Hi everyone and happy new year,

What is the purpose of this outline gold plated ground with vias fence?

Please see the attached picture

Thanks in advance

Nick

 

Gold plating reduces corrosion in hostile environments.

The large area probably is shielding circuitry on the other side of the board.

The fence around the edge of the board is just that. With a similar ground trace on the other side, this is approximately the same as having a grounded metal strip around the edge of the board. It prevents interference from getting to traces near the edge of the board on internal layers. It also prevents signals radiation from those internal traces for secure applications such as TEMPEST. Like the perforated metal screen in the door of a microwave oven, the spacing between the vias sets the max frequency of effective shielding. Yes, it really does work.

ak

 

That was a great explanation!!

However, I am not really sure what is the purpose of gold plating around the edge (fence area).. I mean, what is the difference of applying solder mask?