EMC_Part1_Design_Circuits_Choice_of_Components.pdf

Design Techniques for EMC – Part 1

Circuit Design, and Choice of Components

By Eur Ing Keith Armstrong CEng MIEE MIEEE

Partner, Cherry Clough Consultants, Associate of EMC-UK

This is the first in a series of six articles on best-practice EMC techniques in

electrical/electronic/mechanical hardware design, to be published in this journal over the following

year. The series is intended for the designer of electronic products, from building block units such as

power supplies, single-board computers, and “industrial components” such as motor drives, through

to stand-alone or networked products such computers, audio/video/TV, instruments, etc.

These articles were first published in the EMC Journal as a series during 1999. This version includes

a number of corrections, modifications, and additions, many of which have been made as a result of

correspondence with the following, to whom I am very grateful: Feng Chen, Kevin Ellis, Neil Helsby,

Mike Langrish, Tom Liszka, Alan Keenan, T Sato, and John Woodgate. I am also indebted to Tom

Sato for translating these articles into Japanese and posting them on his website:

http://member.nifty.ne.jp/tsato/ , as well as suggesting a number of improvements.

The techniques covered in these six articles are:

1) Circuit design (digital, analogue, switch-mode, communications), and choosing

components

2) Cables and connectors

3) Filters and transient suppressors

4) Shielding

5) PCB layout (including transmission lines)

6) ESD, electromechanical devices, and power factor correction

A textbook could be written about any one of the above topics (and many have), so this magazine

article format can do no more than introduce the various issues and point to the most important of the

best-practice techniques.

Before starting on the above list of topics it is useful see them in the context of the ideal EMC lifecycle

of a new product design and development project.

The project EMC lifecycle

The EMC issues in a new project lifecycle are summarised below:

• Establishment of the target electromagnetic specifications for the new product, including:

The electromagnetic environment it must withstand (including continuous, high-probability,

and low-probability disturbance events) and the degradation in performance to be allowed

during disturbance events;

Its possible proximity to sensitive apparatus and allowable consequences, hence the

emissions specifications;

Whether there are any safety issues requiring additional electromagnetic performance

specifications. Safety compliance is covered by safety directives, not by EMC Directive;

All the EMC standards to be met, regulatory compliance documentation to be created, and

how much “due diligence” to apply in each case (consider all markets, any customers’ in-

house specifications, etc.).

• System design:

Employ system-level best-practices (“bottom-up”);

flow the “top-level” EMC specifications down into the various system blocks (“top-down”).

Design techniques for EMC – Part1  Cherry Clough Consultants July 2001

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• System block (electronic) designs:

Employ electrical/electronic hardware design best-practices (“bottom-up”) (covered by

these six articles);

Simulate EMC of designs prior to creating hardware, perform simple EMC tests on early

prototypes, more standardised EMC tests on first production issue.

• Employ best-practice EMC techniques in software design.

• Achieve regulatory compliance for all target markets.

• Employ EMC techniques in QA to control:

All changes in assembly, including wiring routes and component substitutions;

All electrical/electronic/mechanical design modifications and software bug-fixes;

All variants.

• Sell only into the markets originally designed for;

To add new markets go through the initial electromagnetic specification stage again.

• Investigate all complaints of interference problems

Feed any resulting improvements to design back into existing designs and new products (a

corrective action loop).

This may look quite daunting, but it is only what successful professional marketeers and engineers

already know to do, so as not to expose their company to excessive commercial and/or legal risks.

As electronic technology becomes more advanced, more advanced management and design

techniques (such as EMC) are required. There is no escaping the ratcheting effects of new electronic

technologies if a company wants to remain profitable and competitive. But new electronics

technologies are creating the worlds largest market, expected to exceed US$1 trillion annually in

value (that’s $1 million million) within a couple of years and continue to increase at 15% or so per

annum after that. Rewards are there for those that can take the pace.

The following outlines a number of the most important best-EMC-practices. They deal with “what” and

“how” issues, rather than with why they are needed or why they work. A good understanding of the

basics of EMC is a great benefit in helping to prevent under or over-engineering, but goes beyond the

scope of these articles.

Table of contents for Part 1

Circuit design and choice of components for EMC

1.1 Digital components and circuit design for EMC

1.1.1 Choosing components

1.1.2 Batch and mask-shrink problems

1.1.3 IC sockets are bad

1.1.4 Circuit techniques

1.1.5 Spread-spectrum clocking

1.2 Analogue components and circuit design

1.2.1 Choosing analogue components

1.2.2 Preventing demodulation problems

1.2.3 Other analogue circuit techniques

1.3 Switch-mode design

1.3.1 Choice of topology and devices

1.3.2 Snubbing

1.3.3 Heatsinks

1.3.4 Rectifiers

1.3.5 Problems and solutions relating to magnetic components

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1.3.6 Spread-spectrum clocking for switch-mode

1.4 Signal communication components and circuit design

1.4.1 Non-metallic communications are best

1.4.2 Techniques for metallic communications

1.4.3 Opto-isolation

1.4.4 External I/O protection

1.4.5 “Earth – free” and “floating” communications

1.4.6 Hazardous area and intrinsically safe communications

1.4.7 Communication protocols

1.5 Choosing passive components

1.6 References:

1. Circuit design and choice of components for EMC

Correct choice of active and passive components, and good circuit design techniques used from the

beginning of a new design and development project, will help achieve EMC compliance in the most

cost-effective way, reducing the cost, size, and weight of the eventual filtering and shielding required.

These techniques also improve digital signal integrity and analogue signal-to-noise, and can save at

least one iteration of hardware and software. This will help new products achieve their functional

specifications, and get to market, earlier. These EMC techniques should be seen as a part of a

company’s competitive edge, for maximum commercial benefit.

1.1

Digital components and circuit design for EMC

1.1.1 Choosing components

Most digital IC manufacturers have at least one glue-logic range with low emissions, and a few

versions of I/O chips with improved immunity to ESD. Some offer VLSI in “EMC friendly” versions

(some “EMC” microprocessors have 40 dB lower emissions than regular versions).

Most digital circuits are clocked with squarewaves, which have a very high harmonic content, as

shown by Figure 1.

Design techniques for EMC – Part1  Cherry Clough Consultants July 2001

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The faster the clock rate, and the sharper the edges, the higher the frequency and emissions levels of

the harmonics.

So always choose the slowest clock rate, and the slowest edge rate that will still allow the product to

achieve its specification. Never use AC when HC will do. Never use HC when CMOS 4000 will do.

Choose integrated circuits with advanced signal integrity and EMC features, such as:

• Adjacent, multiple, or centre-pinned power and ground.

Adjacent ground and power pins, multiple ground and power pins, and centre-pinned power and

ground all help maximise the mutual inductance between power and ground current paths, and

minimise their self-inductance, reducing the current loop area of the power supply currents and

helping decoupling to work more effectively. This reduces problems for EMC and ground-bounce.

• Reduced output voltage swing and controlled slew rates.

Reduced output voltage swing and controlled slew rates both reduce the dV/dt and dI/dt of the

signals and can reduce emissions by several dB. Although these techniques improve emissions,

they could worsen immunity in some situations, so a compromise may be needed

• Transmission-line matching I/Os.

ICs with outputs capable of matching to transmission-lines are needed when high-speed signals

have to be sent down long conductors. E.g. bus drivers are available which will drive a 25 Ω

shunt-terminated load. These will drive 1 off 25 Ω transmission line (e.g. RAMBUS); or will drive 2

off 50 Ω lines, 4 off 100 Ω lines, or 6 off 150 Ω lines (when star-connected).

• Balanced signalling.

Balanced signalling uses ± (differential) signals and does not use 0V as its signal return. Such

ICs are very helpful when driving high-speed signals (e.g. clocks > 66MHz) because they help to

preserve signal integrity and also can considerably improve common-mode emissions and

immunity.

• Low ground bounce.

ICs with low ground-bounce will generally be better for EMC too.

• Low levels of emissions.

Most digital IC manufacturers offer glue-logic ranges with low emissions. For instance ACQ and

ACTQ have lower emissions than AC and ACT. Some offer VLSI in “EMC friendly” versions, for

example Philips have at least two 80C51 microprocessor models which are up to 40dB quieter

than their other 80C51 products.

• Non-saturating logic preferred.

Non-saturating logic is preferred, because its rise and fall times tend to be smoother (slew-rate

controlled) and so contain lower levels of high-order harmonics than saturating logic such as

TTL.

• High levels of immunity to ESD and other disturbing phenomena.

Serial communications devices (e.g. RS232, RS 485) are available with high levels of immunity

to ESD and other transients on their pins. If their immunity performance isn’t specified to at least

the same standards and levels that you need for your product, additional suppression

components will be needed.

• Low input capacitance.

Low input capacitance devices help to reduce the current peaks which occur whenever a logic

state changes, and hence reduce the magnetic field emissions and ground return currents (both

prime causes of digital emissions).

• Low levels of power supply transient currents.

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Totem-pole output stages in digital ICs go through a brief period when both devices are on,

whenever they switch from one state to the other. During this brief period the supply rail is

shorted to 0V, and the power supply current transient can exceed the signal’s output current.

Both the transient current (sometimes called the ‘shoot-through’ current) and the voltage noise it

causes on the power rails are prime causes of emissions. Relevant parameters may include the

transient current’s peak value, its d I /d t (or frequency spectrum) and its total charge, any/all of

which can be important for the correct design of the power supply’s decoupling. ICs with

specified low levels of power supply transients should be chosen where possible.

• Output drive capability no larger than need for the application.

The output drive current of an IC (especially a bus driver) should be no larger than is needed.

Drivers rated for a higher current have larger output transistors, which can mean considerably

larger power supply transients. Their increased drive capability can also mean that the traces

they drive can experience faster rise and falltimes than are needed, leading to increased

overshoot and ringing problems for signal integrity as well as higher levels of RF emissions.

All of the above should have guaranteed minimum or maximum (as appropriate) specifications (or at

least typical specifications) in their data sheets.

Second-sourced parts (with the same type number and specifications but from different

manufacturers) can have significantly different EMC performance – something it is important to

control in production to ensure continuing compliance in serial manufacture. If products haven’t been

EMC tested with the alternative ICs fitted, it will be best to stick with a single source.

Suppliers of high-technology ICs may provide detailed EMC design instructions, as Intel does for its

Pentium MMO chips. Get them, and follow them closely. Detailed EMC design advice shows that the

manufacturer cares about the real needs of his customers, and may tip the balance when choosing

devices.

Some FPGAs (and maybe other ICs) now have the ability to program the slew rate, output drive

capability and/or output impedance of their drive signals. Their drive characteristics can be adjusted

to give better signal integrity and/or EMC performance and this should help save time in development

by reducing the need to replace ICs, change the values of components on the PCB, or modify the

PCB layout.

Where ICs’ EMC performances are unknown, correct selection at an early design stage can be made

by EMC testing a variety of contenders in a simple standard functional circuit that at least runs their

clocks, preferably performs operations on high-rate data too.

Testing for emissions can easily be done in a few minutes on a standard test bench with a close-field

magnetic loop probe connected to a spectrum analyser (or a wideband oscilloscope). Some devices

will be obviously much quieter than others. Testing for immunity can use the same probe connected

to the output of a signal generator (continuous RF or transient) – but if it is a proprietary probe (and

not just a shorted turn of wire) first check that its power handling is adequate.

Close-field probes need to be held almost touching the devices or PCBs being probed. To locate the

“hottest spots” and maximise probe orientation they should first be scanned in a horizontal and

vertical matrix over the whole area (holding the probe in different orientations at 90 o to each other for

each direction), then concentrating on the areas with the strongest signals.

1.1.2 Batch and mask-shrink problems

Some batches of ICs with the same type numbers and manufacturers can have different EMC

performance.

Semiconductor manufacturers are always trying to improve the yields they get from a silicon wafer,

and one way of doing this is to mask-shrink the ICs so they are smaller. Mask-shrunk ICs can have

significantly different EMC performance, because smaller devices means:

• less energy is required (in terms of voltage, current, power or charge) to control the internal

transistors, which can mean lowered levels of immunity

• thinner oxide layers, which can mean less immunity to damage from ESD, surge, or overvoltage

Design techniques for EMC – Part1  Cherry Clough Consultants July 2001

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