Fast evaluation of electromagnetic interference between antenna and PCB traces for compact mobile devices

Abstract

This paper proposes a technique for the fast evaluation of antenna-induced noise at the terminations of PCB traces on compact mobile phones platforms. The main approach is based on the classical theory of transmission lines with external field excitation. We show that a single full-wave electromagnetic simulation is needed to compute the coupling coefficients for an arbitrary location of the trace on the phone PCB. Therefore, the approach is ideally suited for the automated incorporation of EMI constraints within routing and placement algorithms and for parametric and what-if analyses.

Fast Assessment of Antenna-PCB Coupling in Mobile Devices: a Macromodeling Approach

“…The curves labeled as "Full-wave" report the results of a field simulation of the entire structure, including the PCB trace, and are for validation purposes. The curves labeled as "Tline" are obtained as a frequency-domain solution of the fieldexcited Telegraphers' equations (6). Finally, the curves labeled as "Macromodel" are the frequency responses of the SPICEgenerated netlist after a rational approximation step (18 poles).…”

“…We remark that the mesh settings in this simulation need not to be very aggressive, since the spatial variation of the fields is smooth and not influenced by the small features of the PCB trace, which has been removed. For additional considerations, see [6] and Section VII.…”

“…Due to the availability of a SPICE model, coupling assessment can be performed via transient SPICE runs including realistic models (i.e., nonlinear and dynamic) of digital drivers and receivers such as [10], [9]. This is a new contribution with respect to [6].…”

“…Building on the preliminary results of [6], this paper suggests an alternative approach for a fast and accurate assessment of antenna-to-PCB coupling in mobile devices. The proposed technique performs only one full-wave simulation for each transmitting antenna.…”

Simultaneous Switching Noise Enabler in High-Speed Biomedical Systems by Integrated Plane Coupling

“…[2] Power supply noise is significantly increased by switching current (di=dt) because of simultaneous switching of high-speed interfaces due to dissipation caused by a decrease in the supply voltage. [3] The noise margin may be significantly decreased by routing high-speed traces in printed circuit boards through switching noise generated in power planes to interconnecting traces. [4] Although progress has been made towards faster edge rates, lower voltage levels, and higher integration, switching noise must be considered in designing high-speed digital circuits.…”