SANTA CLARA VALLEY CHAPTER OF THE IEEE EMC SOCIETY

1999/2000 Monthly Chapter Meeting Notices

September 14th, 1999: Annual Social and Planning Session

October 12th, 1999: "Worldwide Standards & Directives w/ respect to the emerging Mutual Recognition Agreements"

November 9th, 1999: "Modeling Simultaneous Switching Currents in the Z-axis Direction of VLSI Packages & PCB's.
These currents are the primary source of SSO and EMI noise."

December 14th, 1999: "Biological Hazards from RF Energy" & "Safety and the Use of EMI Filters"
January 11th, 2000: "EMI and the PCB � Fundamental Concepts and Design Techniques"
February 8th, 2000: "Simultaneous Switch Noise, Power Plane Bounce and EMI"
March 14th, 2000: "Shielding and Grounding for GHz Processors and Beyond"
April 11th, 2000: "Comparison of Methods to Evaluate Semi Anechoic Chamber Performance"
May 9th, 2000: "Radiation from Edge Effects in Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs)"

September '99 Meeting Notice

When/Where:

Tuesday, September 14, 1999. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA.5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Topic/Speaker:

Annual Social and Business Planning Session

Details:

The Santa Clara Valley Electromagnetic Compatibility Society invites all EMC Society members and prospective members to attend the annual social and planning session on Tuesday, September `4, 1999 from 5:00 PM to 8 PM. The meeting will be held at the Silicon Graphics’ Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA.

Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served, with live musical entertainment.

The Chapter also invites prospective speakers to attend this session and submit presentation outlines for consideration. Suggested topics include: Measurements (techniques, technology, problems, corrections, calibration); test facilities (shielded rooms, open field test sites, screen rooms, anechoic and semi-anechoic chambers); EM noise sources and studies; design for reduced noise; antennas and propagation; EMC standards and regulations; and computer aided analysis and design. Anyone interested in presenting an outline of these or other appropriate topics should contact Hans Mellberg at (831) 454-9450 or (email: [email protected]). Additional information is also available at the chapter website: www.scvemc.org.

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October '99 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, October 12th, 1999. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:: "Worldwide Standards and Directives with respect to the emerging Mutual Recognition Agreements"
Barbara Judge, Director, Compliance Certification Services
Details:

There is great hope and great hype regarding the status of worldwide approvals as a result of MRA's that are either currently in their transitional phase, coming close to entry into force, pending, or still in egotiations. Many legislative and/or regulatory
changes are needed to implement the MRA's. The US is currently making sweeping changes to the way we deal with the approvals process. I will discuss the current status of the various MRA's, the regulatory changes that we are going through, the steps that other countries are taking, some timelines, and how it will finally impact the scope of regulatory approvals.

Barbara started in this business in 1991 with Dash, Straus and Goodhue, which became Inchcape and then moved on to CCS in 1995. She represents CCS at ACIL, and USCEL. Within ACIL she is the Vice-chair of the EMC committee where her duties there include: EMC Laboratory Accreditation Working Group (ELAWG) with representatives from government (FCC, FDA, FAA, DOD, DOC, NIST, etc.), industry groups (TIA, CTIA, ITIC, SAE, etc) and accreditors (NVLAP, A2LA, SCC, ANSI,
etc); the MRA Task Force, advising the Department of Commerce, Office of the US Trade Representative on issues specific to the regulatory test community in the negotiation of the various MRA's; Telecommunications Certification Body (TCB) Task
Force, working closely with the FCC and industry to develop the new TCB program in accordance with FCC GEN-Docket 98-68; ATCB (Association of TCBs) Working Group to develop the framework for the new Association of TCBs. Barbara has, in the past 2 years both attended government-industry meetings to establish negotiating positions and attended actual negotiations regarding the MRA's in place between the US and the EU, and the APEC. Barbara receives regular updates on the latest status
of the CITEL Agreement (The Americas) negotiations.

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November '99 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, November 9th, 1999. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:: "Modeling Simultaneous Switching Currents in the Z-axis Direction of VLSI Packages and PCB's. These currents are the primary source of SSO and EMI noise."
Dr. Richard Wheeler
Details:

Dr. Wheeler will show the importance of modeling z-axis noise in VLSI packages, sockets and PCB's. This noise, also known as SSO noise, is a major contributor to high performance system failure during debug and bring up due to inadequate modeling or noise analysis during design, as well as a source for EMI. The talk will:

1. Show a theoretical basis for SSO models.
2. Include examples for SSO reduction in VLSI packages.
3. Discuss why thick PCB's are a major contributor of SSO noise.
4. Present a quantitative example using SPICE models to illustrate methodology.
5. Give practical suggestions to simplify models and shorten computer computation time.
6. Discuss Conclusions.
7. Q&A.

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Wheeler started his own consulting business, Wheeler Enterprises, in Nov. 1996, after managing R&D departments at Hewlett Packard Laboratories and Fujitsu Computer Packaging Technologies. He played a key role in inventing a new type of interconnect between VLSI chips and PC boards. The new interconnect will allow computer CPUs to operate at clock frequencies well above 1000 MHz. He developed the tools to predict and measure the hardware performance and submitted thirteen patent disclosures relating to high speed interconnect.

He is currently a consultant to mid and senior level management regarding CMOS design, signal integrity and VLSI packaging issues. He has over 26 years experience in industrial management, research, and hardware development, including:

-Employee 5 in startup company, managing R&D activity.
-Technology design of high speed super computers, mainframes and workstations.
-Bipolar and CMOS circuit, process and equipment design.
-High-speed networking: physical layer and OS interface.
-Authored 14 patents and a technical paper.
-Ph.D. in E.E. and Solid State Physics. He can be located at: http://www.wheeler.com

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December '99 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, December 14th, 1999. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:00pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:: "Biological Hazards from RF Energy" -Thomas N. Cokenias & "Safety and the Use of EMI Filters"
-Gary Liu
Details:

- "Biological Hazards from RF Energy" -

In recent weeks the media has aired stories warning cell phone users about possible links between cancer and exposure to RF and microwave energy, with countering stories that dismiss these studies as failing to show any such links. Whether or not cell phones use increases risk of contracting certain brain cancers is a matter of continuing debate and research, but it has been known since the beginning of radio science that exposure to high levels of RF can cause skin burns and tissue damage due to RF induced heating, the same way that microwave ovens elevate the temperature of food. This talk will be an overview of RF hazard testing and regulations, with some discussion of ANSI, FCC and OSHA regulations limiting RF exposure hazard, specific absorption rate (SAR), measurement equipment and techniques, and how local industries (such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment vendors and wireless system installers) are affected by the requirements of the regulatory agencies.

THOMAS N. COKENIAS is an EMC consultant from the SF Bay area. He spent 8 years as an engineer with the Equipment Authorization Branch at the FCC Laboratory in Columbia MD, working mostly with Part 15 transmitters and other unlicensed RF devices. He served 12 years as VP engineering of Electro Service Corporation, an independent EMC test laboratory in Belmont,CA, and for the last 5 years has been an independent consultant with special interests in wireless device certifications , in situ EMC testing, and helping clients prepare for laboratory accreditations. Mr. Cokenias is a member of the Ultra Wideband Working Group and serves as an officer in the Santa Clara Valley IEEE EMC Society chapter.

- "Safety and the Use of EMI Filters" -

GARY LIU has a BSEE from Cal State LA, 1990. Joined UL in June of 1990. Gary worked in Sec. G the entire time, worked on products including audio, video, and tv products, some transformers and motor operated appliances, some EMI filters and havily involved in TVSS (surge suppressors) and power strip in the last few years.

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January 2000 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, January 11th, 2000. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:

EMI and the PCB � Fundamental Concepts and Design Techniques

This presentation illustrates, in simplified form, how and why EMI gets developed within a printed circuit board (PCB) and the manner in which propagation occurs; radiated or conducted. Basic concepts are examined to remove the mystery on why problems are designed into a product, and how one can prevent making mistakes from happening time and time again. A major focus on this talk deals with the subject "Maxwell Made Simple."

There are many parasitics and concerns that exist in any product design. Failure to recognize these items dooms a product to potential failure. For example, a component is not a component, but must be incorporated using a virtual ground/return structure. In addition, we must solve the complex portion of the impedance equation using device parameters that are not published by component manufacturer. Also, we implement outdated rules-of-thumb based on illogical concepts and bad advise provided by those who use to design PCBs that incorporated vacuum tubes or slow speed TTL logic. Components now operate in the sub-picosecond range, which present new challenges and opportunities for design and compliance engineers.

Regardless of whether one is an entry level or senior designer, fundamental concepts never change. It is interesting to see how much information we have forgotten over the course of many years.

The last portion of the talk will illustrate several design techniques that can be immediately implemented that have a long track record of success. At the completion of the talk, an open forum session will occur where any question related to EMI and PCB can be asked. This forum will last until it is time to get kicked out of the facility.

Biography

Mark Montrose is principal consultant of Montrose Compliance Services, Inc., a full service regulatory compliance firm specializing in Electromagnetic Compatibility and Product Safety. Prior to becoming a consultant, Mark was responsible for regulatory compliance at numerous high technology companies in Silicon Valley, California. His work experience includes extensive design, test and certification of Information Technology Equipment and Industrial products. He is assessed by a European Competent Body to perform CE compliance approval testing and certification.

Mark is a Senior Member of the IEEE, and is a current member of the Board of Directors for the IEEE EMC Society. He holds membership in the dB Society and TC-8, Product Safety Technical Committee. He has presented numerous papers on PCBs and EMC at IEEE International EMC Symposiums and Colloquiums in North America, Europe and Asia. Mark also provides seminars and consulting services to corporate clients worldwide and is a Certified Instructor for Postsecondary Education in California.

Mark has authored several best selling text/reference books published by IEEE Press.

Printed Circuit Board Design Techniques for EMC Compliance, 1996 (translated into Japanese and Korean), EMC and the Printed Circuit Board - Design, Theory and Layout Made Simple, 1999, (Japanese translations in process), and is a contributing author to the Electronics Packaging Handbook, 1999 (CRC/IEEE Press).

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February 2000 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, February 8th, 2000. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:

Simultaneous Switch Noise, Power Plane Bounce and EMI

Simultaneous Switch Noise (SSN) has traditionally been thought of as an inductance problem. Modern electronic packages with solder bumps, solder balls and power planes have very low inductance. The SSN problem is shifting from an inductance problem to a power plane bounce problem. Return current from signal transmission lines can be used to explain and account for power plane bounce. Noisy power planes are known to be the root cause of many SI and EMI problems. The key to managing power plane bounce is in managing return currents and power plane decoupling.

Biography

Larry D Smith received the BSEE degree from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in 1975 and the MS dregree in Material Science from the University of Vermont in 1983. After joining IBM in 1978, he worked in the areas of reliability, characterization, failure analysis, power supply and analog curcuit design, packaging and signal integrity at Sun Microsystems since 1996. His current area of concentration is design of power distribution systems and reduction of simultaneous switch noise.

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March 2000 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, March 14th, 2000. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:: "Shielding and Grounding for GHz Processors and Beyond"
-Bertram K.C. Chan

Details:
Shielding and Grounding for GHz Processors and Beyond
The radiated emission levels of systems, driven by multiple microprocessors operating at 1 GHz and beyond, may be effectively mitigated by the various grounding and shielding designs. Bert will discuss ways to reduce Common Mode Reduction at All I/O Ports using what Bert calls "The Quiet Ground". In his presentation, Bert will cover ways to reduce emissions at the source using specially designed grounding devices. He will also cover hard grounding of the main PCB in computers. Enclosures play a major roll in reducing emissions from Information Technology Equipment as you will find out as Bert discusses effective shielding that is designed to provide 90/180-degree coverage on all the seams of your product.

Please join Bert and hear his thoughts on effective EMC Design.

Biography:
Bertram is an R&D Scientist and EMC Engineer with extensive experience in Network Servers, Personal Computers, Space systems and Nuclear systems. Bertram has strong analytical and mathematical capabilities, with effective application of EM theory to EMC Compliance design and testing.

Currently a Consultant, Bertram's experience includes 2 years with Hewlett-Packard Company, 7 years with Apple Computer Inc., 10 years with Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. Inc. 2 years with the Atomic Energy Commission of Canada, and has been Tenured Professor, Division Chairman of Mathematics and Physics, and lecturer at several Universities throughout the world including San Jose State University, Atlantic Union University, Middle East College and Loma Linda University.

Bertram holds a Ph.D. in Engineering, as well as an MS and BS in Mathematics, Chemistry and Computer Science, and has published several textbooks, a multiple of scientific research papers and has 2 patents pending.

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April 2000 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, April 11th, 2000. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:: "Comparison of Methods to Evaluate Semi Anechoic Chamber Performance"
-Robert German and Charles Devor of Lehman Chambers.

Details:
Bob German will explain techniques used to compare semi anechoic chamber performance in this presentation.

Also this meeting will include the opportunity for you to nominate your choice of candidate for next year's secretary position of the Santa Clara Valley EMC Society. If you or someone you know would like to fill this position, please be sure to attend so that you may nominate your choice for next year. Candidates will have the opportunity to speak to the chapter in the April meeting, followed be a written ballot election. Votes will be counted during the April meeting and the secretary-elect will be announced at the end of the April meeting. For questions or nominations, please contact Mr. Franz Gisin, who represents the Nomination Committee for this year.

Biography:
Robert F. German is the manager of the German Training and Consulting, LLC. He teaches EMC training seminars, and consults on the design of digital devices and EMC test facilities. He is a NARTE certified EMC engineer, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and a member of the ANSI C63, SC1, Working Group 1-15.6 on antenna calibration.

Prior to 1990, Mr. German was a Senior Engineer at the IBM Boulder EMC Laboratory where he was responsible for reducing the radiated emissions and improving the RF immunity of printed circuit boards used in diskette drives, printers, and copiers. Furthermore, he developed techniques for performing radiated EMI measurements and evaluating test sites in the VHF/UHF range. Mr. German pioneered the volumetric site-attenuation measurement technique for alternate test-sites specified in ANSI C63.4 and EN 55022, explored the use of a monopole antenna for EMI and site-attenuation measurements, and instituted three research projects at the University of Colorado to predict and optimize the performance of RF semi-anechoic chambers.

From 1974 to 1979, Mr. German developed communications software for facsimile machines, laser printers and ink-jet printers at IBM Boulder. He also investigated open waveguiding structures using a microwave model while pursuing the MSEE degree.

He received the MSEE degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1979, the BSEE degree from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL in 1974, and was born in Bridgeport, CT in 1952.

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May 2000 Meeting Notice

When/Where:: Tuesday, May 9th, 2000. Silicon Graphics� Caf� Iris, Building 5, 2025 Stierlin Court in Mountain View, CA. Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm.
Topic/Speaker:

Details:
Propagating electromagnetic fields are generated whenever charge is accelerated. The polarization, direction, and mode of these fields are dependent on the structure that contains the accelerated charge. In printed circuit boards (PCBs), they include radiation from unwanted parasitic modes associated with tangential (planar) structures such as traces routed on outside layers (microstrip), and traces routed between ground and power planes (striplines). Structures normal to the ground and power planes such as vias also generate surface waves in the dielectric strata directly adjacent to the outside ground/power planes, and radial TEM waves between internal ground and power planes. As these fields propagate outward, they encounter the edge of the PCB. The edge presents a boundary discontinuity, and a portion of the energy in the propagating fields is reflected back into the PCB structure, a portion radiates outward from the edges of the PCB, and, depending on the angle of incidence, a portion also propagates tangentially around the edge of the PCB, exciting natural resonant modes within the PCB that also contribute to the total radiated energy. Using analytical modeling tools such as the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithms, one can isolate the time and frequency domain components each of these various propagating modes have on the total radiation from PCB edges, and evaluate the effectiveness of such popular edge radiation minimization techniques as adding a row of closely spaced vias that short together all the ground planes within a multi-layer PCB (fences), and pulling back the power planes from the edges.

The presentation includes a brief theoretical analysis of each of the different kinds of propagating modes, the effect the PCB edge has on each mode, and how fences and pulled-back power planes affect the total radiation efficiency from the PCB edge. The presentation also includes several time-domain animations that enhance the physical understanding of how these propagating modes produce radiation along PCB edges.

Biography:
Dr. Zorica Pantic-Tanner is Director of the SFSU School of Engineering, and Director of the SFSU Center for Applied Electromagnetics, a research facility that provides resources for theoretical and experimental studies in applied electromagnetics. She received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nish in 1975, 1978, and 1982, respectively. After graduating she became an Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at the University of Nish. In 1984 she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for postdoctoral research in the area of Applied Electromagnetics with the Electromagnetics & Communications Lab of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1989 she joined the School of Engineering at San Francisco State University. Dr. Pantic-Tanner's research and teaching interests are in the areas of Electromagnetic Field Theory, Applied Electromagnetics and Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC). She has published over 50 conference and journal papers in these areas. Dr. Pantic-Tanner is Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Chapter of the IEEE EMC Society, a member of the IEEE EMC Society Education Committee, and Vice-Chair of the IEEE EMC Society Technical Committee TC-9 on Computational Electromagnetics. Under the IEEE EMC Society sponsorship, she has also developed and taught several EMC courses.

Franz Gisin is EMC Manager at Nortel Networks. He received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho in 1972, and his M.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Santa Clara in 1986. Franz has been active in the EMC community for over 25 years, and has published numerous papers ranging from measurement uncertainties associated with 1/R extrapolation on OATS to mechanisms of common mode radiation from PCBs with attached cables. He is a past EMC Society Distinguished Lecturer and a past member of the EMC Society Board of Directors. Currently he is steering committee chair of the 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Electromagnetic Compatibility. He also teaches electromagnetics (on a part-time basis) at SFSU.

Also, our annual election for secretary will be held prior to the presentations. For nominations, questions or to volunteer, please contact Franz Gisin at [email protected].

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