicate the accuracy limits of the latter method.