EMC

"YOU CAN WATCH "OPRAH" WITH YOUR

TELEVISION SET SITTING ON TOP OF A WORKING
PC"
 EMC

As practiced by many: designing for, and

understanding EMC has been, and remains
an ART more than a Science.
 The greatest insights remain to be
discovered in Practice.
 EMC

One of the most critical issues to address in

the design and manufacturing of electrical or
electronic products is Electromagnetic
Interference (EMI) / Electromagnetic
Compatibility (EMC) compliance.
 EMC

In today’s increasingly compressed product

life cycle, the capability to ‘design right’ early
in the development cycle for faster EMC
compliance becomes a distinctive competitive
advantage of a company.
 EMC

Listening to the news on AM radio while

using an electric razor should not be a
problem, as it was in days gone by.
If EMC design practices are adhered to by
both the razor and the radio manufacturers,
then listening to the news on an AM radio,
while using an electric razor, presents no
problem.
Electromagnetic compatibility
(EMC)
Electromagnetic compatibility is
the capability of electrical and
electronic systems, equipments,
and devices to operate in their
intended electromagnetic
environment
withina defined margin of safety,
and at design levels or
performance,
without suffering or causing
 The EMC “Model”

The EMC model consists of three

key elements

9/7/10
 Use of the EMC Model
Items to consider –nature of the
“source” (such as RF generator,
Microprocessor clock etc).
“Path”of the current flow (either
conducted or by radiation).
Receiver of the energy
–“intentional” or “unintentional”.

9/7/10
The “Source-Path-Receiver”
Interaction

The path of the energy to the

receiver may be via radiation or
conduction.
If path is radiated, the intensity is
reduced as a function of distance
(similar to a flashlight )- the
intensity is lower the greater the
distance away - the “inverse
distance” property. 9/7/10
 ELECTROMAGNETIC COMPATIBILITY
(EMC)

1. Electromagnetic Emissions
Your System Cannot Interfere With Other Systems
or Subsystems in the Vehicle
(e.g., FM Radio).

2. Electromagnetic Susceptibility
Your System Must Continue to Operate Correctly
in the Presence of Interference From Others or
Transient Disturbances.
 EMC

Emission, Susceptibility, and Path are the

three constituents of EMC, with Emission
being the one causing the most
incompatibilities, while yielding the greatest
number of solutions.

Susceptibility on the other hand, is more

subtle in its effect and its solutions. Finally,
the Path can be the arbiter of both.
ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI)

• Conducted Interference

Enters/Exits on Wires for Power or Control

• Radiated Interference
Enters/Exits Through the Air
Emissions Must be Controlled to Protect:
AM & FM Radio Stations
Aircraft Communications & Navigation
Emergency Services Land Communications
 EMC in Product Development

Typical EMC Activities During Product Development

Specification: Define the EMC requirements .

Which directives apply?
Ensure the standards are understood.
What are the implications?

Architectural/System Design: Propose preliminary EMC design concepts.

Create the EMC test plan.
Propose PCB design strategies.
Review Power Stage Concept for EMC.
Do an EMC risk analysis.

Detailed Design: Implement the strategies and concepts.

Do pre-screening tests and simulation.

Prototype/Qualification: Do formal certification testing.

Re-design & Re-test?
Failures here are expensive!
 EMC

What is Good Practice for the Circuit isn't

necessarily Best for EMC.

What is Good Practice for EMC isn't

necessarily Best for the Circuit.
 EMC

EMC can be approached in two ways: before

the fact— designing for EMC; or after the fact
—patch work/clean up, Band Aids.

Of course, designing in EMC safeguards

ahead of time is always best; however,
sometimes even the "best" designs aren't
enough, and require some Band-Aids. Thus
the "ART" aspect of EMC.
 EMC

• The three constituents of EMC are

[unwarranted] Emissions, [inappropriate]
Susceptibility, and the [unintended] Path
between them.

• The electric razor's motor brushes arcing is a

case of unwarranted Emissions; and the AM
radio's picking up the noise through the
Path(s) (power line, and/or through the air),
is the unnecessary Susceptibility.
Path consists of Radiated and Conducted
energy.
1. Radiated (electromagnetic field)
2. Inductively coupled (magnetic field)
3. Capacitively coupled (electric field)
4. Conducted (electric current)
• In dealing with a Radiation Source --be
it an Antenna or a Circuit Board:

• The dominant energy in the Far Field is

Electric.

• The dominant energy in the Near Field is

Magnetic.
In any high frequency signal the
dominant radiation component
under ~1/6 wavelength from the
source, is Electromagnetic; this is
referred to as Near Field
radiation.
Any signal beyond ~1/6 wavelength,
is Electrostatic, and is referred to as
Far Field radiation; sometimes called
the Plane Wave.

Plane Wave radiation is how radio

works and that the 377 ohms is the
impedance of free space.
 Radiated

Radiated EMI is most often

measured in the frequency
range from 30 MHz to 10
GHz (according to the
FCC).
 Radiated
Radiated EMI is most often measured in the frequency range from 30 MHz to 10 GHz (according to the FCC).

Emission Sources: Susceptibility:

Clocks, clock lines, data lines; switching power supplies, Clock lines & data lines poorly laid out, improperly terminated;

Solutions:
Shielding, layout, filtering, ground planes, differential line
Solutions: receivers,
Balanced transmission lines, proper terminations, ground
planes, shielding, limited rise & fall time drivers

Conducted
Conducted EMI is most often measured in the frequency range of several kHz to 30 MHz (according to the FCC).

Emission Sources: Susceptibility:

Power supplies (switching), power rails, motors, relays, A.C. power cord poorly filtered, power rails poorly decoupled,

Solutions: Solutions:
Good bypassing & decoupling practices, layout, ground planes, Good bypassing & decoupling practices, layout, ground planes,
shielding, shielding, power line filtering,
 EMC control

The damaging effects of electromagnetic

interference pose unacceptable risks in
many areas of technology, and it is
necessary to control such interference
and reduce the risks to acceptable levels.
The control of electromagnetic
interference (EMI) and assurance of EMC
comprises a series of related disciplines:
Characterising the threat.
Setting standards for emission
and susceptibility levels.
Design for standards
compliance.
Testing for standards
compliance.
Regulatory: Residential,
Commercial, Industrial, and
Military
Field Strength FCC: Class A & Class B
 Class A limits industrial,
commercial, or business use.
Class B limits are more stringent
and intended for residential use.
 Laws and regulators

Several international organizations work to

promote international co-operation on
standardization (harmonization), including
publishing various EMC standards.
 Where possible, a standard developed by one
organization may be adopted with little or no
change by others.
 This helps for example to harmonize national
standards across Europe. Standards
organizations include:
International Electrotechnical Commission
(IEC), which has several committees working
full time on EMC issues. These are:
 Technical Committee 77 (TC77), working on
electromagnetic compatibility between equipment
including networks.
 Comité International Spécial des Perturbations
Radioélectriques (CISPR), or International Special
Committee on Radio Interference.
 The Advisory Committee on Electromagnetic
Compatibility (ACEC) co-ordinates the IEC's work on
EMC between these committees
Among the more well known national
organizations are:

Europe:
 Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN)
or European Committee for
Standardization).
 Comité Européen de Normalisation

Electrotechniques (CENELEC) or
European Committee for Electrotechnical
Standardisation.
 European Telecommunications Standards

Institute (ETSI).
United States:
◦ The Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
◦ The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

Britain: The British Standards Institution

(BSI).
Germany: The Verband der Elektrotechnik,
Elektronik und Informationstechnik (VDE)
or Association for Electrical, Electronic and
Information Technologies.
 Laws

Compliance with national or

international standards is usually
required by laws passed by individual
nations.
Different nations can require
compliance with different standards.
By European law, manufacturers of
electronic devices are advised to run
EMC tests in order to comply with
compulsory CE-labeling.
--Entity Standards

/ FCC Part 15, subpart J

Canada CSA

Japan VCCI

European EU (European Union) 89/336/EEC EN specifications:

Electronic Equipment Spec. Industrial, scientific and medical equipment EN55011 Broadcast receivers and associated equipment
EN55013 Electrical motor-operated and thermal appliances for household and similar purposes, electrical tools and similar apparatus
EN55014 Electrical lighting and similar apparatus EN55015 Information technology equipment EN55022

Military MIL-STD-461/462

Aviation DO-160

Belcore GR1089

Automotive SAE, GM, Ford

From the 1970s, the popularity of modern
digital circuitry rapidly grew.
As the technology developed, with faster
switching speeds (increasing emissions) and
lower circuit voltages (increasing
susceptibility), EMC increasingly became a
source of concern.
Many more nations became aware of EMC as
a growing problem and issued directives to
the manufacturers of digital electronic
equipment, which set out the essential
manufacturer requirements before their
equipment could be marketed or sold.
Organizations in individual nations, across
Europe and worldwide, were set up to
maintain these directives and associated
standards.
This regulatory environment led to a growing
EMC industry supplying specialist devices
and equipment, analysis and design software,
and testing and certification services.
Low-voltage digital circuits, especially CMOS
transistors, became more susceptible to ESD
damage as they were miniaturised, and a new
ESD regulatory regime had to be developed.
 From the 1980s, the ever-increasing use of
mobile communications and broadcast media
channels has put huge pressure on the
available airspace.
Regulatory authorities are squeezing band
allocations closer and closer together, relying
on increasingly sophisticated EMC design
methods, especially in the digital
communications arena, to keep cross-channel
interference to acceptable levels.
Digital systems are inherently less
susceptible than the old analogue systems,
and also offer far easier ways (such as
software) to implement highly sophisticated
protection measures.
Thus it is very important for all the
electronic products to comply with
EMC standards such that:
 they work normally in the given
electromagnetic environment
 they will not add any more

electromagnetic noise to the existing

environment

9/7/10
Few Definitions as per IEC Standards

electromagnetic disturbance
 an electromagnetic phenomenon which may
degrade the performance of a device,
equipment or system, or adversely affect
living or inert matter
 electromagnetic interference; EMI
(abbreviation)
 degradationof the performance of an
equipment, transmission channel or system
caused by an electromagnetic disturbance
electromagnetic compatibility;
EMC (abbreviation)
 ability
of an equipment or system to
function satisfactorily in its
electromagnetic environment
without introducing intolerable
electromagnetic disturbances to
anything in that environment
(electromagnetic) emission
 phenomenon by which
electromagnetic energy emanates
from a source
immunity (to a disturbance)
 ability
of a device, equipment or
system to perform without
degradation in the presence of an
electromagnetic disturbance
high frequency
 frequency above 9 kHz
 low frequency
 frequency up to and including 9 kHz
Port
 particular
interface of the equipment
which couples this equipment with or is
influenced by the external electromagnetic
environment
The ports of interest are shown in figure .
The enclosure port is the physical boundary
of the apparatus (e.g. enclosure).

The enclosure port provides for radiated and
electrostatic discharge (ESD) energy transfer,
whereas the other ports provide for
conducted energy transfer.