About the Training Course

This course covers techniques for finding design issues that may cause EMC compliance problems early in the design cycle, long before an official EMC test. This can be accomplished in the development lab without a lot of expensive, complicated EMC equipment. These techniques are easy to use and can find a wide range of potential EMC problems in a design right on the lab workbench.

This course describes each technique in depth, how to apply it, and how to interpret results. A list of recommended equipment is presented. The techniques presented sometimes use test equipment in unusual ways.

Emphasis is placed on delivering practical knowledge that can be used immediately on the job. Some class time is reserved to discuss problems and interests of those attending. Each class delivery is modified to fit the interests of the attending people.

The course and its many experiments tie in well with Howard Johnson's High-Speed Digital Design courses.

Who is this training course for?

Prerequisites

Training Course Content

• Technical Background
• Loop theory and resonant frequency of physical structures
• Common mode current relationship to EMC emissions
• Using current probes to find EMC problems
• Design of system cables and connectors and their relationship to EMC
• Differential signals: how much do they help?
• Skin effect
• Tools Discussed
• Commercially available equipment
• Simple to build probes
• Scopes and Spectrum Analyzers
• Techniques and Methods
• Measuring resonant frequencies in a system and relating them to potential EMC problems
• Measurement of common mode currents and relative phase to predict EMC problems
• Evaluation of heat sinks, board edge connectors, and other physical parts of a system
• Unconventional uses for conventional test apparatus
• Interpreting measurement results
• Hands-On Experiments
• Sources of common mode current and connector design
• Resonant frequency of a circuit board mounted over sheet metal (by class attendees)
• Shielding effectiveness (by class attendees)
• Recommended equipment and sources
• Probes
• Test equipment
• List of sources

Benefits

• Learn the simple theory behind easy to use development lab tests that can find EMC problems.
• Discover how to find and evaluate potential EMC problems with readily available lab equipment.
• Learn to measure the resonant frequency of physical structures like heat sinks or edge connectors.
• Investigate the design errors than can cause EMC problems and how to find them in a design.
• Learn to measure EMI currents in systems and recognize when they are a problem.
• Understand how to relate the easily measurable relative phase of EMI currents to fixing EMC problems.
• Learn construction techniques for useful laboratory apparatus that can track down problems.
• Learn how to use test equipment you already have in novel ways to find EMC problems in a design.

All those attending will also receive a CD-ROM. The CD-ROM will contain data including the course notes in pdf format, a variety of published technical articles, an image of the course presenters technical website and a tutorial plus a Technical Tidbit audio file from the presenter's subscription website.

About the Lecturer

Doug Smith,
Consultant - D. C. Smith Consultants

Mr Smith held an FCC First Class Radiotelephone license by age 16 and a General Class amateur radio license at age 12. He received a B.E.E.E. degree from Vanderbilt University in 1969 and an M.S.E.E. degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1970. In 1970, he joined AT&T Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff. He retired in 1996 as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff. From February 1996 to April 2000 he was Manager of EMC Development and Test at Auspex Systems in Santa Clara, CA. Mr. Smith currently is an independent consultant specializing in high frequency measurements, circuit/system design and verification, switching power supply noise and specifications, EMC, and immunity to transient noise. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a former member of the IEEE EMC Society Board of Directors.
His technical interests include high frequency effects in electronic circuits, including topics such as Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Electrostatic Discharge (ESD), Electrical Fast Transients (EFT), and other forms of pulsed electromagnetic interference. He also has been involved with FCC Part 68 testing and design, telephone system analog and digital design, IC design, and computer simulation of circuits. He has been granted over 15 patents, several on measurement apparatus.
Mr Smith has lectured at both UK & USA Universities, AT&T Bell Labs, and at many public and private seminars on high frequency measurements, circuit design, ESD, and EMC. He is author of the book High Frequency Measurements and Noise in Electronic Circuits. His very popular website, www.emcesd.com (www.dsmith.org), draws many thousands of visitors each month to see over 60 technical articles as well as other features.
www.emcesd.com - Doug Smith's High Frequency Measurements website, which contains a wealth of interesting technical information.