Workbench  EMC  Measurements  

by  
Henry  W.  Ott  
Henry  Ott  Consultants  
www.hottconsultants.com  
 

Workbench EMC measurements are simple, inexpensive precompliance tests that a

product designer can perform early in the development phase of a product in order to
obtain an indication of the EMC performance of that product. These are simple
measurements requiring limited, relatively inexpensive equipment that can be performed
in the designer’s own laboratory. Although not as accurate as legitimate EMC
measurements, performed at a certified EMC test facility, the fact that they are simple,
quick and can easily be performed at your workbench, more than compensates for the
accuracy degradation, especially when performed early in the design phase of a product.

The advantages of early EMC testing during the design phase of a product include:

• Increased probability of passing the final compliance test

• Minimizes the number of retests required for compliance at an EMC test
laboratory
• Eliminates surprises late in the design (due to EMC failures)
• Insures that EMC considerations are part of the original design, not add-ons

Data from EMC test laboratories indicate that 50% of the products submitted for final
compliance testing fail the first time. By using the simple workbench EMC
measurements described here, that statistic can be reduced, such that only 10 or 15% of
the products fail regulatory compliance tests the first time.

Test Environment. Radiated emission test facilities are carefully designed and
constructed to control reflections. The objective is to have only one reflective surface,
and that is the ground plane. An open area test site (OATS) does this by locating the
facility in an open field with no metallic objects nearby. The one reflective surface
consists of the metallic ground plane at the site. A large semi-anechoic chamber
accomplishes the same objective by having a metallic ground plane (the chamber floor)
and using rf absorber material (carbon loaded pyramidal cones and/or ferrite tiles) on the
walls and ceiling to absorb rf energy and prevent reflections.

The workbench EMC measurement environment (your design lab), however, is just the
opposite from that described above. It has many uncontrolled reflective surfaces such as,
metal file cabinets, metal desks, chairs, lab benches, and possibly metal walls. Therefore,
you do not want to do a radiated emission test in this environment; rather you need to
measure some parameter that is proportional to the radiated emission, not the radiated
emission itself.
What you definitely do not want to do is build a small-shielded room (non-absorber
loaded), place your product and a receiving antenna inside the room, and attempt to
measure the radiated emissions. This approach maximizes the errors associated with such
a test. The large reflections from the walls and ceiling will produce nulls and peaks in the
radiated emission pattern, producing errors as large as ± 40 dB (Cruz and Larsen, 1986).

Useful workbench EMC measurements must be made such that they are not affected (or
at least minimally affected) by the uncontrolled environment in which the tests are being
performed.

Antennas versus Probes. We will not use antennas as part of our workbench EMC tests.
Antennas are large (usually a significant fraction of a wavelength) in size and are
sensitive to nearby reflections, and interact with surrounding metal objects. Rather, we
will use small probes that are much smaller than a wavelength, can be used close to
surrounding metal objects, and are very insensitive to reflected rf energy. The probes that
we use will be a few inches or smaller in size, compared to antennas, which have
dimensions of many feet. For example, at 30 MHz a tuned dipole antenna is 16.4 feet
long (5 meters).

Three of the most useful EMC precompliance measurements to make are:

 
• Common-­‐mode  currents  on  cables  
• Near  field,  magnetic  field  measurements  
• Conducted  emissions  on  the  ac  power  line  
 
None  of  the  above  will  require  the  direct  measurement  of  a  radiated  field.  

Common-Mode Currents on Cables. By far the most useful single precompliance

measurement that you can make is to measure the common-mode current on all the cables
attached to your product.

The radiation from a cable is directly proportional to the common-mode current on that
cable. The common-mode current is the unbalanced current (current not returned) on the
cable. If this current is not returned on the cable, where does it go? Into radiation, that's
where! In the case of intentional signals (differential-mode signals), the current flows
down one wire of the cable and returns on an adjacent wire, hence the net current is zero
and the common-mode radiation is eliminated.

Since cables are always a major source of product radiation, measuring the common-
mode current is one of the most useful things that you can learn to do. The common-
mode current can easily be measured with a calibrated high-frequency clamp-on current
probe and a spectrum analyzer as shown in the following figure.
  
Make it a habit to measure the common-mode currents on all your cables! Do it early in
the development process, on prototype models, while it is still easy to make a change to
the product, and prior to performing final EMC compliance testing. If you fail the
precompliance common-mode current test, you will also fail the radiated emission test.

For a commercial Class B product (FCC or EU requirements), the current must be less
than approximately 5 µA, 15 µA for a Class A product. For some MIL standards
requirements the allowable current will be less than 1 µA. Use the above limits for all
external cables that are one-meter long or longer. For cables shorter than one meter, the
allowable current is inversely proportional to the cable length. For example, for a half-
meter long cable the maximum current would be 10 µA for a Class B product, 30 µA for
a Class A product.

This technique works equally well on shielded or unshielded cables. This is also a good
way to determine the effectiveness of your cable shield termination. If you use common-
mode filters on your cables or ferrite cores to suppress common-mode radiation the
current probe measurement will indicate their effectiveness. Just measure the current
before and after inserting the filter (or ferrite), or as you vary the way that the cable shield
is terminated.

All cables should be measured regardless of their intended purpose. Measure the signal
cables, the power cord (ac or dc), fiber optic cables, monitor cables, I/O cables, telecom
cables, and any other cables that are attached to the product. If it's connected to the
product it can be a source of common-mode radiation!

Measure one cable at a time with the common-mode current clamp. Use common-mode
chokes, filters, cable shields, etc. to reduce the current to less than the allowable level for
the requirement that you are trying to meet, then go on and repeat the process on the next
cable. When you get through all the cables, start over again since the current may have
increased on some of the previously fixed cables. Keep this iterative process up until the
common-mode current on all the cables are below the allowable limit. At this point you
can feel confident that the cables will no longer present a problem when you do a radiated
emission test at a qualified EMC test facility.

Caution, common-mode cable currents can be the result of energy coupled into the cable
from the product under test, (this is what we want to measure), as well as energy picked
up from external sources such as local FM and TV broadcast stations (this is what we do
not want to measure). All measurements must, therefore, be validated to assure that you
are measuring what you think you are measuring. A simple validation test in this instance
is to turn the product off and see if the reading goes away. If it remains, it is due to
external pickup. FM radio stations are commonly picked up this way; so any signal in the
88 to 108 MHz frequency range (in the United States) should be suspect.

Near Field Measurements. The above cable current measurement provides information
about radiation from the cables. What is needed next is a simple way to detect the
differential-mode radiation coming directly from the product. Differential-mode radiation
is the result of currents flowing around loops on the printed circuit board. These current
loops act as small loop antennas that radiate magnetic fields. What we can do, therefore,
is to measure the magnetic field close to the printed circuit board using a small magnetic
field loop probe and a spectrum analyzer.

Small, shielded magnetic field loop probes are available

from a number of manufacturers at very reasonable
prices, a few hundred dollars or less. As an alternative to
a commercial magnetic field probe a simple homemade
probe can be constructed from a 50-ohm coaxial cable.
One end of the cable should be formed into a 1/2 to 1
inch diameter loop with the cable center conductor
soldered to the shield as shown in the figure. The shield
should not be terminated on this end.
 

Although the magnetic field probe can be calibrated, the results of the near field
measurement cannot be extrapolated to the far field to determine the magnitude of the
radiated field. Therefore, measurements made with a magnetic field probe are qualitative
not quantitative. They are still, however, very useful in indicating excessive sources of
differential-mode radiation as well as in doing A/B comparisons, when a change or
modification is made to the product.

Scan the probe over the printed circuit board looking for “hot spots” (locations with
strong magnetic fields). When a “hot spot” is found, check the printed circuit board in
that vicinity for violations of good EMC design practices. A common violation is often
an interrupted signal circuit return current path caused by a split or slot in the PCB
ground/power plane. After making changes to the board, retest to confirm that the
magnetic field has decreased in amplitude. In some cases you may find that it is an
integrated circuit that is causing most of the emission. In this case you should consider
using a board level shield over the component or components.
The magnetic field probe can be held vertical or horizontal when performing the tests. If
the probe is vertical, it will have to be rotated 0 to 90 degrees in order to detect the
maximum field strength.

Because small magnetic field loop probes are insensitive to remote external fields, you
can usually safely assume that what you observe is coming from the nearby PCB.
However, this assumption can be validated by moving the probe away from the board,
and verifying that the magnitude of the reading drops significantly.

If your product is housed in a shielded enclosure, electromagnetic field leakage through

the enclosure apertures can also be measured using the magnetic field probe. Place the
probe next to the enclosure with the plane of the loop parallel with the shield. Move the
probe along the seam or aperture and search for a strong magnetic field. After making
changes to the enclosure (e.g. reduce the size of the aperture, reduce the length of the
seam, etc.), retest to confirm that the magnetic field has decreased in amplitude.

The above two EMC precompliance measurements will give you a good handle on both
the radiated emission coming directly from your product, as well as from the cables.

Conducted Emissions. In addition to radiated emission tests, EMC regulations also

require measurement of conducted emissions on the ac power line. Simple precompliance
conducted emission tests can easily be performed using a line impedance stabilization
network (LISN) and a spectrum analyzer. Commercial LISNs can be purchased, or if
only needed occasionally rented from a number of EMC test equipment rental companies.
Two LISNs are required, one connected to each side of the ac power line. Hence, many
LISN manufacturers package two LISNs in one enclosure and provide a means of
switching the measuring port from one side of the ac power line to the other.

The conducted emission precompliance tests can be performed similarly to the way they
are specified in the regulations. For precompliance tests, however, the measurements are
often performed without the ground planes. A even better approach is to set up the
ground planes around a nonmetallic laboratory bench, even if they are not as large as
specified by the regulations, and perform the conducted emission tests on that bench.

Caution, noise can be coupled into the LISN, especially at low frequencies, from the
facility ac power line. Adding a power line filter between the LISN and the facility power
line can help reduce or eliminate this noise. As with all measurements a validation test
should be done, in the conducted emission case turn off the power to the equipment under
test and confirm that the reading goes away.

Spectrum Analyzer. The most expensive piece of test equipment required for the above
precompliance measurements is the spectrum analyzer. However, many companies will
already have a spectrum analyzer for other purposes, or they can be rented from EMC test
equipment rental companies. Most of the major spectrum analyzer manufacturers
(Agilent, Anritsu, etc.) produce portable spectrum analyzers priced in the $10,000 -
$15,000 range. In addition a number of small, hand held, analyzers are now available,
that are adequate for precompliance EMC measurement purposes, for under $2,000.

EMC Crash Cart. Rather than having all the equipment needed for workbench EMC
measurements scattered all over the lab, where it may or may not be easy to find when
needed, why not combine it all together in one place, in what I call an “EMC Crash Cart.”
This can easily be accomplished by starting with a non-conductive cart and making some
modifications to it, by adding a couple of drawers and ground planes as shown in the
figure below.

The cart can be made of wood, plastic, or fiberglass, but not metal. The cart can be rolled
to wherever it is needed, and has everything required, to perform the precompliance tests
as well as apply fixes to the equipment if necessary. The spectrum analyzer and a plotter,
or printer (both optional), can be placed on the top of the cart. One of the two drawers can
be used for the necessary precompliance test equipment, such as:

• Common-mode current clamp.

• Magnetic field loop probe.
• Required interconnecting cables, attenuators, etc.
• Small hand tools.

The second drawer can be used to hold EMC mitigation components that are used to
reduce the emissions such as:

• Snap-on common-mode chokes (ferrite).

• Aluminum foil and copper tape.
• Copper braid for grounding straps.
• Small metal cable clamps for improving cable shield terminations.
• AC power-line filters.
• Filter-pin connectors in common connector configurations.
• AC power line capacitors (safety agency listed) to use for X- and Y-capacitors in
power line filters, 1000 pf to 2 µF.
• Connector backshell grounding clips and gaskets for common connectors.
 • An assortment of conductive EMC gaskets and spring fingers to provide electrical
conductivity across enclosures seams.
• Resistors, 10 to 1,000 Ω, to dampen clock oscillations, etc.
• Small ceramic capacitors, 100 pF to 0.1 µF
• Small ferrite beads with 50 to 100 Ω impedance at the frequencies of interest.
• Sandpaper to remove paint and nonconductive coatings from enclosures.

For most precompliance measurements the spectrum analyzer and plotter (if used) will
remain on the cart. However, when performing conducted emission test, remove the
spectrum analyzer and plotter from the crash cart, and place the equipment under test
(assuming that it is a table top size product) on the cart, 40 centimeters from the vertical
ground plane. This will properly locate the product under test with respect to the vertical
and horizontal ground planes as requited by the commercial conducted emission
regulations. The ground planes will be smaller than specified, but that will only have a
minor, if any, effect on the test results

By using the crash cart, everything needed to perform the necessary precompliance
measurements and apply fixes to the product will be readily available in one location.
This will save time and prevent you from having to look all over the lab for what you
need. This approach will also encourage you to use the equipment, since you don’t have
the excuse of, I don’t know where all the equipment is!

Get into the habit of always performing these workbench EMC measurements, and you
will save both money and time when you do your official regulatory compliance EMC
tests. For additional information on performing these simple workbench EMC
measurements, as well as additional immunity tests, see Ott, 2009.

Suggested  Precompliance  Test  Equipment  List  

Clamp-on current probe: Fischer Custom Communications Model F-33-1 (20-250 MHz and/or F-61 (40-1,000 MHz)

Magnetic field loop probe: Fischer Custom Communications F-301, or Beehive Electronics Model 100A and Model
100C.

LISN: Solar Electronics Type 8012-50-R-24-BNC Dual LISN

Spectrum analyzer: Rigol DSA815-TG, EMI option not required, (9kHz-1.5 GHz) (available from TEquipment.net),
or Thurlby Thandar Instruments Model PSA1301T (150 KHz-1.3GHz) (available from Newark Electronics or Saelig
Electronics)
 
References  
 
Cruz  and  Larsen,  Assessment  of  Error  Bounds  for  Some  Typical  MIL-­‐STD  462  Type  of  Measurements,  
NBS  Technical  Note  1300,  October  1986.  
 
Ott,  Electromagnetic  Compatibility  Engineering,  Chapter  18,  Precompliance  EMC  Measurements,  John  
Wiley  &  Sons,  2009  
 
Revision  2  (10/23/13)  
©  2012,  Henry  W.  Ott     Henry  Ott  Consultants                              www.hottconsultants.com