March 2015
I’m Partial to Partial Inductance!
It is well known (but often forgotten) that the concept of inductance, without defining a complete loop of current, is completely meaningless! Some books give inductance of a length or wire, some people talk about the inductance of a via, and still others talk about the inductance of ground braids, etc. All these discussions about inductance ignore the requirement for a complete loop before the total or loop inductance can be discussed in any meaningful way.
Using EMC Tools to Help Designs Pass the First Time
This is a true story. When I first joined IBM as an EMC engineer, my new manager handed me a document titled ‘EMC Design Process at IBM’ and asked me to comment. I quickly read the short document that basically said that the EMC engineer would provide the design engineers a list of EMC rules, which would be largely ignored.
Prepping for EMI Testing
Like it or not, most electronic designs today are subject to formal EMI testing. So even if you are new to EMI/EMC (electromagnetic interference/compatibility), you need to understand what is involved and how to best prepare for a trip to the EMI test lab.
