2007 Meetings
The linked titles of some meetings are the presentations speakers provided.
December 11, 2007: "Radiated and Conducted Emission Debug Techniques" by Dr. Keith Hardin
Abstract: Radiated and conducted emissions contain spectral and time domain information that can be very helpful in determining the sources of the emissions and possible countermeasures for information technology products. This presentation will discuss a number of methods to help analyze these emissions, show steps to move from the macro scale to the near field, and possible circuit changes to reduce the emissions. The desire is to move from a trial and error solution method to one that is more deterministic when possible.
Bio: Dr. Keith Hardin is currently a Senior Technical Staff Member and Technical Team Leader in the EMC Department of Lexmark International, Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky. In this role, Keith is responsible for overseeing all technical aspects of Lexmark's EMC product development and test activities. Keith received his M.Eng. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisville. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Kentucky. He holds fourteen US patents in the field of Spread Spectrum Clock Generation and other areas of EMC.
November 13, 2007: "Deciphering Pre-Earthquake Signals and How This Changes Our View of the Earth" by Friedemann Freund and Tom Bleier
October 9, 2007: "The Four Most Confusing Principles In Signal Integrity And How Not To Be Confused" by Dr. Eric Bogatin, Bogatin Enterprises, LLC
September 11, 2007: "Essential New Tools for EMC Diagnostics and Testing" by Prof. Todd Hubing
Abstract: Electromagnetic Theory hasn't changed much in the past 50 years, but the tools available to engineers who need to measure, analyze and visualize electromagnetic phenomena are steadily improving. Within the past couple of years, several new tools and technologies have surfaced that can help EMC engineers to better understand the complex EM interactions that are taking place in real product designs. In this presentation, Prof. Hubing describes four new measurement and analysis tools that he believes are having (or will have) a tremendous impact on the way engineers design, evaluate and troubleshoot EMC problems.
Bio: TODD HUBING is the Michelin Endowed Professor of Vehicular Electronic Systems Integration at Clemson University. He received his B.S.E.E. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1980, his M.S.E.E. degree from Purdue University in 1982, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University in 1988.
He began his career in EMC working for IBM in Research Triangle Park, NC. In 1989, he joined the faculty at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR) where he worked with faculty and students to analyze and develop solutions for a wide range of EMC problems affecting the electronics industry. In 2006, he joined Clemson University where he is continuing his work in electromagnetic compatibility and computational electromagnetic modeling, particularly as it is applied to automotive and aerospace designs.
Prof. Hubing has served as an associate editor of the IEEE Transactions on EMC, the IEEE EMC Society Newsletter, and the Journal of the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society. He has served on the board of directors for both the Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society and the IEEE EMC Society. He was the 2002-2003 President of the IEEE EMC Society and is a Fellow of the IEEE.
May 8, 2007: "The Role of Symmetry in Minimizing Common-Mode Emissions" by Thomas Jerse
Abstract: Common-mode currents are often the dominant source of radiated emissions from an electronic product. Unlike differential-mode currents, conventional circuit analysis programs do not predict common-mode currents, and the mechanisms that excite them are more difficult to visualize and quantify. The generation of common-mode currents by "ground noise" has been widely discussed, but another unexpected source is lack of layout symmetry. This talk will explain, demonstrate, and quantify how asymmetric structures excite common-mode currents.
Bio: Thomas Jerse holds a double appointment as an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at The Citadel in Charleston, SC, and as an Associate Technical Fellow of The Boeing Company, working as an EMC analyst. He earned a PhD in EMC at the University of Kentucky and has spent over 25 years designing compliant products and solving EMI problems with Hewlett-Packard and Boeing. He has written several comprehensive courses in EMC which he has taught to engineers on four continents.
April 10, 2007: "New Advancements in Shielding Materials" by Gary Fenical
Abstract: In keeping pace with the ongoing electronics boom, the wireless surge, increasing power levels and higher frequencies there is no doubt that advances in electronic components are occurring at a rapid pace. While consumers demand more advanced products with increased features and speed, engineers work to meet the requirements of the electronics marketplace. Many factors, such as increasing frequencies, miniaturization, heat, environmental issues and more have to be weighed before working on enhancements to computers, digital cameras, video game handsets, RFID systems, LASER readers and countless other consumer and commercial devices. In order to equip the industry with the tools needed for the next wave of electronics devices, new electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding capabilities, for one, are being improved. The latest available products help companies to lower costs, reduce waste, increase airflow and install devices in small spaces, to name a few.
Shielding products, in general, have experienced numerous noteworthy changes over the years. The uses, properties and advantages of the new materials, as well as advanced EMI shielding product designs, are significant in the world of electronics. Recent advancements include:
- High-performance, dent-resistant vent panels
- High aspect ratio form-in-place (FiP)
- Ultrasoft sculpted fabric-over-foam (FoF)
- Conductive foam (CF)
- Metal mold-in-place (MIP) combination gaskets
- Recyclable Clean Copper RF Gaskets
Bio: Mr. Fenical is the EMC Technical Sales Representative at Laird Technologies, in Delaware Water Gap, PA and has been with the firm for 23 years. Mr. Fenical is a specialist in RF shielded enclosures and has been responsible for the design and/or measurement and quality control of hundreds of large-scale shielded enclosures as well as a number of shielded equipment cabinets and housings. He was instrumental in the design and construction of Laird Technologies' state-of-the-art World Compliance Centers. Mr. Fenical has authored many articles on EMC Requirements for Medical Devices, Mutual Recognition Agreements and Guidelines to meet the essential requirements if the EMC Directive. He has also authored several seminars on the EU EMC Directive, International Compliance, and Designing for EMC and EMC Requirements for Medical Devices which have been presented worldwide. He holds the patent for the invention of heat-treated beryllium-copper knitted wire mesh gasket.
March 13, 2007: "Fundamentals of Jitter: Why bother? Its components, reasons and measurements" by Prof. David Pommerenke
Abstract: Actually, people involved in high speed "digital" design are interested in the Bit Error Rate (or the absence of errors). However, it takes long to measure BER, especially, if only a few errors occur. Further, Bit Error Rate does not reveal the reasons for errors. Bit errors can be caused by amplitude and by timing errors, the later is called jitter. It is possible to analyze jitter such that the reasons for the disturbance are understood, thus Jitter is an indirect measure for Bit Error Rate but it is much faster to capture and reveals a lot of in sight into the reasons for system limitations. The talk will explain why bother for jitter, the reasons for jitter and how to analyze jitter using different instruments.
Bio: David Pommerenke received the Ph.D. from the Technical University Berlin, Germany in 1996. After working at Hewlett Packard for 5 years he joined the Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory at the University Missouri Rolla in 2001 where he is a tenured professor now. His research interests include EMC, ESD measurement techniques and EMI analysis methods, numerical methods and instrumentation for EMC and high voltage. He teaches classes on Electronics, high speed design and measurements. He has published more than 100 papers and is inventor on 7 patents. Besides other professional activities he is US representative of the ESD standard setting group within the IEC TC77b.
February 13, 2007: "Taking the guesswork out of EMC design using numerical simulations" by Federico P. Centola
Abstract: Numerical simulations for EMC applications have been proven to be very cost effective when comparing different design options. Different EMC design practices such as minimizing coupling paths, shielding, grounding practices and filtering can be effectively evaluated using numerical simulations. In most EMC applications the geometry and the complexity of the problem needs to be highly simplified in order to achieve a model that can be computed within a reasonable amount of time and memory. In this talk, this simplification process will be shown using models of common real-world EMC applications. The simulation results will then be compared to measurements to validate the process. The examples presented will show how the visualization of EM fields and currents allows engineers to have an insight of the system, to suggest design alternatives and to quantify in advance the effectiveness of each different solution.
Bio: Federico Pio Centola received his Laurea degree in electrical engineering from the University of L'Aquila, Italy in 2001 and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri Rolla in 2003. From 2001 to 2003 he has been with the Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory at the University of Missouri Rolla where he was a visiting scholar and a graduate research assistant. His research interests included numerical simulations, electrostatic discharge and shielding.
He has been an EMC instructor and consultant for Flomerics Inc. where he specialized in applying numerical simulations to solve EMC problems. He is currently working for Flomerics as an Electromagnetic Application Engineer.