3.10.2.11 The Use of Guarding and Shielding to Reduce Common-Mode, Coherent Interference
When extremely low-level signals are being measured,
or when very high CM coherent noise is present,
as in the case of certain biomedical applications,
strain gauge bridge applications,
or thermocouple measurements,
the use of a guard shield can effectively reduce the input capacitance to ground of the amplifier,
hence giving rise to coherent interference.
Figure 3.39 illustrates a conventional differential instrumentation amplifier (DA) connected to a Thevenin source (VS, RS), by a shielded, twinax cable.
The cable shield is tied to the source ground and not to the power supply ground.
A large, coherent, CM voltage, VGL, exists between the power ground and the source ground.
If no currents flow in the twisted pair wires, then VGL appears as the CM voltage at the amplifier input and is rejected by the amplifier CMRR;
there is no DM component of VGL.
However, the input capacitances of the DA allow input currents to flow.
Note that there is a capacitance C1S between the HI side of the source and the cable shield and conductor 2.
Due to asymmetry in the circuit, a DM component of VGL appears across the amplifier input. This DM interference component can be calculated. By inspection of the circuit in Figure 3.39,
V¼VGL. Vþ is given by the reactive voltage divider as: