2001 Meetings

The linked titles of some meetings are the presentations speakers provided.

December 11, 2001: "SCV EMC Society, meeting jointly with the SCV Product Safety Society"

Abstract: On December 11 we will be having our annual social gathering, normally held in September of each year.

November 13, 2001: "CEM Methods for System-Level EMC Design" by Fred German

Abstract: Ever-increasing clock speeds have greatly increased electromagnetic emissions from computer processors and ASICs. Consequently the containment of electromagnetic radiation has become a major factor in the physical design of electronic systems. The "test and fix" approach solving EMC problems in the lab after a prototype is built is not acceptable in today1s highly competitive market led environment. Time to market pressures mean that designs must pass regulatory and corporate requirements the first time. Recent advances in computational electromagnetics (CEM) now permits the rapid characterization of EMC performance of electronic equipment at the system level. In this presentation, an overview of the various CEM methods available for system-level EMC design will be. Realistic case studies will be presented showing their effectiveness in the product design cycle.

Bio: Fred German is a Senior Consulting Engineer with Flomerics, Inc. in their Electromagnetics Division. Fred provides consulting and support in the area of computational electromagnetics for EMC and antenna design . He has been involved in the application of numerical methods to electromagnetic design problems since 1987.

October 9, 2001: "EFT Testing and Common Pitfalls" by Doug Smith

Abstract: Doug Smith, will cover the background of EFT testing (IEC 61000- 4- 4) w along with common pitfalls. Doug will also share some tips on the testing process. Doug believes that all talks should have some entertainment value and this talk is not an exception. War stories and demonstrations will be used throughout the talk.

One of these covers a common mistake that some testing labs make that can nearly double the stress on the EUT. If you have an EFT Burst Generator what do you do with it when it is not being used (probably most of the time unless you work for a test lab)? Doug will cover some test / debug techniques using an EFT generator that have nothing to do with EFT, such as solving ESD problems and measuring noise margins at the PWB and circuit trace level.

Bio: Mr. Smith received a BSEE degree from Vanderbilt University in 1969 and an MSEE degree from the California Institute of Technology in 1970. In 1970, he joined AT&T Bell Laboratories as a Member of Technical Staff. He retired in 1996 as a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff. From February 1996 to April 2000 he was Manager of EMC Development and Test at Auspex Systems in Santa Clara, CA. Mr. Smith currently is an independent consultant specializing in high frequency measurements, circuit/ system design and verification, switching power supply noise and specifications, EMC, and immunity to transient noise. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and a member of the IEEE EMC Society Board of Directors.

His technical interests include high frequency effects in electronic circuits. He has been granted over 15 patents, several on measurement apparatus. Mr. Smith has lectured at Vanderbilt University, AT&T Bell Labs, and at many public and private seminars on high frequency measurements, circuit design, ESD, and EMC. He is author of the book High Frequency Measurements and Noise in Electronic Circuits and is currently working on his second book.

May 8, 2001: "Parallel Traces are Just the Beginning: A Primer on Four Printed Circuit Board Coupling Mechanisms" by Dr. Zorica Pantic-Tanner; Franz Gisin

Abstract: As high speed digital clocks, timing, and data signals cross over into the GHz frequency range, the traditional lumped element L-C (inductive-capacitive) crosstalk model is not sufficient to explain all the coupling mechanisms occurring between conductors on a printed circuit board. At higher frequencies, other printed circuit board structures cause EMC and signal integrity engineers grief. These include vias, routing traces across breaks in ground and power planes, and reflections from PCB edges. The presentation will briefly review the L-C crosstalk mechanism, and then explore how the other three structures can also create coupling paths between PCB conductors. The presentation will also cover practical examples of mitigation techniques that can be used to minimize all four coupling mechanism.

Bio: Dr. Zorica Pantic-Tanner is Director of the SFSU School of Engineering, and Director of the SFSU Center for Applied Electromagnetics, a research facility that provides resources for theoretical and experimental studies in applied electromagnetics. She received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nish in 1975, 1978, and 1982, respectively. After graduating she became an Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Nish. In 1984 she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for postdoctoral research in the area of Applied Electromagnetics with the Electromagnetics & Communications Lab of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1989 she joined the School of Engineering at San Francisco State University. Dr. Pantic-Tanner's research and teaching interests are in the areas of Electromagnetic Field Theory, Applied Electromagnetics and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). She has published over 50 conference and journal papers in these areas. Dr. Pantic-Tanner is Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the IEEE EMC Society, a member of the IEEE EMC Society Education Committee, and Vice-Chair of the IEEE EMC Society Technical Committee TC-9 on Computational Electromagnetics. Under the IEEE EMC Society sponsorship, she has also developed and taught several EMC courses.

Franz Gisin is EMC/Signal Integrity Design Manager at Sanmina Corporation. He received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho in 1972, and his M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Santa Clara in 1986. Franz has been active in the EMC community for over 27 years, and has published numerous papers ranging from measurement uncertainties associated with 1/R extrapolation on OATS to mechanisms of common mode radiation from PCBs with attached cables. He is a past EMC Society Distinguished Lecturer and a past member of the EMC Society Board of Directors. Currently he is steering committee chair of the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility. He also teaches electromagnetics at SFSU.

April 10, 2001: "Radiated Emissions Measurements Above 1 GHZ" by Tom Cokenias

Abstract: Radiated field strength measurements at frequencies above 1 GHz are becoming common requirements for a wider range of equipment than ever before. In addition to case radiated measurements from licensed transmitters, and restricted band emissions from FCC Part 15 devices and for ISM equipment, ITE equipment is now included as one of the categories requiring testing to microwave frequencies. The current 1GHz microprocessors and the 2 GHz processors in development are pushing testing requirements up to the 5 - 10 GHz range. The presentation will review the regulations requiring measurements above 1 GHz for ITE and other types of equipment. Specialized test equipment, such as horn antennas, boresight antenna masts, low loss flexible coaxial cables, and harmonic mixers will be discussed.

There will also be discussion of test methodology. Published test procedures often lack the level of detail that is necessary to make repeatable and accurate measurements. The narrow beam widths of the measurement antennas and the highly directional nature of the emissions require careful search procedures to accurately measure maximum field strengths, and slight differences in technique can result in level measurements that can differ by more than 10 dB.

Bio: Tom Cokenias has been in the RF regulatory field for over 25 years. He spent 8 years working as an electronic engineer in the Equipment Authorization Branch of the FCC Laboratory in Columbia, MD. Since 1983 has held senior engineering positions at a number of EMC laboratories in the Bay area, most recently as Director of Engineering at Compliance Certification Services. He is also owner and chief consultant at T.N. Cokenias Consulting in El Granada, CA.

March 13, 2001: "Optimizing GBE Idle Pattern for Better EMC Performance" by Todd Knibbe

Abstract: Of all the possible data patterns used in a Gigabit-Ethernet system, the Idle Pattern dominates the EMC emissions. It is typically used as a worst case scenario for EMC characterization and testing. This is because in many systems, the steady state Idle Pattern consists of a repeating 20-bit sequence, causing a very distinct emissions spectrum which can be radiated by high-speed serial components when no data is being sent. However, the Gigabit Ethernet standard allows for some flexibility in the implementation of Idle Pattern. Software/Firmware can be modified to lengthen/randomize the Idle Pattern, lowering peak emissions and improving EMC compliance dramatically. Reduced emissions in a multi-port Gigabit Ethernet system using these alternative Idle Patterns was demonstrated. The 10-Gigabit Ethernet Alliance is already applying these lessons to reduce Idle Pattern emissions in next generation 10-gigabit Ethernet systems.

OUTLINE: Introduction
GbE Idle Pattern and EMC Performance in GbE systems 8B/10B Encoding Basic discussion of 8B/10B encoding system used by GbE systems Idle Pattern Implementation of GbE Idle Pattern using 8B/10B encoding Initial Experiment Initial experiment with alternative GbE Idle Patterns to reduce EMI EMC Testing of Alternative GbE Idle Patterns EMC testing with commercial system and alternative GbE Idle Patterns 10GbE Committee Recommendations Alternative (Randomized) Idle Pattern included in 10GbE standard.

Bio: BS+MS in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1993. Worked for MIT Lincoln Laboratory on satellite free-space laser communication links 1991-1994. Worked for Hughes Network Systems designing satellite radio transceivers (DirecTV) 1994-1999. Currently an Applications Engineer with Agilent Technologies.

February 13, 2001: "Emerging Standards for Europe" by Jerry Ramie

Abstract: The "New Approach Directives" of the European Union mandate new and expanded testing for Regulatory Compliance for most electrical & electronic products. These Standards affect a vast array of products, some of which have not been subject to such rigorous testing in the past. The important changes to the EMC Directive (89/336EEC) and their impact on our company's products are discussed in this presentation.

• EN61000-4-5 Lightning Strike (Surge)
• EN61000-4-6 Confucted RF Immunity
• EN61000-4-8 50 Hz Magnetic Fields
• EN61000-4-11 Power Dips & Interrupts
• EN61000-3-2 Power Harmonics
• EN61000-3-3 Power Flicker
• EN55022/1998 the "New CISPR 22" tests for ITE & Telecoms

This is essential information on the newly mandated tests required during 2001. Early knowledge of these "Emerging Standards" and their impact on your design and marketing plans will put you far ahead of your competition.

Bio: The speaker is Jerry Ramie of ARC Technical Resources, Inc., a 20-year veteran of Regulatory Compliance, EMC, and RF/Microwave measurement instrumentation.

From 1985 to Present, Jerry has worked in the Manufacturer's Representative business here in the West, with membership in the dB Society and the IEEE-EMC Society Recognition Award for 1997-98 (Santa Clara Valley section) Jerry co-founded Compliance Systems Corporation in 1998 to integrate various brands of equipment into complete EMC systems.

In the early '80's Jerry was a Field Sales Engineer with EATON Corp. involving the EMC Test Equipment & Systems, RF & Microwave Spectrum Analyzers, Synthesized Signal Generators, AC Products, Noise Figure Equipment, and Broadband Linear Amplifiers for Military and Commercial test installations.

January 9, 2001: "The Basic Physics of Electromagnetics Without Abstract Mathematics" by Scott Bennett

Abstract: The basic point source of electromagnetic fields - the charge element - is derived and described with basic physics and high-school mathematics. The charge element is a simpler point source than the current element - it has five field components, whereas the current element has seven - yet these two basic field sources are shown to be equivalent.

The physical causes of the two H-field and three E-field components of the charge element are easily explained, and they are kept obvious with the descriptions derived for those components. Simple examples are then given to show how to use charge elements to better understand the fields of full-size currents, and the physical origins of those fields.

Bio: Scott Bennett was a radar repairman in the USAF (1948-52); an EE student at PA State University (1952-55); a Field Service Tech. for GE Co. (1955-60); and an EE student at Syracuse University (1960-67). At Syracuse he earned the BEE ('63), MSEE ('65), and PhD ('67); he was a NASA Fellow while earning the MSEE, and an Instructor of EE while earning the PhD.

Scott then was an Assistant Prof. at VA Polytechnic Institute (VPI) from 1967 to 1970; a Staff Engineer for Burroughs Corp. in City of Industry, CA from 1970 to 1974, and an MTS of Hewlett-Packard Co. in Loveland and Fort Collins, CO from 1974 to 1990. He taught a senior level course in electromagnetics at VPI for three years, and he specialized in EMC at HP for 13 years. Since his "retirement" in 1990, he has been working harder than ever - to free electromagnetics from the abstract mathematics with which it is usually taught, and treat it more like the physical science it is.