The problem of electromagnetic shielding between elements of microelectronic circuits has been studied by using a new technique (the via holes technique). Metallic squares and truncated square cross sections approximate each metallic circle cross section. A comparison between the adjacent and a staggered arrangement of via holes has been illustrated theoretically and experimentally. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 29: 322–324, 2001.