Spring!
As the Walter Kelly poem says ‘spring has sprung’! The
weather has definitely turned the corner, and those of us who
were afraid that the snow might never leave have been thankfully
proven wrong…again. Is pessimism an occupational hazard of
being an EMC engineer? (“That circuit will radiate like a
banshee!”) Or, is the tendency of EMC engineers to be more
optimistic? (“I can fix that circuit and save the company
money at the same time!”) Which ever it is, both types seem
to respond to a bright new spring day exactly as the schoolboy
who finds himself daydreaming out the window in the middle of
math class. Mother nature can completely over power our intellect
and take even the most disciplined mind and sweep all thoughts
aside in the surge of our reaction to a beautiful day.
Spring in France!
Given the above reflection on spring, what should we expect to
be the reaction of a pair of EMC engineers who experience spring
in southern France? Todd Hubing and I had the opportunity to investigate
the climate and environmental impact upon the senses when we attended
the Workshop on Electromagnetic Compatibility in Integrated Circuits,
which was held from March 31 through April 2, 2004, in Angers,
France.
For those who are a bit shaky on the geography of France, Angers
is approximately 300 km South-South West of Paris. This part of
the country is as beautiful as the rest of France, but has the
advantage of a warmer climate than Paris. The flowers and trees
are already in bloom at this time of year. Between the flowers,
bright sunny mornings, balmy breezes and invigorating walks from
our hotels to the conference location, we both had sufficient
distractions to excuse any lapses in attention that might result.
Compo 04
However, the subject of the Workshop “Electromagnetic Compatibility
in Integrated Circuits”, was so compelling and the speakers
so interesting, both Todd and I found ourselves too engrossed
in the presentations to even think about the beauty surrounding
us outside of the conference center. The workshop had representatives
from all over the planet. Every continent was represented. A number
of presentations were from university students working on their
PhDs, and the remainder from researchers with companies working
in the field. All of the presentations appeared to be pushing
the edge of their technology envelope. Several really opened my
eyes with methods of measuring signals that I would have never
anticipated.
The Future of EMC
The first keynote speaker at the Workshop was Michel Mardiguian
(past Distinguished Lecturer of the EMC Society), who gave us
a most intriguing view of the history of EMC that explored the
question of ‘why has it taken us so long to become concerned
about integrated circuit EMC?’ The connection between the
frequencies in use in a system, and the elements of the system
that could become efficient radiating antennas, was the basis
for Michel’s thesis. He extended that line of thinking with
supporting mathematical analysis, and clearly showed the basis
for the shift of focus on the long cables in early systems, to
traces on circuit boards in later systems, to circuit elements
on integrated circuit chips in contemporary systems.
From an examination of the history of the evolution of EMC, Michel
moved us to where we find ourselves now in the midst of an awakening
to the fact that contemporary system frequencies can easily find
circuit elements on even the smallest of current silicon chips,
to use as effective dipole antennas. With that point in mind,
the conference went into full swing with significant papers from
many contributors, from almost as many countries as their were
attendees.
The Future of the EMC Society
Does this mean that we can eventually stop worrying about cables
and circuit board traces as the frequencies of our systems continue
to increase at the current rate? Well, no! Michel clearly showed
that although the contribution of the system’s larger elements
levels off as these elements become too long to be truly efficient
antennas, they never actually decrease in their potential contribution
as the ‘path’ for total system emissions or immunity
contribution. So, while our current ‘tool box’ of system
and circuit level mitigation techniques will remain necessary
in future, faster, smaller systems, and the need to address direct
effects from and into the system’s integrated circuits must
now be considered when the whole system’s problems are addressed.
So what does this say for the future of the EMC Society? Clearly,
we are not ‘on the way out’. However, just as clearly,
we cannot rest on our past accomplishments and assume that our
current ‘bag of tricks’ will be sufficient to handle
all of our future problems. We have significant learning in our
immediate future. We also have a responsibility to begin spreading
an awareness of these new threats to our membership through technical
articles, tutorials, workshops, and with special sessions at our
EMC Symposia.
At some future point in time, we will have assimilated this new
information into the ‘standard’ tool kit we try to provide
to every new EMC engineer. When that happens, I have no doubt
there will be something else, as yet unknown or unnoticed, that
will occupy our thoughts, pushing us to new learning and pushing
us to come up with new solutions. Will this ever end? The process
appears to be akin to evolution and growth, so… probably
not. We are just witnessing another stage in an evolving process.
I don’t want to spend too much time talking about the Workshop,
as I know that its two principal organizers, Mohamed Ramdani and
Richard Perdriau, will be providing a detailed article for the
newsletter within the next few weeks, filled with photographs
of the event, and a sense of the ambiance of their region of France,
that I can only hint at. Look for their article. I know you will
find in engrossing.
Improving Economy
Spring this year also seems to be holding the promise of a thaw
in the economic cycle. This will come as a great relief to many
who have been waiting, while the so-called economic “experts”
tell us what we already know. Times have been difficult for many
engineers. But the spring this year seems to also be bringing
new opportunities in many areas where our members provide the
technical insight needed to make a potentially good product idea
into a successful one in the marketplace.
Looking Forward to Santa Clara in August
The full flowering of our symposium in Santa Clara will be a chance
for us all to greet old friends, and make new ones. It will also
continue to provide opportunities for education, information exchange,
networking and just plain fun. I hope to see you all there to
celebrate the re-starting of the economic engine, and the return
to the work force of many of our members. I also hope to meet
many new engineers just starting into EMC as a career path. I
have no crystal ball to predict what the next 30 years of a career
will hold, except to say that I already have seen some of the
leading edge technology of that period, and I know that it will
be exciting!
Also remember, if you are an employer looking for EMC engineers
and technicians, the IEEE International EMC Symposium is the BEST
place to look. The IEEE International EMC Symposium is the gathering
place for the best of the best.
Looking Further to Chicago / Portland /
Honolulu
Chicago in 2005, Portland in 2006 and Honolulu in 2007, all seem
a long way off from where we stand in early spring of 2004, but
time has a habit of creeping up on everyone. I predict that these
future dates of the symposium will be upon us before we realize
it, and shifted into memory almost as quickly. But, notice that
you can’t remember it unless you are there. So plan ahead!
Be with us at each and every one. EMC
President’s
Message