[hsdd] High-Speed Digital Design Newsletter
- From: "Dr. Howard Johnson" <howiej@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <hsdd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2002 14:38:49 -0700
*-----------------------------------------------------*
High-Speed Digital Design
*On-Line Newsletter*
Dr. Howard Johnson, Vol. 5 Issue 10
*-----------------------------------------------------*
I plan to chair a technical session (theme 10, #38,
"Signal Integrity Analysis and Design") at the IEEE
International Symposium on EMC, to be held May 11-
16, 2003 in Istanbul, Turkey.
I know it?s a long trip for many of you, but please
consider joining me at this event. Precious few
IEEE societies have expressed any interest in
Signal Integrity, and I think we should do what we
can to support their efforts.
My session will explore regions of common interest
between the subjects of EMC and signal integrity.
*** CALL FOR PAPERS ***
Any and all interested in submitting papers for
presentation at the session are invited to write
to:
howiej@xxxxxxxxxx
Suggested topics include the control of ringing,
crosstalk, ground bounce, power supply noise,
signal rise time, stray returning signal currents,
split ground planes, noise isolation barriers, and
the propagation of extremely high-frequency
waveforms.
The session chair has a special interest in digital
systems operating at signaling frequencies in
excess of 1 Gb/s.
For more information, see www.ortra.com/emc2003/
*** IMPORTANT DATES ***
Submission of abstracts & preliminary manuscripts:
October 13, 2002
Notification of acceptance: November 15, 2002
Advanced program distribution: December 5, 2002
Camera Ready Manuscripts: March 15, 2003
*-------------*TECHNICAL TOPIC*----------------------*
Working with EMC Consultants
If you design very many digital products, at some
point you?ll probably have to hire an EMC
consultant.
The biggest EMC mistake you can make is the failure
to get your consultant involved at a sufficiently
early stage. Getting early advice and guidance from
someone who works on a daily basis with products
just like yours is invaluable. Note that I said
someone who works with products like yours. That?s
an important part of selecting a good EMC advisor--
you want someone who knows from direct experience
what parts of your type of product will likely
radiate the most.
Experience plays such a large role in EMC problems
because EMC is an under-constrained optimization
problem. In the theory of optimization, one worries
about the number of constraints versus the number
of variables in a problem. The world of EMC carries
on the constraint side some radiated emission
limits that you must not exceed, and a total
product cost which should be minimized. That?s
about it.
On the variables side, there are zillions of ways
to put together a product that could work. Every
nut, bolt, panel, trace, wire, IC, and connector
affects both emissions and cost. There are too many
variables, and too few constraints. Working
strictly from the constraints, there?s no
mathematical way to force out one perfect, optimum
solution. Therefore, we fall back on experience.
Here?s a checklist of design-experience issues you
may want to take under consideration when
evaluating an EMC person?s background:
Clock speed, signal risetime, and RF carrier
frequencies used
Total product power (relates to the complexity
of the power delivery apparatus)
Physical size (wearable, desktop, rack-mount, or
industrial plant)
Packaging complexity (custom or off-the-shelf IC
packaging, flip-chip, MCM, etc.)
Use of removable or configurable components
(this creates holes in the packaging)
External cabling (type and number of
connections)
Manufacturing volume (at higher volumes more
alternatives become available for cost
reduction)
Sensitivity to cost (is it a military or
consumer product)
Time-to-market (fast design cycles require
immediate and unimpeded access to your advisor)
The second-biggest EMC mistake you can make is to
hire more than one EMC advisor. That puts you into
the same position as a man who owns two watches: he
never knows which one is right.
It?s not difficult to locate a good EMC consultant.
One reasonable place to start is at your local IEEE
EMC Society chapter meeting. The EMC society of the
IEEE is particularly well organized. Most chapters
hold regular meetings. At these meeting the members
hear technical presentations, discuss the latest
theories, eat some pizza, and talk about who?s
hiring whom. It?s the perfect place to locate an
advisor, check their references, and sign them up
for work.
Or, if you want to meet a really large number of
EMC professionals, and learn some neat stuff in the
process, visit Turkey for the big international EMC
symposium May 11-16, 2003. I?ll be there.
Best Regards,
Dr. Howard Johnson
*-----------------------------------------------------*
Don?t miss my upcoming seminar at Oxford University
in the U.K., November 26-27, 2002. This class is
open to all (see www.sigcon.com). During class I?ll
preview some of the new material from my upcoming
book, ?High-Speed Signal Propagation?.
If you have an idea that would make a good topic for
a future newsletter, please send it to hsdd@xxxxxxxxxxx
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Copyright 2002, Signal Consulting, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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