System Strategies for Time-Domain Emission Measurements above 1 GHz

Abstract

The application of time-domain methods in emission measurement instruments allows for a reduction in scan time by several orders of magnitude and for new evaluation methods to be realized such as the real-time spectrogram to characterize transient emissions. In this paper two novel systems for time-domain EMI measurements above 1 GHz are presented. The first system combines ultra-fast analog-to-digital-conversion and real-time digital signal processing on a field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA) with ultra-broadband multi-stage down-conversion to enable measurements in the range from 10 Hz to 26 GHz with high sensitivity and full-compliance with the requirements of CISPR 16-1-1. The required IF bandwidths were added to allow for measurements according to MIL-461F and DO-160F. The second system realizes a system of time-interleaved analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and has an upper bandwidth limit of 4 GHz. With the implementation of an automatic mismatch calibration, the system fulfills CISPR 16-1-1 dynamic range requirements. Measurements of the radiated emissions of electronic consumer devices and household appliances like the non-stationary emissions of a microwave oven are presented. A measurement of a personal computer's conducted emissions on a power supply line according to DO-160F is given.