Electromagnetic interference (EMI)

Troubleshooting EMC Immunity Issues

Troubleshooting EMC Immunity Issues Most PCB Designers wear many hats, and one of them is to solve EMC problems. How can you acquire this skill that is not offered in the university? Watch now or listen on the go! Read Article

Electrical Stress Test

Overview of Electrical Stress Test Methods for PCBAs Electrical stress test requirements should be considered as you begin to make a transition to high volume production. Read Article

Common Mode Choke Selection

Common Mode Choke Selection Noise on power supply lines can be a major headache. We'll examine how to select a common-mode choke to help eliminate common-mode noise. Read Article

ESD Protection Circuit Design

Beginner’s Guide to ESD Protection Circuit Design for PCBs Circuit protection from transient voltages and currents can be applied with ESD protection circuit designs. Learn more about these circuits in our guide for new engineers. Read Article

Ferrites

How to Use Ferrite Beads, Chips, Cores, and Plates Are you using ferrite beads correctly in your PCB layout? Learn more about all the different uses for ferrites in your PCB. Read Article

What Types of EMI Filters are Best for Passing EMC Testing?

What Types of EMI Filters are Best for Passing EMC Testing? When you need to pass EMC testing and your new product is being crippled by a mysterious source of EMI, you’ll probably start considering a complete product redesign. Your stackup, layout/routing, and component placement are good places to start, but there might be more you can do to suppress specific sources of EMI. There are many different types of EMI filters that you can place in your design, and the right filter can help suppress EMI in a Read Article

Should You Use Your PCB Power Plane as a Return Path?

Should You Use Your PCB Power Plane as a Return Path? Power planes and ground planes are important for more than just distribution of supplying power. When defining reference planes, both with impedance controlled routing and in managing return paths, your stackup might force return currents to pass into a PCB power plane before being coupled back to a ground layer. Even though you define a GND reference layer as a the basis for your impedance-controlled trace width, you still have to define a clear Read Article

High Speed Design

EMI in Your High Speed Design: Understand the Signal Rise Time Learn more about your high speed design and how to deal with switching speed, rise time, and EMI in your high speed PCB layout. Read Article

isolated vs non-isolated power supply design guide

Isolated vs Non-Isolated Power Supplies: The Right Choice Without Fail Learn the advantages and disadvantages of isolated vs non-isolated power supply design. Read Article

Phalanx, not Failure: PCB Shielding to Protect Your Design

Phalanx, not Failure: PCB Shielding to Protect Your Design During 7 B.C., Greek soldiers—or hoplites--carried a large, concave, circular pcb shield called the hoplon. Made from bronze and wood, the hoplon or Argive shield protected hoplites from chin to knee and—when overlapped—became the basis for the Greek phalanx. At the beginning of the 20th century, Ethiopians used their shields when fighting against an invading Italian army. The constant banging on the shields by the Ethiopians mingled with war Read Article

RF Interference Prevention and RF PCB Design in the Internet of Things

RF Interference Prevention and RF PCB Design in the Internet of Things Have you ever been to a party where there was so much noise you could barely hear yourself think? I’m a dedicated introvert, but sometimes my friends lure me out to such gatherings with promises that it will be “very relaxed.” They never are, and I don’t seem to learn. It’s times like those that I wish it was socially acceptable to wear noise-canceling headphones to such events. In the world of electronics, the burgeoning Internet of Things (IoT) Read Article

Conducted Emissions Test Equipment and Noise Reduction Guidelines

Conducted Emissions Test Equipment and Noise Reduction Guidelines One of my classes in college was so difficult that the professor would give us the test questions a week in advance. Even knowing exactly what to study for the exam, lots of students still failed. Conducted emissions analysis for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) is similar. Devices need to be checked to see if they’re putting too much noise back into the grid through their power supply. Otherwise, the FCC will think you’re disrupting utility Read Article

How to Perform In-House Pre-Compliance Testing for Radiated Emissions Have you ever had a wonderful moment ruined by a smell? Once I went out on a date with a girl I’d been interested in for some time. Everything was going great, we got to the end of the date and I walked her to the door. I leaned in for a kiss and...got offered a breath mint and a goodnight hug. Sometimes you can feel like you’re putting out good vibes, but you’re really emitting something else. The same goes for wireless circuits. You go through Read Article

EMI/EMC Design: PCB Noise Reduction Through Isolation of AC and DC Signals

EMI/EMC Design: PCB Noise Reduction Through Isolation of AC and DC Signals Using AC and DC components on the same board can cause EMI issues, however, these issues can be resolved through isolating the AC and DC systems. There are several straightforward solutions to help manage interference between AC and DC circuits, mainly; shielding components, separating systems, dedicated power supply, good grounding, decoupling capacitor and not bridging isolation. Read on to find out more on PCB noise reduction! In high school Read Article