Test Is Hot Topic at Compatibility Show

The 2012 IEEE Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility will be held the week of Aug. 6 in Pittsburgh. Events will include workshops, tutorials, and technical presentations. Complementing the papers will be special sessions and demonstrations as well as a continuation of the Global EMC University begun in 2007.

PMM 9010F Signal Analyzer
Courtesy of Teseq

Exhibits also will take place Tuesday through Thursday (Aug. 7-9). Among test highlights, Teseq will display a range of test equipment from ESD simulators to EMC receivers. The list of products includes EFT and surge test systems, an RF conducted immunity all-in-one system, an automotive transient immunity and supply variation system, CISPR 22 ISNs and radiated immunity systems, and Compliance 5, the company’s RF EMC software.

As the exclusive North American distributor for PMM’s line of EMC test products, Teseq will present new PMM models including the new FFT-based 9010F Signal Analyzer for fast, gapless measurement of conducted emissions. Also on display will be the 9180, a 6- to 18-GHz fiber-optically-coupled receiver module.

However, reported Greg Senko, Teseq president, “This year our real emphasis will be on RF amplifiers.” Teseq’s recent acquisition of Milmega, he said, “…greatly expanded our product range, adding frequencies to 6 GHz and many model configurations in the range of 80 MHz to 6 GHz,” he said, adding, “These additional models allow us to better optimize immunity system design in this frequency range.”

TES-A-2152 CBA 400M 110-W Class A Broadband Amplifier
Courtesy of Teseq

Specific products on exhibit will include the TES-A-2152 CBA 400M-110 Class A Broadband Amplifier, which operates from 10 kHz to 400 MHz with a saturated power level of 110 W. The instrument uses GaAs integrated-circuit technology to provide markedly better compression characteristics and increased efficiency compared with comparable silicon-based power amplifiers.

In addition, Senko said, Teseq has announced its intention to purchase IFI. “If the acquisition is completed before the symposium begins, we also will be displaying IFI products,” Senko said. “The IFI product range extends from models up to 10 kW at 10 kHz to frequencies as high as 40 GHz. The IFI acquisition will add a fourth manufacturing and competency center to the Teseq group’s global network,” he added.

Rohde & Schwarz will introduce high-power classes across its family of R&S BBA100 Broadband Amplifiers. R&S BBA100 amplifiers can be upgraded to meet future requirements for increased bandwidth or power. With frequency coverage from 9 kHz to 1 GHz and output power up to 1,700 W, the R&S BBA100 offers specifications that meet the toughest EMC applications. Other features include internal switching capabilities, modularity, an advanced user interface, and remote-control options.

Analyzers and Scopes

Tektronix will showcase its new real-time RSA6100B Series Signal Analyzer with capabilities to save engineers time and enable better insight into signal behavior. Building on real-time features like the DPX Live RF spectrum display and triggering options, the RSA6100B Series offers 6.2-, 14-, and 20-GHz models and up to 110-MHz instant capture bandwidth.

In addition, the company will feature its MDO4000 Mixed-Domain Oscilloscope, which includes a spectrum analyzer. The MDO4000 enables users to capture time-correlated analog, digital, and RF signals, simplifying common debug tasks for today’s integrated wireless-enabled designs.

Not all exhibitors will be showing products. Representatives of TÜV Rheinland will be on hand to highlight the organization’s EMC testing services. Five testing facilities in North America allow customers to choose from EMC labs equipped with 5- and 10-meter chambers to handle products of any size, such as industrial and medical equipment.

TÜV Rheinland also offers mobile EMC labs. All of the company’s EMC labs, including the mobile facilities, are 17025:2005 accredited, FCC listed, VCCI registered, and IC recognized. The Pleasanton, CA, lab also carries both Wi-Fi and ZigBee accreditations, and the company’s International Approvals team assists with EMC requirements anywhere in the world.

R&S BBA100 Broadband Amplifier
Courtesy of Rohde & Schwarz

For its part, Aeroflex will highlight the PXI 3000 Series instruments along with the DFS Radar Simulator and Analyzer Test Suite, a fully integrated system for testing compliance to FCC 06-96 for commercial equipment operating in the 5- to 6-GHz UNII frequency band. The DFS Test Suite is application software used in conjunction with PXI 3000 Series RF modular instruments to provide stimulus and response measurement.

The company also will show its S-Series SGD General-Purpose Signal Generator with a wide bandwidth IQ modulator complemented by an embedded version of IQCreator Software. Frequency coverage is 100 kHz to 6 GHz. In addition, Aeroflex will highlight its Model 3250 Spectrum Analyzer, which operates from 1 kHz to 26.5 GHz and offers a 30-MHz bandwidth digitizer and comprehensive digital modulation analysis software.

Finally, Aeroflex will demonstrate its 2025 Series Signal Generator with the Option 9 Pulse Generator. The latter supports generation of a pulse-modulated signal with rise/fall times of typically 10 ns, providing an integrated radar testing solution.

Agilent Technologies will highlight its full-compliance N9038A MXE EMI Receiver, which can make CISPR, MIL-STD, and DO-160 measurements. The company also will exhibit its line of RF handheld test tools, which includes 7-GHz, 13.6-GHz, and 20-GHz handheld spectrum analyzers as well as the 4-GHz and 6-GHz FieldFox RF Analyzers.

In addition, Agilent’s Colin Warwick will present a session Thursday (Aug. 9) titled “The Power of S-Parameters for High-Speed Digital Design.” He will explain the motivation behind the generation and use of S-parameter models and offer tricks and tips to avoid some of the pitfalls that can occur.

Monday and Friday Sessions

MDO4104-6 Mixed-Domain Oscilloscope
Courtesy of Tektronix

Attendees who arrive before the exhibits open can attend a Monday (Aug. 6) session titled “Simple EMC Measurements,” in which presenter Mark Steffka will explain that “The best time in a development cycle to test a product for its likely EMC characteristics is as early as possible.” He will describe simple EMC tests that can be performed early at minimal cost to help identify coupling paths, detect electric and magnetic radiation, and evaluate a product’s response to external sources of energy. The session is part of a full-day tutorial titled “Fundamentals of EMC.”

Other Monday topics of interest include a half-day tutorial titled “How Certain Are You About Measurement Uncertainty,” which will discuss implications of ISO 17025, and a half-day workshop titled “Innovations in Automotive EMC Testing.”

A Friday (Aug. 10) half-day tutorial titled “Basic EMC Measurements” will introduce product compliance testing for tabletop and floor-standing equipment. An additional Friday half-day tutorial will address “Recent Developments in EMC Testing of Wireless Devices—The New Technologies Driving the Test Standards.”

Tuesday through Thursday

Mobile EMC Lab
Courtesy of TÜV Rheinland

Technical papers and special sessions (invited papers) presented Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Aug. 7-9) will focus on topics such as “Nanotechnology for EMC,” “Channel Characterization and Performance Evaluation for High-Speed Signaling,” “Simulation and Measurement Validation Using the FSV Technique to Quantify Validation Quality,” and “Evolving Trends in Spectrum Management and Engineering.”

In addition, a Hardware Experiments and Demonstrations track is expected to offer sessions on such topics as “Application of Magnetic Pickup Loops and Current Probes,” “Measurement Versus Calculation of Signal Spectra,” “Measurement and Control of EMI in Spread Spectrum Systems,” “Measurement of Common Versus Differential Mode Coupling,” and “Signal Integrity Issues for PCBs.”

S-Series SGD General-Purpose Signal Generator With Wide-Bandwidth IQ Modulator
Courtesy of Aeroflex

The traditional Global EMC University has been upgraded to include a signal-integrity parallel track leading to a new name: the Global EMC and SI University. The university offers 20 hours of instruction on basic EMC and SI topics and runs parallel with the technical sessions. The target audience includes engineers who have been in the profession approximately five years.