Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) And Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)

Simplified, accurate, affordable


Making conducted and radiated emissions measurements

Did you know that 50% of projects fail EMI/EMC testing the first time? Intertek Testing Services reports that roughly half of products fail the initial EMC test due to a failure to apply EMC principles, lack of EMC/EMI knowledge, incorrect applications of EMC regulations, unpredicted interactions among circuit elements, or incorporation of non-compliant modules or subassemblies into the final product.

Performing pre-compliance testing greatly improves the probability of a successful first pass of full EMI compliance testing, saving you time and thousands of dollars. Companies designing products for medical, automotive, military and even multimedia applications, can benefit from investing in a pre-compliance test setup. This page discusses how adding pre-compliance testing to your product development process can accelerate product development and reduce project costs.


Benefits Of Pre-Compliance Testing

If you’re developing a product, you’re making financial, time, and sometimes, emotional investments in getting the product to market. Incorporating a pre-compliance solution into your work processes provides numerous benefits, including:

  • Early identification of potential EMI/EMC issues that may delay time-to-market and increase development costs
  • Reduction of EMI/EMC-related costs
  • Increased confidence in your product before you take it to the test house
  • Immediate feedback on the impact of design changes
  • Flexibility to test on your schedule

Good EMC design techniques are not too difficult to implement if they are introduced at the earliest stages of design. If modifications need to be made later in the design to meet EMC requirements, it becomes much harder.


Take The Mysteries Out Of EMI/EMC Test Setup

EMI/EMC pre-compliance testing doesn’t have to be hard or excessively time-consuming. Based on customer feedback, Tektronix developed next-generation software with ease of use and functionality in mind, to provide pre-compliance testing for radiated and conducted measurements.

Setting up EMI/EMC pre-compliance testing starts with SignalVu-PC. This latest version of SignalVu-PC now comes with an additional option called EMCVu. EMCVu features an easy-to-use setup wizard, built-in standards and accessory setup with push-button selection capabilities. Whether you are setting up an Open-Air Test Site (OATS), or testing in your lab, EMCVu streamlines the capture and removal of ambient noise from your measurements to increase the accuracy of your pre-compliance tests without an anechoic chamber.

To learn more about using EMCVu with real-time spectrum analyzers and accessories to perform pre-compliance tests for radiated and conducted emissions, download the application note here.


Troubleshooting Tips To Speed Up Debug Work

Before you invest the time and money in final product certification testing, you want confidence that your device is ready to go to the test house. When you run into a problem, you want the right tools that allow you to focus on problem areas quickly, identify the cause and take steps to remediate without incurring costly delays.

To efficiently debug, look for a solution that lets you quickly identify areas of concern and provides the level of signal insight that captures intermittent offenders. This is delivered by a combination of hardware and software.

To learn more on how to use Tektronix Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers for emissions pre-compliance testing on our blog here. Additional information on troubleshooting techniques is available in the “Practical EMI Troubleshooting” application note that you can download by clicking on the button below.



Some of the capabilities you should look for in your software solution include:

  • Quasi-Peak detector which lets you bypass non-failures and zero in on frequencies of interest.
  • Harmonic Check which allows you to test only specific harmonics and find where those emissions come from on a board using a near-field probe.
  • Harmonic Markers which enables finding emissions at harmonics of a known frequency.
  • Multiple Traces allow you to compare the Device Under Test (DUT) to Ambient Noise, previous iterations of a Device, etc.
  • Automated or manual multi-failure re-measurement, allows you to determine if a failure is intermittent or reoccurring.
  • Report multiple measurements in multiple formats in the same user-configurable report.

With hardware, Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers make EMI debugging much easier. Some of the benefits provided by a real-time spectrum analyser include:

  • The ability to capture transient and intermittent signals.
  • The ability to debug multiple sources at the same frequency.
  • Instantaneous feedback – traditional swept spectrum analysers sweeps can take longer and result in failure in capturing important signals.

Standards Supported By Tektronix EMI/EMC Pre-Compliance Solutions

Tektronix’ EMCVu pre-compliance software supports EMC standards including CISPR, FCC and MIL-STD for many types of devices. To automate testing, EMCVu provides a built-in standards table allowing you to choose the applicable standard for your product and the region it will be sold in. EMCVu also allows you to configure standards not included with the ability to set frequency ranges or limit line tables for your chosen standard.

A quick summary of supported standards is below:


A Complete Pre-Compliance Solution

To affordably speed you on your way, Tektronix offers a complete EMI/EMC pre-compliance testing solution including software, spectrum analyzers, accessories and probes.

Software
Tektronix EMI/EMC pre-compliance solution starts with SignalVu-PC with EMCVu software. As a plug-in to SignalVu-PC, EMCVu provides a single-user interface for all your pre-compliance needs.

Spectrum Analyzers
To provide fast, accurate measurements to assist you in finding EMI/EMC issues quickly, Tektronix offers a full line of affordable Real-Time Spectrum Analyzers. Real-Time Spectrum analyzers provide significant advantages over traditional swept enabling you to capture infrequent EMI bursts.

Accessories
To avoid accessory mismatch, Tektronix offers fully validated accessories including antennas, Line Impedance Stabilization Networks and pre-amplifiers. You can purchase accessories individually or in two comprehensive accessory bundles for conducted and radiated tests. Characterization of accessories including Gains and Losses values are pre-loaded into EMCVu to provide a simple setup and greater accuracy in your measurements.


Speak To A Technical Sales Engineer

Need to ask a few questions before deciding on the T&M solution for your application? Leave us a message and one of our technical sales engineers will be in touch.

With our application experience and expertise, our team of technical engineers will listen to your design and research challenges and provide you with the right instruments and solutions for your application.