I grew up in the 90s in a small town in West Virginia. Everybody knew each other, everybody knew each other’s kids, and all of the kids spent time at each other’s houses in the summertime. When the heat and humidity turned oppressive, we’d spend the middle of the day inside, playing video games, listening to music, reading comic books, or trading baseball cards. … [Read more...]
EMC and Reliability in Flex PCB Cables Vs. Cable Assemblies
In military and aerospace systems, interconnect failure isn’t just an inconvenience; it can mean mission failure, equipment loss worth millions of dollars, or in the worst case, loss of life. Every connection between circuit boards represents a potential point of failure that must withstand extreme environmental conditions while maintaining signal integrity and EMC … [Read more...]
Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice With an EMC Demonstration System
INTRODUCTION Those graduating from university are often not trained in EMC. When they are, they are most likely trained very well in the theoretical aspects of EMC or at least some physics. However, they often lack the ability to apply these theories to gain a hands-on understanding of EMC principles. I have seen both junior and senior engineers … [Read more...]
CAL-P: The First Portable, Universal System for Functional Verification of EMF Sensors
In today’s landscape of electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements, ensuring the proper operation of measurement instruments quickly and directly in the field represents a major advantage for technicians. The growth of wireless applications, the expansion of broadband networks, and the need for compliance with international standards have made it essential to have … [Read more...]
You Measured What? 4 Must-Know Checks for Trusting Your S-Parameters
Verifying your trace S-parameters is more than just good practice—it’s essential for confident measurement, simulation, and design space exploration in modern EDA tools. Especially in high-speed digital systems where traces are long, applying a few key principles can provide valuable insights into your data and give you a head start in your design … [Read more...]
How to Not Die in an EMC Lab
There are risks in every work environment: risks to humans, risks to equipment, risks to things you might be testing, and risks to customers’ equipment. Such is the case in an EMC lab, which is typically an ever-changing environment with moving parts, equipment, people, and projects. From day to day, EMI personnel can be working on military equipment worth millions of … [Read more...]
Waveguide Insights: Understanding Rectangular and Double-Ridge Designs for Enhanced RF Systems
OVERVIEW This App-Note provides a thorough examination of rectangular and double-ridge waveguides, highlighting their design, operating principles, advantages, and applications. It details specifications and power-handling considerations essential for RF systems. Waveguides are crucial in microwave engineering, offering low-loss, high-efficiency transmission for … [Read more...]
What You Need to Know to Design Your Own Kit of Near-Field Probes
One challenge for EMC engineers is the impossibility of visualizing electromagnetic fields with our own eyes. Since we cannot directly observe them, we need tools to transform what we cannot see into what we can see. There are a lot of EMC tools to measure and troubleshoot EMC problems, but their elevated price makes them accessible to only a select group of people. The … [Read more...]
Myths and Legends of EMI in PCB Design
Many designers struggle with EMI and EMC challenges, and there are many myths surrounding EMI that do not help designers overcome EMC hurdles. Some designers may lack experience, while others may know EMI/EMC rules but apply them incorrectly. There is also an issue of delegation, where EMI/EMC is sometimes seen as not being a designer’s problem. No matter who is … [Read more...]
EMC Immunity Testing: Do You Know Your Failures?
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is the desired condition for electronic devices. In an ideal world, radio-frequency emissions and transient events would not cause failures or disruptions to electronic equipment. But as much as we (and the product manufacturers) wish otherwise, we are not in an ideal world. Radiated emissions, whether intentional from transmitters or … [Read more...]
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