August 10, 2022

EMC on the Board and Off the Board

45 minutes

We are very delighted to have Dr. Min Zhang in this episode. Min is an independent EMC consultant based in the UK. Today, we'll be talking about EMC, both on board and off the board. It will be a very interesting discussion because we will look a little bit deeper at the system level of the board.

Show Highlights:

Zach met Min at EMCLive 2021

Let’s hear more about Min’s background and his early exposure to EMI issues

Earlier in his career, he worked with big companies as a motor drive engineer and power electronics design engineer for 10 years

He started his engineering consulting business, Mach One Design EMC Consultants 2 years ago

His first experience dealing with EMI issues was at the university while doing research for his PhD

The lack of education in the university in regards to EMI issues is one of the reasons that sparked Min’s interest in EMI

The university he went to specializes in motor and power converter design, but did not offer any solutions in fixing the EMI issues

Min recalls being fascinated by his first time seeing an EMI diagnosis kit composed of the spectrum analyzer, lots of ferrites, and cable shooting copper tape in a suitcase

It was his first time seeing a step-by-step diagnosis and troubleshooting EMI issues - checking the grounding, checking the bonding, and applying ferrites at the right place, performed by his friend’s father who was then a principal engineer in the European Space Agency

Min’s recommendation to design engineers solving EMI issues is to understand the fundamentals – “only when you understand the fundamentals, understand the basics, and the first principle, then you can really design a system” - Min Zhang

What happens when EMI problems exist off the board and they interfere with the system or create so much noise that the system is never going to pass EMC?

Min answers by recommending Rick Hartley's famous YouTube video about grounding

He continues with his answer with an example involving a three-phase brushless DC motor drive

How to deal with cables connected to another system that is outside of the shielding?

Shielding is a good solution, but understanding fundamentals are necessary to avoid increased cost, weight, and also the bending ratio would be affected

Min shares a recent video he did with Robert Feranec which discusses the topic of EMI troubleshooting on immunity

70% of the EMI issues are somehow related to resonance

For high-speed design, PCB designers really need to understand how the wave propagates

Ferrite is not a 100% inductive component

Min recommends the book by Douglas Smith – High Frequency Measurements and Noise in Electronic Circuits which focuses on the test and measurements in terms of high-speed design

Other experts to learn from in terms of EMI troubleshooting and high speed designs are Eric Bogatin, Steve Sandler and Heidi Barnes

Links and Resources:

Learn more about Min Zhang and his company Mach One Design EMC Consultants

Watch Min’s Keynote at EMCLive 2021

Watch How a Few Components Make a Big Difference in EMC/EMI with Min and Robert Feranec

Read Min Zhang’s article on SI Journal

Great book recommendation: High Frequency Measurements and Noise in Electronic Circuits

Watch Rick Hartley's famous YouTube video about grounding

Watch previous episodes with EMI and High-speed experts:

Eric Bogatin Debunks Common Misconceptions About Transmission Lines

Secrets of PCB Optimization with Rick Hartley

Being Right Matters! When, Why and What to Simulate with Steve Sandler

Power Integrity and Simulations with Heidi Barnes

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