Skin Depth Calculator
Calculate skin effect at high frequencies
Input Parameters
Results
Skin Depth (δ)
6.609µm
at 100 MHz in Copper
Skin Depths in Trace
5.30
Effective Thickness
13.22 µm
AC/DC Resistance Ratio
2.66×
Resistance Increase
+166.1%
Significant skin effect. AC resistance is 2.7× higher than DC.
Skin Depth at Various Frequencies
1 MHz66 µm
10 MHz21 µm
100 MHz6.6 µm
1 GHz2.1 µm
10 GHz0.66 µm
Values for copper at 20°C
Design Implications
- At high frequencies, current flows near the surface
- Thicker copper may not reduce RF resistance
- Surface roughness affects high-frequency loss
Understanding Skin Effect
What is Skin Effect?
At high frequencies, alternating current tends to flow near the surface of a conductor rather than uniformly through its cross-section. The skin depth (δ) is the depth at which the current density has decreased to about 37% (1/e) of its surface value.
PCB Design Impact
For high-frequency PCB design, skin effect means that increasing copper thickness beyond ~2-3 skin depths provides diminishing returns for reducing AC resistance. Instead, wider traces or smoother copper surfaces may be more effective for reducing RF losses.