EMC Highlights

Each year at the EMC Society’s annual symposium, the technical paper sessions are aligned according to technical topic areas associated with the EMC Society Technical Committees (TCs). This year, some 230 papers were received, of which 171 were accepted. For the workshops and tutorials, over 25 proposals were received, of which 21 were accepted. The Technical Activities Committee was extremely pleased with the quantity and quality of papers and proposals received this year. Once again, the annual IEEE EMC symposium is a leading forum for disseminating technical information on EMC.

Technical Papers: Paper and Session News
The greatest number of papers received is in the topic area of EMC Measurements (TC2). Over 40 papers are expected on topics ranging from military and commercial EMC measurements as well as both emissions and immunity measurement issues. Measurement issues, such as measurement techniques and errors are covered in these sessions as well as various measurement environments such as Open Area Test Sites (OATS), shielded rooms, reverberation chambers and anechoic rooms. Various antenna techniques are also addressed.
     The next largest topic area is EMI Control (TC4). Once again, over 40 papers are expected on topics covering the entire range of EMI design, analysis and control. Shielding techniques, cable termination techniques, printed circuit board (PCB) design and analysis, as well as specialized areas such as power supply design and I/O filter design are just a few of the topics covered in this group of papers. Both military and commercial applications are included for emissions as well as immunity, including electrostatic discharge, lightning strike, medical, automotive, SAR, and many other subtopics.
     Computational Electromagnetics (TC9) is expected to include 25 papers on various modeling and simulation techniques, using fullwave methods, quasi-static methods as well as simple circuit methods. Validation of all simulation techniques is an important subtopic within this general area. Papers in these sessions will include details into the inner workings of some of the simulation techniques, such as Method of Moments, Finite-Difference Time-Domain, Finite Element Method, Finite Integration Technique, and many others. These techniques are also applied to a wide range of applications, such as PCB analysis, antenna analysis, automotive, SAR, near field and far field effects and many other subtopics.
     Signal Integrity (TC10) has become very important, especially for signals above 1 Gb/s when the more traditional analysis methods may not apply and more complex methods are required for accurate results and fully functioning circuits. These sessions will include about 20 papers on topics including common mode filtering, electromagnetic band gap structures (EBG), impedance matching and equalization, crosstalk, power integrity, PCB via effects, and many more subtopics.
     High Power Electromagnetics (TC5) is expected to have approximately 10 papers on a variety of topics concerned with high power EM. Topics include wide ranging areas such as NEMP, electromagnetic bombs, electrostatic discharge, lightning and others for both military and commercial applications. Mobile, airborne, and fixed applications are included in this topic area.
     The newest technical topic area for the EMC Society is the area of Nanotechnology (TC11). Six papers are expected in this session. Topics include carbon nanotubes, composite materials, and others. Measurements, design and analysis are discussed in the various papers.
     EMC Management (TC1) will have a session with topics covering EMC education, management processes, best practices and methodologies. Various EMC related standards are included in this topic area.
     Electromagnetic Environments (TC3) will have a session that covers a variety of environments, including ship board, hospital and others. Effects from lightning, radio towers, electronic equipment, cell phones, etc. all contribute to the electromagnetic environment and are addressed in these papers.
     Other topics include Non-Sinusoidal Fields (TC7) dealing with time domain transients and ultra-wide band signals and Product Safety (TC8) dealing with the safety concerns associated with EMC issues.

Workshops and Tutorials
In addition to the technical papers noted above, several workshops and tutorials will be presented. A few of the many topics addressed include Fundamentals of EMC, MIL-STD-464 and 161 Updates, Fundamental and Advanced Topics for Antennas and Probes, EMC and Medical Devices, EMC and Wireless Devices, Fundamentals of Signal Integrity, Site Validation Techniques and Measurements above 1 GHz.

Demonstrations, Experiments and Global EMC University
The popular software demonstrations and hardware experiments will take place during the exhibit hours at the symposium. These informal “hands on” presentations provide a practical learning experience. This year’s Global EMC University again features distinguished speakers from around the world teaching an extended session on their respective area of expertise. A separate registration is required for this special track; attendance is limited to encourage interaction. EMC

For complete information on the technical program at the 2009 IEEE International Symposium on EMC, visit www.emc2009.org.