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Top 10 Key EMC Design Considerations
September 4, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Any electronic product consists of various modules, where each module has to communicate with the other for its operation or to report the status. With the ever-growing demand for faster processing speeds, better response time and more throughputs, always narrow down to high-speed circuits. If not contained properly, the signal flowing through these circuits may radiate energy and can cause problems in the operation of devices in the near vicinity.
Now, engineers must consider not only the actual logic on the PCB, but also several other aspects that affect the circuit, including power consumption, PCB size, environment noise, and EMC. The following 10 key EMC design considerations can serve as guidelines and describe how hardware engineers can address EMC issues during the PCB design phase for a system free of EMC faults.
Ground PlanesA low-inductance ground system is the most vital element when designing a PCB for minimizing EMI. Maximizing the ground area on a PCB reduces the inductance of ground in the system, which in turn reduces electromagnetic emissions and crosstalk.
Signals can be connected to ground using different methods. In a poor PCB design, components are connected randomly to ground points. Such a design generates high ground inductance and leads to unavoidable EMC issues.
A recommended design approach is to utilize a full ground plane, because it provides the lowest impedance as the current returns back to its source. However, a ground plane requires a dedicated PCB layer which may not be feasible for two-layer PCBs. In such cases, designers should use ground grids, as shown in Figure 1a. The inductance of ground in this case will depend on the spacing between the grids.Read the full article here.Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2013 issue of The PCB Design Magazine.