How to prepare for successful EMI and EMC testing

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) testing are key processes to ensure that electronic devices function properly in their intended environment without causing or being affected by unwanted electromagnetic disturbances.

EMI testing measures electromagnetic emissions from equipment to ensure that they do not interfere with other electronic equipment. This is important because excessive emissions can interfere with the operation of nearby equipment, leading to malfunctions or failures.

EMC testing evaluates the ability of equipment to function properly in the presence of electromagnetic interference. This ensures that the equipment will perform as expected without being affected by external electromagnetic fields.

To speed you on your way at an affordable price, Tektronix offers a complete EMI/EMC pre-certification testing solution including software, spectrum analyzers, accessories, and EMC probes for near-field applications.

EMC Software

Tektronix EMI/EMC pre-certification solutions start with SignalVu-PC with EMCVu software. As an add-on module for SignalVu-PC, EMCVu provides a single user interface for all your pre-certification testing needs. Learn more about 👉 SignalVu-PC.

Spectrum Analyzers

To provide fast, accurate measurements that help you quickly find EMI/EMC problems, Tektronix offers a full line of affordable real-time spectrum analyzers. Real-time spectrum analyzers provide significant advantages over traditional swept analyzers, allowing you to catch intermittent EMI interference.

Oscilloscopes

Mixed domain analysis in the highly integrated 4/5/6 MSO series oscilloscopes. These versatile oscilloscopes offer a calculated spectrum display in parallel HW, allowing any analog channel to display the time domain waveform, the spectrum, or both. The time and frequency domains are synchronized, allowing the spectrum to be tracked as it changes over time so that it can be determined which signals are victims and which are aggressors. Download how to configure the test setup.

When you're trying to get your new design to market quickly, the last thing you want is to be held back by the failure of final EMC testing at the end of your design cycles. There are many benefits to incorporating pre-certification testing into your workflows:

• Early identification of potential EMI/EMC issues that can delay time to market and increase development costs
• Reduction of costs associated with EMI/EMC
• Increased confidence in your product before it goes to the test lab
• immediate feedback on the impact of design changes
• Flexibility to test to your schedule

Good EMC design techniques are not too difficult to implement if they are introduced at the earliest stages of design. If adjustments need to be made later in the design to meet EMC requirements, it is much more difficult.

Continue learning about EMC pre-certification testing with Tektronix's comprehensive guide.

Pre-certification EMI/EMC testing does not have to be difficult or time consuming. Based on customer feedback, Tektronix has developed a new generation of software with ease of use and functionality in mind, for pre-certification testing of both radiated and conducted emissions.

Setting up EMI/EMC pre-certification testing starts with SignalVu-PC. The latest version of SignalVu-PC now includes an additional option called EMCVu. EMCVu offers an easy-to-use setup wizard, built-in standards and accessory setup with push-button selection options. Whether you are setting up an Open-Air Test Site (OATS) or testing in your lab, EMCVu simplifies the capture and removal of ambient noise from your measurements to increase the accuracy of your pre-certification tests without anechoic chamber.

To learn more about using EMCVu with real-time analyzers and accessories to perform both airborne and downstream precertification tests, download the application note.

Try a free 30-day trial of EMCV.

Tektronix EMCV software supports EMC standards including CISPR, FCC and MIL-STD for many types of devices. For automated testing, EMCVu provides a built-in standards table that allows you to select the appropriate standard for your product and the region where it will be sold. EMCVu also allows you to configure standards that are not included and set frequency ranges or limit line tables for your selected standard.

A brief overview of the supported standards is provided below:

Before you invest time and money in final product certification testing, you want to make sure your device is ready for testing. When you run into a problem, you want the right tools that allow you to quickly target problem areas, identify the root cause, and take steps to correct it without costly delays.

To debug effectively, look for a solution that allows you to quickly identify the source and provide a signal level. This is provided by a combination of hardware and software.

Some features you should look for in your software solution include:

• A Quasi-Peak detector that allows you to focus on the frequencies of interest.
• Harmonic Check, which allows you to test only specific harmonics and see where those emissions on the board are coming from with a near-field probe
• Harmonic Markers, which allow you to find emissions on harmonics of known frequency
• Multiple trace allows you to compare the device under test (DUT) to ambient noise, previous iterations of the device, etc.
• automatic or manual repeat measurements of multiple faults that allow you to determine if a fault is intermittent or repeating
• report multiple measurements in multiple formats in the same user-configurable report

Real-time spectrum analyzer hardware makes EMI debugging much easier. Some of the benefits provided by a real-time spectrum analyzer include:

• the ability to capture transient and intermittent signals
• the ability to tune multiple sources at the same frequency
• instant feedback - traditional swept spectrum analyzers can take longer to sweep and lead to failures in capturing important signals

To learn more about how to use Tektronix real-time spectrum analyzers for emissions testing in pre-certification testing, check out the TEK blog here.

For more information on troubleshooting techniques, download the application note "Practical EMI Troubleshooting".

To eliminate the sources of radiated emissions that lead to EMI problems, it is important to determine the composition of the emissions. Next, the aggressors and coupling mechanisms need to be identified. Using a mixed-domain oscilloscope such as a Series 4, 5, or 6 MSO with spectrum display, a synchronized view of spectra and waveforms in the time domain can be captured to quickly identify the culprits.

• Any analog channel can be displayed as a waveform, spectrum or both
• Plot and trigger changes in RF frequency or magnitude
• spectra and time domain waveforms are synchronized to correlate RF and time domain events for faster root cause identification
• Spectrum controls, such as center frequency and RBW, are independent of time domain controls, allowing for optimized spectrum and waveform display

Application Note: Step-by-Step EMI Troubleshooting with MSO Series 4, 5 and 6 Oscilloscopes
Application Note: Characterizing Self-Generated EMI for Wireless and IoT Products
Application Note: Finding the Root Cause of EMI Signals with Spectrum View

EMCVu, an all-in-one EMI/EMC pre-certification testing software solution

Engineers now have a fast, easy, accurate and affordable way to know if their new product designs are ready to be submitted to the test center. This video covers EMCV's new features, including: push-button support for multiple standards, automated multi-format measurement/reporting, ambient noise calibration and comparison, harmonic markers, and faster scans using high-end detectors and spot measurements with quasi-peak and average fault detectors.

Low-cost pre-certification EMI testing using a spectrum analyzer

This application note describes how you can use a general-purpose spectrum analyzer to perform pre-certification EMI testing for radiated and conducted emissions to help you identify major issues before submitting your design for final testing.

EMC test chamber vs. Tektronix spectrum analyzer

In this video, TEKTONIX compares EMI compliance results obtained using a certification measurement kit with a low-cost approach using a Tektronix RSA spectrum analyzer. You will see how these results correlate. Performing a pre-certification test using the RSA Spectrum Analyzer series can help you uncover issues that you can resolve before final testing, and save you time and money by ensuring you pass costly final testing the first time.