The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent no. 8349659, titled “Integrated Shield for a No-Lead Semiconductor Device Package.” According to background information supplied by the inventors, “there is a need for an electromagnetic shield that is inexpensive to manufacture on a large scale, does not waste space around the semiconductor device package, and effectively … [Read more...]

Editor’s note: This question was asked in response to Interference Technology’s recent webinar by Keith Armstrong. To view the webinar, click here. Question: What do you think about using a Reducing EMI Spread Spectrum Clock Oscillator, like the ones manufactured by Mercury Electronic? Answer: Well, this isn’t really a question related to the subject of my webinar, but I have … [Read more...]

Editor’s note: This question was asked in response to Interference Technology’s recent webinar by Keith Armstrong. To view the webinar, click here. Question: How are DC signals perceived as EM waves? Answer: They aren’t EM waves, because by definition a DC signal (or power) is unchanging, so there can be no wave propagation going on. It is important to understand that … [Read more...]

Editor’s note: This question was asked in response to Interference Technology’s recent webinar by Keith Armstrong. To view the webinar, click here. Question: Should a ground moat be used across a signal transformer? Answer: I’m assuming that we are discussing an isolating signal transformer with at least one side suffering from RF noise that we don’t want to cross over to the … [Read more...]

The following are comments by Douglas J. Hughes, ISASI MO4415, retired aerospace accident investigator, on the FAA's request for comments regarding EMI in aircraft   Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA October 12, 2012 SUBJECT Passenger Use of Portable Electronic Devices on Board Aircraft Notice of policy; request for comments (RFC) SUMMARY OF COMMENTS Air travel is tedious.  … [Read more...]

Baytems, a designer, developer and worldwide distributor of electronic instruments and testing devices, has released the ESDzap, a handheld ESD simulator capable of performing contact and air discharge mode testing. The ESDzap is IEC/EN 61000-4-2 certified and can test in 100 V increments, with a minimum setting of 500 V and a maximum setting of 8 kV. The ESDzap also includes … [Read more...]