EMC TESTING & ANALYSIS: COMPATIBILITY
Radio absorbent material characterises the appearance of EMC testing chambers
Emission control W
Jonathan Newell speaks to TÜV SÜD Product Service about getting back to basics on the complex subject of electromagnetic compatibility
ithmore products able to transmit and receive signals, the advent of an exponential rise in connected devices as part of the Internet of Things
and the proliferation of highlyminiaturised, densely packed circuitry in everyday use, the subject of radio frequency interference is certainly not going to get any easier. The electronics industry is bristlingwith
challenges as profusely as the antennas that give its products themeans of achieving those all-importantwireless communications.Wireless is no longer a convenience but a necessity that enables technologies that promise tomake profound changes to thewaywe live andwork, such as driverless cars and Industry 4.0. For such technologies to work, there has
to be no interference, no spurious radio waves crossing fromone antenna to another or finding their way into pseudo- antennas such as the circuitry on a PCB. In this context, the standards covering
emissions and interference are regularly reviewed and subject to changes, such as the Radio EquipmentDirective (RED), which came into force earlier this year. To learnmore about the phenomenon of
EMC and the tasks faced by the test house, I spoke to PeterDorey, principal consultant EMC at TÜV SÜDProduct Service.
PRODUCT PROLIFERATION I askedDorey what EMC testingmeans to manufacturers and why there is such focus on the phenomenon at themoment. Electromagnetic compatibility deals with the issues of Radio Frequency (RF) disturbances or emissions, sometimes referred to as electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI). “Generally, there is a proliferation of
radio or wireless products which are operating in environments with sensitive equipment, and this equipment has to be protected,”Dorey says.
All of these radio or wireless products
must now comply with the Radio EquipmentDirective (RED), which applies to all equipment capable of transmitting or receiving signals. The purpose is to protect devices from
emissions in the range of 150kHz to 6GHz. This is driven by a list of standards, including REDbut bespoke tests can also be done for product performance verification or tomeet specific standards associated with particular types of equipment.
ASSAILANTS AND VICTIMS There are two ways of looking at any product froman EMC perspective: as either an assailant emitting RF signals thatmight interfere with other products or as a victim receiving signals that interfere with its function. Assessing potential victims is immunity
testing for commercial products. The defence sector chooses to use the word
August 2017 /// Environmental Engineering /// 35
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