The prediction of the EMC performance of electronic systems prior to fabrication

The benefit to product development costs of applying computer-aided design (CAD) techniques to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) early in the design life-cycle has been well established for some time. The methodology behind the development of a software-based engineering approach, known as EMCAD, to the predictive assessment of the EMC performance of large, distributed systems such as telecommunications networks early in the design and procurement stages is described. The core of this methodology is a software algorithm to predict the EMC performance of a printed circuit board (PCB) designed in a computer-aided engineering (CAE) environment. System designers can then apply this algorithm to other software packages either existing or under development, to assess the likely performance of the overall system at the earliest possible stage prior to fabrication and installation.<>