Destructive high-power microwave testing of simple electronic circuit in reverberation chamber

Abstract

FOI is establishing a facility for destructive highpower microwave (HPM) testing and is developing an envisaged test methodology for such tests. The methodology consists of two test phases: (1) Determine the lowest power density required to destroy an object within a frequency range, using a reverberation chamber (RC). (2) At this frequency, determine the most sensitive direction of attack using an HPM generator. As a part of the development of the test method, destructive testing has been performed in an RC. The hypothesis of the test series was that the formula presented by Tasca for destructive testing of individual components subjected to direct injection is also applicable for to an electronic circuit consisting of many integrated circuits and other components when subjected to an incoming electromagnetic wave. To check this hypothesis, a simple battery-powered electronic circuit has been extensively tested, and the electromagnetic energy density required to permanently destroy the functionality of the circuit was measured as a function of pulse length. The results follow the shape of the Tasca curve, and the adiabatic, Wunch-Bell and equilibrium regimes are identifiable.