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98 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

ground plane to form a homogeneous, low-impedance path. Thus, com-

mon-mode currents and other EMI problems will be minimized. The
ground plane then is earthed for safety purposes.

5.4.3 Selection of a Grounding Scheme

The facts are that a single-point grounding scheme operates better at

low frequencies, and a multipoint ground behaves best at high frequen-
cies. If the overall system, for example, is a network of audio equip-
ment, with many low-level sensors and control circuits behaving as
broadband transient noise sources, then the high-frequency perfor-
mance is irrelevant, since no receptor responds above audio frequency.
For this situation, a single-point ground would be effective. Conversely,
if the overall system were a receiver complex of 30 to 1,000 MHz tuners,
amplifiers, and displays, then low-level, low-frequency performance is
irrelevant. Here, multipoint grounding applies, and interconnecting
coaxial cables should be used.
The above comparison of audio versus VHF/UHF systems makes
clear the selection of the correct approach. The problem then narrows
down to one of defining where low- and high-frequency crossover exists
for any given subsystem or equipment. The answer here in part
involves the highest significant operating frequency of low-level circuits
relative to the physical distance between the farthest located equip-
ments. The determination of the crossover frequency region involves
consideration of (1) magnetic versus electric field coupling problems
and (2) ground-plane impedance problems due to separation. Hybrid
single and multipoint grounding systems are often the best approach
for crossover region applications.
When printed circuits and ICs are used, network proximity is consid-
erably closer. Thus, multipoint grounding is more economical and prac-
tical to produce per card, wafer, or chip. Interconnection of these
components through wafer risers, motherboards, etc. should use a
grounding scheme following the illustrations of previous paragraphs.
This will likely still represent a multipoint or hybrid grounding
approach in which any single-point grounding (for hybrid grounds), if
used, would be to avoid low-frequency ground current loops and/or com-
mon-mode impedance coupling.
In summary, many system-level EMI problems can be avoided by
paying careful attention to the grounding scheme used. Common-mode,
common-ground impedance problems may be reduced by application of
one or more of the following techniques.
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CIRCUIT, EQUIPMENT, AND SYSTEM GROUNDING 99

• Eliminate common impedance by using a single point ground

(Fig. 5.11) if possible. This configuration is usually optimal for
power frequencies and signal frequencies below 300 kHz.
• Separate and isolate grounds on the basis of signal type, level, and
frequency as illustrated in Fig. 5.10.
• Minimize ground impedance as illustrated in Fig. 5.14 by using
ground bus, ground plane, or ground grid.
• Float circuits or equipments if practical from a safety standpoint as
illustrated in Fig. 5.15. The effectiveness of floating circuits or
equipments depends on their physical isolation from other conduc-
tors. In large facilities, it is difficult to achieve a floating system.
• Use an inductor or capacitor in the ground connection to provide
high- or low-frequency isolation, respectively, as illustrated in
Figs. 5.16 and 5.17.

Daisy Chaining (Poor)

Heavier Ground Path (Better) or: Parallel Ground Wires (Better)

Ground Plane (Better Still) Ground Grid (Better Still)

Figure 5.14 Means of decreasing common-impedance coupling by decreasing

ground path impedance. From the bad practice of daisy-chain (top), the
improvement evolves toward a plane (left) or a grid (right).
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100 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

Box 1 Box 2
Safety Bus
Z

ZL Vo

Case

Float
Zs
Vi

(a) Float Equipment Enclosures

Box 1 Box 2

Float

Vi

(b) Float Circuits and Boards

Figure 5.15 Float circuits or equipments.

Rs

Vs RL

Figure 5.16 Capacitive grounding.

• Use filters or ferrites in ground loops to limit common-mode cur-

rents or provide a common-mode voltage drop.
• Use a common-mode choke as illustrated in Fig. 5.18 or a common-
mode isolation transformer as illustrated in Fig. 5.19 to suppress
ground-loop EMI. These devices may provide on the order of 60 dB
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CIRCUIT, EQUIPMENT, AND SYSTEM GROUNDING 101

Vs RL

RF Choke

Figure 5.17 Inductive grounding.

Rs I’n Is

•
Vs RL
I”n • Is

In

Vn

Figure 5.18 Common-mode chokes.

A C
Victim
Primary Secondary =
B Case D

Or Green Ordinary
Wire Isolation
Transformer

A Parasitic C
Cap
Victim
B
D

en

Figure 5.19 Common-mode isolation transformer.

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102 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

of common-mode rejection at frequencies up to several hundred

kilohertz.
• Use optical isolators and/or fiber optics to block common-mode EMI
effects as illustrated in Fig. 5.20. Optical isolators provide a high
degree of common-mode rejection at frequencies up to and including
the HF band (i.e., 3 to 30 MHz). Optical isolators are usually lim-
ited to digital applications (they are not applicable to low-level ana-
log circuits).
• Use balanced circuits to minimize effects of common-mode EMI in
the ground loop as illustrated in Fig. 5.21. With a perfectly bal-
anced circuit, the currents flowing in the two parts of the circuit
will produce equal and opposite voltages across the load, so the
resulting voltage across the load is zero. Balanced circuits can pro-
vide significant (greater than 20 dB) common-mode reduction for
low-frequency conditions. However, at higher frequencies (above
30 MHz), other effects start to predominate, and the effectiveness of
balanced circuits diminishes.
Common-mode radiated EMI effects resulting from emissions that
are radiated or picked up by a ground loop may be reduced by the appli-
cation of one or more of the following techniques:
• Minimize the common-mode ground loop area by routing intercon-
necting wires or cable close to the ground.
• Reduce the common-mode ground loop currents by floating circuits
or equipments; using optical isolators; or inserting common-mode
filters, chokes, or isolation transformers.
• Use balanced circuits or balanced drivers and receivers.

Figure 5.20 Use of optical isolation to combat common-mode impedance.

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GROUND SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS 103

R1
RS
2
Z1
VS +
2 _ Balanced
+ Vo RL
VS Signal Source
_
2
RS R2
2
Z2

RCM
VCM
Common-Mode
Noise Source

Figure 5.21 Balanced configuration with respect to common-mode voltage.

5.5 Ground System Configurations

The ground system for a collection of circuits within a system or facility

can assume any one of several different configurations. Each of these
configurations tends to be optimal under certain conditions and may
contribute to EMI problems under other conditions. In general, the
ground configurations will involve either a floating ground, a single-
point ground, a multipoint ground, or some hybrid combination of
these.
A floating ground configuration is illustrated in Fig. 5.22. This type of
signal ground system is electrically isolated from the ground and other
conductive objects. Hence, noise currents present in the ground system
will not be conductively coupled to the signal circuits. The floating
ground system concept is also employed in equipment design to isolate
signal returns from equipment cabinets and thus prevent unwanted cur-
rents in cabinets from coupling directly to signal circuits.
Effectiveness of floating ground systems depends on their true isola-
tion from other nearby conductors; floating ground systems must really
float. In large facilities, it is often difficult to achieve and maintain an
effective floating system. Such a floating system is most practical if a
few circuits or a few pieces of equipment are involved and power is
applied from either batteries or dc-to-dc converters.
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104 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

Figure 5.22 Floating Signal Ground.

A single-point ground for an equipment complex is illustrated in

Fig. 5.23. With this configuration, the signal circuits are referenced to a
single point, and this single point is then connected to the facility
ground. The ideal single-point signal ground network is one in which
separate ground conductors extend from one point on the facility
ground to the return side of each of the numerous circuits located
throughout a facility. This type of ground network requires an
extremely large number of conductors and is not generally economically
feasible. In lieu of the ideal, various degrees of approximation to single-
point grounding are employed.

Equipment

Signal Ground

Structure or other Grounded Objects

Figure 5.23 Single-point signal ground.

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GROUND SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS 105

The configuration illustrated in Fig. 5.24 represents a ground bus

arrangement that is often used to provide an approximation to the sin-
gle-point grounding concept. The ground bus system illustrated in
Fig. 5.24 assumes the form of a tree. Within each system, the individual
subsystems are single-point grounded. Each of the system ground
points is then connected to the tree ground bus with a single insulated
conductor.
The single-point ground accomplishes each of the three functions of
signal circuit grounding. That is, a signal reference is established in
each unit or piece of equipment, and these individual references are
connected together. These, in turn, are connected to the facility ground
at least at one point, which provides fault protection for the circuits and
provides control over static charge buildup.
An important advantage of the single-point configuration is that it
helps control conductively coupled interference. As illustrated in
Fig. 5.23, closed paths for noise currents in the signal ground network
are avoided, and the interference currents, or voltages in the facility
ground system, are not conductively coupled into the signal circuits via
the signal ground network. Therefore, the single-point signal ground
network minimizes the effects of any noise currents that may be flowing
in the facility ground.
In a large installation, a major disadvantage of a single-point ground
configuration is the requirement for long conductors. In addition to

System C
System A

System B

Subsystem
A

Subsystem
Grounding B
Bus
Subsystem
C

Earth Ground

Figure 5.24 Single-point ground bus system using a common bus.

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106 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

being expensive, long conductors prevent realization of a satisfactory

reference for higher frequencies because of large self-impedances. Fur-
thermore, because of stray capacitance between conductors, single-
point grounding essentially ceases to exist as the signal frequency is
increased. In general, for typical equipments, systems, or facilities, sin-
gle-point grounds tend to be optimum for frequencies below approxi-
mately 300 kHz.
The multiple-point ground illustrated in Fig. 5.25 is the third config-
uration frequently used for signal ground networks. This configuration
establishes many conductive paths to various electronic systems or sub-
systems within a facility. Within each subsystem, circuits and networks
have multiple connections to this ground network. Thus, in a facility,
numerous parallel paths exist between any two points in the multiple-
point ground network.
Multiple-point grounding frequently simplifies circuit construction
inside complex equipment. It permits equipment employing coaxial
cables to be interfaced more easily, since the outer conductor of the
coaxial cable does not have to be floated relative to the equipment cabi-
net or enclosure.
However, multiple-point grounding suffers from an important disad-
vantage. Power currents and other high-amplitude, low-frequency cur-
rents flowing through the facility ground system can conductively
couple into signal circuits to create intolerable interference in suscepti-
ble low-frequency circuits. Also, multiple ground loops are created, and
this makes it more difficult to control radiated emission or susceptibil-
ity resulting from the common-mode ground loop effects. In addition,

Equipment
Safety Ground

Signal Ground

Facility Ground

Figure 5.25 Multiple-point ground configuration.

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GROUND SYSTEM CONFIGURATIONS 107

for multiple-point grounding to be effective, all ground conductors

between the separate points must be less than 0.1 wavelength of the
interference signal. Otherwise, common-ground impedance and ground-
radiated effects will become significant. In general, multiple-point
grounding configurations tend to be optimum at higher frequencies (i.e.,
above 30 MHz).
To illustrate one form of a hybrid-ground system, Fig. 5.26 shows a
19-in cabinet rack containing five separate sliding drawers. Each
drawer contains a portion of the system (top to bottom): (1) RF and IF
preamp circuitry for reception of microwave signals, (2) IF and video

Single-Point Power Line & Gnd Return (SPPL&GR)

LO

Ant BPF & Pre- IF

Mixer A
In RF Ampl Selector Preamp

SPPL&GR Multipoint Ground Plane

IF Log IF Demod- Video B

A Ampl. Ampl. ulator Ampl.

Multipoint Ground Plane

Power Ground

Signal Ground

Sweep Display
B Driver CRO
Circuits Drawer

Singlepoint Ground Plane

Diff Recorders Audio

Ampl. Driver

Singlepoint Ground Plane

Earth
Ground Distribution Block
Gnd

Figure 5.26 Grounding arrangement used in cabinet racks.

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108 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

signal amplifiers, (3) display drivers, displays, and control circuits, (4)
low-level audio circuits and recorders for documenting sensitive multi-
channel, hard-line telemetry sensor outputs, and (5) secondary and reg-
ulated power supplies. The hybrid aspect results from:

• The RF and IF video drawers are similar. Here, unit-level boxes or

stages (interconnecting coaxial cables are grounded at both ends)
are multipoint grounded to the drawer-chassis ground plane. The
chassis is then grounded to the dagger pin, chassis ground bus as
suggested in Fig. 5.27. The power ground to these drawers, on the
other hand, is using a single-point ground from its bus in a manner
identical to the audio drawer.

Insulator

Low-Level RF Circuits & IF

Preamp
Antenna Jack To Power Gnd
To Signal Gnd

RF-IF Coax Cables

Signal Gnd

IF Amplifiers, BP Filters
Demodulators, & Video Ampl

Chassis Shelves of Rails

Video Cables, Coax or Twisted
Shielded Pair
Computer Display Drivers and
Clock Input Readout Circuitry

Multiplex Input Low-Level Audio

Sensor Jack Sensor Circuits & Display
Raceway
Power

Secondary & Regulated

AC Power Power Supplies
Mains Input
Ground or
Weld
Earthing
Stake Ground Distribution Block

Figure 5.27 Block diagram detail of hybrid grounding arrangement.

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EMI CONTROL DEVICES AND TECHNIQUES 109

• The chassis or signal ground and power ground busses each consti-
tute a multipoint grounding scheme to the drawer level. The indi-
vidual ground busses are single-point grounded at the bottom
ground distribution block. This avoids circulating common-mode
current between chassis or signal ground and power grounds, since
power ground current can vary due to transient surges in certain
modes of equipment operation.
• Interconnecting cables between different drawer levels are run sep-
arately, and their shields, when used, are treated in the same
grounding manner as at the drawer level.
• The audio and display drawers shown in Fig. 5.27 use single-point
grounding throughout for both their unit-level boxes (interconnect-
ing twisted cable is grounded at one end to its unit) and power
leads. Cable and unit shields are all grounded together at the com-
mon dagger pin bus. Similarly, the outgoing power leads and
twisted returns are separately bonded on their dagger pin busses.

To review the above scheme, the following is observed:

• The audio and display drawers have ground runs of about 0.6 m
and an upper frequency of operation of about 1 MHz (driver and
sweep circuits). Thus, single-point grounding to the strike pins is
indicated.
• The RF and IF drawers process UHF and 30 MHz signals over a
distance of a meter so that multipoint grounding is indicated.
• The regulated power supplies furnish equipment units having tran-
sient surge demands. The longest length is about 1.5 m, and signifi-
cant transient frequency components may extend up in the HF
region. Here, hybrid grounding is indicated: single-point within a
drawer and multipoint from the power bus to all drawers.

5.6 EMI Control Devices and Techniques

The performance of some EMI control techniques or devices may be sig-
nificantly influenced by grounding. In particular, cable shields; isola-
tion transformers; EMI filters; ESD, lightning, and EMF protection
techniques; and Faraday shields must be properly grounded so as to
provide maximum EMI protection. A detailed discussion of specific
grounding considerations associated with these EMI control techniques
or devices is beyond the scope of this book. However, it is important to
emphasize the importance of grounding on the performance of these
techniques or devices, and details may be found in the references.
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110 GROUNDING FOR THE CONTROL OF EMI

Suggested Readings: Grounding

[1] Morrison, Ralph, and W. H. Lewis, Grounding and Shielding in

Facilities, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.
[1] Morrison, Ralph, Grounding and Shielding Techniques in Instru-
mentation, 3rd ed., Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1990.
[1] Denny, Hugh W., Grounding for the Control of EMI, Gainesville,
VA, Interference Control Technologies, Inc.
[1] Grounding, Bonding and Shielding for Electronic Equipment and
Facilities, MIL-HDBK-419.