EMC Concepts Explained

This column continues a series on transmission line circuit models, exploring two additional models. It derives equations for voltage characteristics and standing waves, building upon concepts introduced in the previous installment.

This article discusses two of four circuit models for transmission lines in sinusoidal steady state. Model 1 is used for solving equations, while Model 2 introduces standing waves. The author explains their applications and differences.

This article explains how to use a Smith Chart to determine the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR).

Explore the impact of the return path impedance and the return current level on common-impedance coupling between circuits. The measurements presented were performed on a custom PCB containing audio, video, and high-current circuitry, where the return paths for each circuit were selectively shared with other circuits.

In this article, we investigate the impact of a guard trace on crosstalk reduction and present measurements taken with the latest‑generation PCB, both in time and frequency domains.

This article is the first of a two-article series devoted to the topic of crosstalk between PCB traces. In Part 1 of the series, we vary circuit topology, i.e., the distance between traces and the distance to the ground plane.

This article presents the derivation of the radiated far fields from a Hertzian dipole antenna above the ground plane using image theory.

The authors evaluate the impact of capacitors and trace length on conducted emissions.

This article evaluates the impact of decoupling capacitors and trace length on radiated emissions.

This column describes the operation of an ideal difference amplifier. It is shown that an ideal difference amplifier (with no resistance mismatches) eliminates the common mode portion of the input voltage and amplifies only the differential mode portion of the input voltage.