To o l s O f T h e T r a d e

To o l s O f T h e Tr a d e 2

EMC Design Checklist

Signal Termination
RC Terminations (33 ohms + 27 pF) on
periodic signals
Group high frequency sources together; minimize
trace runs of high frequency signals
Do not source/sink I/O (whether internal or external)
through high frequency devices
Position oscillators and crystals away from I/O and
openings in the chassis
Snub switching power supply waveforms to minimize
high frequency energy
Decoupling & Power Distribution
Connect all ground pins of high frequency
circuits together
Maintain 0V reference (bond 0V to chassis)
Solid power and ground planes
Do not insert impedances into Vcc/power traces
Bonding Checklist
Bond 0V to chassis ground
Bond 0V to connector frames and shells
Bond connector frames to chassis
Bond metal frames together
Filtering
Filters are installed at enclosure walls
LC filter on unshielded cables
Plan for capacitor on shielded lines
Cabling
Route cables to avoid coupling
Use only fully-shielded cables
Fully terminate shield grounds to metal/metalized
connector shells
Terminate shells to chassis
Shielding
The Business Card Test
Suppressors
Use correctly rated suppressor line-to-line and
line-to-ground
Gas Tubes
Varistors
SAD (Silicon Avalanche Diodes)

Pa ge Two

In response to regular requests for information

from our customers on the fundamentals of
EMC and safety compliance, we have assembled
a series of informational brochures. These
brochures are intended to aid design
engineering professionals with the basics in
many areas; from design features to
international compliance to terminology, we
intend to cover them all. To receive other
brochures in the series or for more information
give us a call at 1-800-839-1649.

Dealing with EMI/RFI

The 10 Basic Steps to

Successful EMC Design

In the first of this series, we discussed the

effective use of shielded cables. If filtering is
in order, use the right filter. All filter
elementsinductors, ferrites, and capacitors
have an inherent frequency response. Judicious
combinations of inductance and capacitance
provide wideband filtering.
For most systems, use the filter that works up
to at least 500 MHz response and up to 1,000
MHz is even better. The filter should not
resonate or become useless at too low a
frequency. This means that leads are kept short,
and filter elements are placed at the entry/exit
point of any enclosure.
VII. Filter Installation
Figure 1

Most designers can improve the EMC

performance of their products by observing
relatively uncomplicated design guidelines. Part
1 in this series covered Steps 1 to 5 for successful
EMC designs: 0V noise return, proper shield
grounding, signal terminations, layout essentials
and power distribution. In this offering we
conclude our discussion of the critical design
issues for EMC with a look at filtering, filter
installation, sealing the enclosure, analog
circuits, and switched-mode power supplies.
VI. Filtering
Do not allow a conductor to exit or enter an
enclosure or system without doing something
to it; either shield it or filter it. You should
shield or filter the conductor.

Page Three

Filter

GND

Metal Enclosure

Problems start when openings are created to

install items like buttons, displays, and access
panels. Leakage occurs when the openings
become a significant portion of a wavelength.
When this happens, the energy passes through
essentially uninterrupted.
Figure 2

Aperature Leakage Model

E-Field

L= /2

Best to bond filter

case to grounded
enclosure

Part Two: Steps Six to Ten

metal box with no openings. In a so-called

perfect enclosure, all the seams seal shut
perfectly.

Install the filter ground connections with short

leads to the enclosure (Figure 1). Better yet,
bond the filter case or ground connection
directly to the enclosure. Installing a filter with
long leads is akin to not putting in a filter
at all.
Make sure that any ground connections which
usually impact the filter capacitors are
referenced to the 0V reference to return noise
currents to their source. This is as critical as
the proper use of the 0V return to the
performance of cable shields.
VIII. Sealing the Enclosure
The overriding concern with enclosures is
maintaining the integrity of the box. The
perfect electronics enclosure is a six-sided

Page Four

(L = l/2). At this frequency, the aperture is said

to resonate and the energy propagates through
the slot.
Table 1
Frequency
(MHz)
1
10
100
1,000
10,000

/2
(cm)

Design Goal
(cm)( /10)

15,000
1,500
150
15
1.5

3,000
300
30
3
0.3

Table 1 shows the relationship between halfwave resonance and frequency. The formula is
based on the relationship of wavelength,
frequency, and the speed of light:
/ = c/f = 3 x 108 m/fHz

To comprehend the effect of leaky enclosures,

you must understand the concept of electrical
length and resonance. Figure 2 shows a crack
or aperture of length L in an otherwise perfectly
sealed enclosure. This aperture might be for
an access panel, an opening for a display panel
or the mating seams from the assembly of
the device.

The first column in Table 1 is the highest

frequency of interest. This is not the highest
clock generated by the circuitry. Rather, this
represents the highest frequency due to
harmonics of the clock or other internal signals.
For state-of-the-art systems clocking at up to
500 MHz, for example, a reasonable frequency
is 2000 MHz.

Noise currents flow along the metallic skin

of the enclosure. These currents can be caused
by internal signal harmonics or an external
interference coupling onto the enclosure wall.
At low frequencies, the currents flow around
the aperture and the opening has no great
effect because the currents remain essentially
undisturbed. As the frequency increases the
opening tends to interrupt the currents
more significantly.

The third column states our design goal, which

is one-tenth of a wavelength. At 1 GHz, one
tenth of a wavelength is 3cm, a little larger than
1 inch. Consequently, no gap, aperture, crack,
or slit should be greater than 3cm in length.
And it does not matter how skinny the crack
isa hairline crack will leak very nicely.

The opening starts to impede the flow of the

current. As a result, AC voltage builds up
across the aperture. As the frequency increases,
the length of the aperture becomes a significant
portion of a wavelength. This occurs when
the length, L, approaches a half-wavelength

Page Five

Heres a good rule of thumb: If a business card

can be inserted into any opening of the
enclosure, then the potential for leakage exists
from that opening. This rule is good to about
1GHz. If your system uses clock speeds in the
hundreds of megahertz, then the maximum size
opening must be reduced.

Page Six

As a final word on shielding and related uses,

pay attention to the metal parts in a system.
These are the frames, brackets, and other
metal assemblies that make up the bones and
skeleton of the system. Particularly for systems
made up of separate subassemblies and
modules, make sure that low-impedance
bonding is present between the various
elements. If not, RF currents often may flow
between these parts.
If the metal parts are not bonded together,
these currents generate voltages that, at high
frequencies, may create radiating electric
fields. To bond metal parts, wide braided or
strap-like jumpers may be used, or the
mechanical design should reduce the
impedance between attached parts. These
parts must have metal-to-metal conducting
contact to affect a low impedance.
IX. Dealing with Analog Circuits
The implementation of the European
EMC Directive has highlighted a relatively
unexplored area of circuit sensitivity: analog
response to RF energy. This phenomenon
actually is one of the oldest EMI effects,
with its roots in the earliest days of radio
and electronics.
The effect is caused by the out-of-band
response of circuits to RF energy. Because
every circuit contains parasitic elements which
create frequency windows where energy can
enter circuits and affect the circuit operation.
The mechanism is similar to a diode detector
in an AM radio.
The RF, when incident on a p-n junction, is
rectified. The resulting modulation from the
RF carrier is, in effect, an in-band signal to
the circuit.

Page Seven

This in-band signal becomes an issue as the

EMC Directive mandates conformance with
radiated and, in some cases, conducted
immunity requirements. The test consists of
injecting RF energy into UUTs.

placed across this junction is often enough

to reduce the sensitivity of the circuit to the
external RF.

In the latest standards, the RF signal with

frequencies of 150 kHz to 80 MHz is modulated
with a 1-kHz AM at a depth of 80%. This very
wide frequency range opens the parasitic
frequency windows, if they exist, and creates
errors in circuits.

One of the more problematic areas in EMC

system design is switching power supplies. The
focus of this discussion is on emissions from
switching power supplies.

Figure 3

WL

Low Pass Filter

Ideal Response

fc

W A S H I N G T O N
L A B O R A T O R I E S
L T D .

Actual Response

fc

f?

Figure 3 shows an active low-pass filter and its

ideal and actual response curves. Parasitic
reactance in the circuit creates out-of-band
responses and frequency windows where energy
can enter the circuit.
Because analog circuits have high sensitivity
and typically use p-n junction components,
they create an ideal way for RF to be rectified
and demodulated, resulting in added noise.
To combat this effect, it is necessary to provide
low-pass filtering on input lines. The most
useful of the low-pass topologies is a
combination of a ferrite bead and capacitor.
Fortunately, this circuit also is useful for
suppressing emissions.

7 5 6 0 L I N D B E R G H D
G A I T H E R S B U R G , M D
P H 8 0 0 - 8 3 9 - 1 6 4
3 0 1 - 4 1 7 - 0 2 2 0
F X 3 0 1 - 4 1 7 - 9 0 6
i n f o @ w l l . c o m
w w w . w l l . c o m

R I V E
2 0 8 7 9
9

Another approach to reducing the response of

the circuits to RF is to desensitize them. For
example, in many temperature measurement
circuits, there is a diode for compensation
purposes. The p-n junction of the component
is susceptible to RF. A simple bypass capacitor

Figure 4

Underdamped (Ringing) Waveform

Typical in switching units

10s kHz

Broadband (radiated
& conducted)

Switching Power Supplies

Remedies:
Snubbing & Filtering

Slow
Recovery
Diodes

CM Choke

dV/dT=100sMV/s

X. Switch-Mode Power Supplies

The easiest way to deal with switching emissions

is to make them someone elses problem; in
other words, make compliance a part of the
procurement specification. If this option is
available, then the power supply must be
compliant in a stand-alone configuration, fully
loaded and with nominal-length DC leads
attached. For good measure, a margin of 6 dB
should be specified.
If you are responsible for the design, then the
problem becomes a little tougher, but not
unmanageable. Properly done, emissions can
be contained and controlled without
extraordinary means.
The primary noise culprit is the FET switch.
For maximum efficiency, FETs are designed to
switch as quickly as possible. The voltage on
the switch may be as high as 700 V. Transitions
may create dV/dT on the order of 1 GV/s.
Two principal high-frequency noise sources are
present in switching power supplies: harmonics
of the switching frequency and broadband noise
created by under-damped oscillations in the
switching circuit. These sources may combine
to create energy up to 150 MHz or higher. For
a system switching at a 50 kHz base frequency,
this means that the 3,000th harmonic of the
base frequency may be radiating.

100s
Volts
100 MHz+

Page Nine

X-Caps

Y-Caps
R

Figure 4 is the output voltage of a switching

FET. Note the ringing of the signal. The
under-damped oscillatory waveform creates
an extremely broadband noise signal, which
usually cannot be discriminated easily into any
set of discrete signals.
To manage this problem, it is possible to snub
the switching waveform with a series RC
network. This is installed across the output of
the FET. The combination of these
components tends to increase the damping on
the system, reducing the instability in the
circuit significantly.
This problem also afflicts systems using IGBT
switching components, such as inverters and
motor drivers. The IGBTs are favored for
their fast response and high-power handling
capability, which cause noise problems. The
same snubbing remedy is suggested.
Another necessary ingredient in a switching
power supply is the installation of an AC
power-line input filter. A combination of
common-mode and differential-mode elements
is normally needed in a successful filter design.

Snubber

Other items to consider include the upcoming

implementation of the harmonic current
requirements spelled out in IEC 1000-32/EN61000-3-2. These specifications stipulate
a maximum level of harmonic current (up to
2 kHz) that systems can draw from the AC
line. Harmonic current filtering may require
large inductors and capacitors that must be
accounted for in the housing/enclosure for
the system.

WL

For More Information

For detailed information on Steps 1 to 5 of
the 10 Basic Steps to Successful EMC Design,
see Part 1 of this article, the first Tools of the
Trade brochure, Running the EMC Gauntlet.
Reprinted from the January 1998 issue of EVALUATION
ENGINEERING. www.evaluationengineering.com

The trick with power-line filtering lies in fine

tuning the filter elements for the job at hand.
This is made difficult by the unknown and
widely varying impedance associated with
power circuits. The combination of these
design elements are shown in figure 5.

9
Page Eight

Figure 5

Pa ge Te n

7560 LINDBERGH DRIVE, GAITHERSBURG, MD 20879

PH 800-839-1649 301-417-0220 FX 301-417-9069
[email protected]
www.wll.com

Page Eleven

Wa s h i n g t o n L a b o r a t o r i e s, L t d .
To o l s O f T h e Tr a d e I I