Expert Insights

Explore the correct use of UL iQ for Electrical Insulation Systems and how proper utilization can save time and money during product development.

Ken Wyatt's blog explores DIY radiated emissions testing. He breaks down the gear you'll need—think spectrum analyzers and special antennas—and shows how to set up your own test space without breaking the bank. It's all about catching EMC issues before the big, pricey lab tests.

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.

Humidity control in relation to an ESD control program continues to be misunderstood across the industry. Humidity does help in the reduction of charge accumulation, but it does not control charge accumulation to reduce the risk to sensitive items.

This article discusses using the reciprocity theorem in EMC troubleshooting, particularly for immunity issues. It describes a case study involving a smart meter and demonstrates how emission measurements can help identify susceptibility problems, highlighting the usefulness of walkie-talkies in testing.

The blog discusses various types of bandwidths used in EMC measurements, including receiver bandwidth, resolution bandwidth (RBW), and video bandwidth (VBW). It explains their differences, importance in testing, and challenges in measuring low-amplitude signals at high frequencies.

Passive components can go rogue beyond expected frequencies, resulting in parasitic effects sabotaging EMI suppression. Designers beware, a passive component's non-ideal behavior requires strategic handling.

Often overlooked during the development of appropriate spacings (creepage distances) for safety-certified products is the failure to account accurately for the material group of the components involved. This oversight can have significant implications. Let us briefly explore this issue to raise awareness among readers.

While many designers attempt to perform radiated emissions troubleshooting at an outdoor site or in a semi-anechoic chamber using a third-party test lab facility, I've found a much more efficient method is to perform this using a nearby antenna right on your own work bench.

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.