Working in UMR's Electromagnetic Compatibility Lab, David Pommerenke and two Ph.D. students have created a new scanning system that can identify areas on printed circuit boards and integrated circuits that are susceptible to electromagnetic interference. The system uses four components: a three-dimensional positioner; high-voltage pulse generators; electrostatic discharge pulse injection probes; and feedback and control software.

The researchers discovered that electrostatic discharge-induced electromagnetic interference can affect a system even on signal lines that carry slow digital signals such as status lines. Printed circuit board designers usually use short traces to carry high-frequency signals such as clocks and serial data streams, but they may use longer runs for slowly changing signals. Unfortunately, the longer the trace, the better it acts as a receiving antenna for stray electromagnetic interference.

From Test & Measurement World.