EMC for Product Designers 11 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 What is EMC? Electromagnetic interference (EMI) is a serious and increasing form of environmental pollution. Its effects range from minor annoyances due to crackles on broadcast reception, to potentially fatal accidents due to corruption of safety-critical control systems. Various forms of EMI may cause electrical and electronic malfunctions, can prevent the proper use of the radio frequency spectrum, can ignite flammable or other hazardous atmospheres, and may even have a direct effect on human tissue. As electronic systems penetrate more deeply into all aspects of society, so both the potential for interference effects and the potential for serious EMI-induced incidents will increase. Some reported examples of electromagnetic incompatibility are: • in Germany, a particular make of car would stall on a stretch of Autobahn opposite a high power broadcast transmitter. Eventually that section of the motorway had to be screened with wire mesh; • on another type of car, the central door locking and electric sunroof would operate when the car’s mobile transmitter was used; • new electronic push-button telephones installed near the Brookmans Park medium wave transmitter in North London were constantly afflicted with BBC radio programmes; • in America, police departments complained that coin-operated electronic games were causing harmful interference to their highway communications system; • interference to aeronautical safety communications at a US airport was traced to an electronic cash register a mile away; • the instrument panel of a well known airliner was said to carry the warning “ignore all instruments while transmitting HF”; • electronic point-of-sale units used in shoe, clothing and optician shops (where thick carpets and nylon-coated assistants were common) would experience lock up, false data and uncontrolled drawer openings; • when a piezo-electric cigarette lighter was lit near the cabinet of a car park barrier control box, the radiated pulse caused the barrier to open and drivers were able to park free of charge; • lowering the pantographs of electric locomotives at British Rail’s Liverpool Street station interfered with newly installed signalling control equipment, causing the signals to “fail safe” to red; 12 Introduction • perhaps the most tragic example was the fate of HMS Sheffield in the Falklands war, when the missile warning radar that could have detected the Exocet missile which sank the ship was turned off because it interfered with the ship’s satellite communications system. Mobile cellular telephones are rapidly establishing themselves, through their sheer proliferation, as a serious EMC threat. Passengers boarding civil airliners are now familiar with the announcement that the use of such devices is not permitted on board. They may be less familiar with why this is regarded as necessary. The IFALPA International Quarterly Review has reported 97 EMI-related events due to passenger “carry-on” electronic devices since 1983. To quote the Review: ... By 1990, the number of people boarding aeroplanes with electronic devices had grown significantly and the low-voltage operation of modern aircraft digital electronics were potentially more susceptible to EMI. A look at the data during the last ten years indicates that the most likely time to experience EMI emissions is during cruise flight. This may be misleading, however. During the last three years, 43% of the reported events occurred in cruise flight while an almost equal percentage of events occurred in the climb and approach phases. Of particular note: during the last three years the number of events relating to computers, compact disc players, and phones has dramatically increased and these devices have been found to more likely cause interference with systems which control the flight of the aircraft. Recognising an apparent instrument or autopilot malfunction to be EMI related may be difficult or impossible in many situations. In some reported events the aircraft was off course but indications in the cockpit displayed on course. Air traffic controllers had to bring the course deviations to the attention of the crews. It is believed that there are EMI events happening that are not recognised as related to EMI and therefore not reported. Particular points noted by the Review were that: • events are on the rise • all phases of flight are exposed (not just cruise) • many devices may cause EMI (phones, computers, CD players, video cameras, stereos) • often there will be more than one device on a flight • passengers will turn on a device even after being told to turn it off† • passengers will conceal usage of some devices (phones, computers) • passengers will turn devices on just after take-off and just prior to landing • phones are a critical problem • specific device type and location should be recorded and reported by the crew • when the emitting EMI device is shut off, the aircraft systems return to normal operation (in the case of positioning errors a course change may be necessary) † Especially if they regard their need for personal communication as more important than a mere request from the crew. [57] reports that an aircraft carrying a German foreign minister was forced to make an emergency landing “after key cockpit equipment cut out”. It was claimed that mobile phone transmissions could be the only explanation and it was said that, “despite repeated requests from the crew, there were still a number of journalists and foreign office personnel us- ing their phones”. EMC for Product Designers 13 • flight attendants should be briefed to recognize possible EMI devices In 2000, the Civil Aviation Authority carried out tests on two aircraft parked at Gatwick which reinforces the ban on the use of mobile phones while the engine is running [57]. The tests revealed that interference levels varied with relatively small changes in the phone’s location, and that the number of passengers on the flight could affect the level, since they absorbed some of the signal. Another critical area with potentially life-threatening consequences is the EMC of electronic medical devices. A 1995 review article [116] described three incidents in detail and listed more than 100 EMI problems that were reported to the US Food & Drug Administration between 1979 and 1993. It states bluntly that: EMI-related performance degradation in electronic medical devices has resulted in deaths, serious injuries, and the administration of inappropriate and possibly life-threatening treatment. The detailed case studies were as follows: • apnea monitors: the essential function of an apnea monitor is to sound an alarm when breathing stops; the devices are used in hospitals and frequently prescribed for home use in the case of infants who either have exhibited or are at risk of experiencing prolonged apnea. Because there had been numerous reports of unexplained failure on the part of apnea monitors to alarm even upon death, their susceptibility to radiated RF was evaluated by the CDRH†. Most commercial apnea monitors were found to erroneously detect respiration when exposed to relatively low field strengths, a situation that could result in failure to alarm during apnea. Most monitors were found to be susceptible above 1V/m; one particular model was susceptible to pulsed fields above 0.05V/m. • anaesthetic gas monitor: the CDRH received several reports of erroneous displays and latch-up of an anaesthetic gas monitor during surgery. None of the reports mentioned EMI as a possible cause. FDA investigators found that the manufacturer had a list of 13 complaint sites, and his own investigations revealed that interference from certain types of electrosurgery units disrupted the communication link between the monitor and a central mass spectrometer, causing the monitor to fail to display the concentration of anaesthetic gas in the operating room during surgery. • powered wheelchairs: a QA manager at a large wheelchair manufacturer had received reports of powered wheelchairs spontaneously driving off kerbs or piers when police or fire vehicles, harbour patrol boats, or CB or amateur radios were in the vicinity. Though CDRH databases showed reports of unintended motion – in several cases involving serious injury – none of these incidents had been attributed to EMI. When CDRH investigated the EMI susceptibility of the motion controllers on various makes of powered wheelchairs and scooters, they discovered susceptibilities in the range of 5 to 15V/m. At the lower end of the range, the electric brakes would release, which could result in rolling if the chair happened to be stopped on an incline; as the field strength at a susceptible frequency was increased, the wheels would actually begin turning, with the speed being a function of field strength. These are all examples of the lack of a product’s “fitness for purpose”: that is, to operate † CDRH: Center for Devices and Radiological Health, US FDA 14 Introduction correctly and safely in its intended environment, which includes the electromagnetic environment. There are clear safety implications in the reports. Not only the US is affected, as can be deduced from the following items: The UK Department of Health has issued guidelines banning the use of cordless, cellular and mobile phones within certain areas in hospitals, because their electromagnetic field can interfere with medical equipment, including life-support machines... The DoH has been forced to issue the guidelines following a number of reported cases where medical equipment has been reset, or stopped working, due to the interference from cellular phones. Electronics Weekly 8th February 1995 The problem of interference to hearing aids has been known for some time. Digital mobile phones use a form of radio transmission called Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), which works by switching the radio frequency carrier rapidly on and off. If a hearing aid user is close to a digital mobile telephone, this switching of the radio frequency carrier may be picked up on the circuitry of the hearing aid. Where interference occurs, this results in a buzzing noise which varies from very faint to maximum volume of the aid... [A specialist standards panel] has determined that, although digital mobile telephones are being looked at as the source of likely interference, all radio systems using TDMA or similar transmissions are likely to cause some interference. BSI News December 1993 In a lighter vein, probably the least critical EMC problem this author has encountered is the case of the quacking duck: there is a toy for the under-5’s which is a fluffy duck with a speech synthesizer which is programmed to quack various nursery rhyme tunes. It does this when a certain spot (hiding a sensor) on the duck is pressed, and it shouldn’t do it otherwise. Whilst it was in its Christmas wrapping in our house, which is not electrically noisy, it was silent. But when it was taken to our daughter’s house and left in the kitchen on top of the fridge, next to the microwave oven, it quacked apparently at random and with no-one going near it. Some disconcerting moments arose before it was eventually explained to the family that this was just another case of bad EMC and that they shouldn’t start to doubt their sanity! 1.1.1 Compatibility between systems The threat of EMI is controlled by adopting the practices of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). This is defined [146] as “the ability of a device, unit of equipment or system to function satisfactorily in its electromagnetic environment without introducing intolerable electromagnetic disturbances to anything in that environment”. The term EMC has two complementary aspects: • it describes the ability of electrical and electronic systems to operate without interfering with other systems; • it also describes the ability of such systems to operate as intended within a specified electromagnetic environment. Thus it is closely related to the environment within which the system operates. Effective EMC requires that the system is designed, manufactured and tested with regard to its predicted operational electromagnetic environment: that is, the totality of electromagnetic phenomena existing at its location. Although the term “electromagnetic” tends to suggest an emphasis on high frequency field-related phenomena, in practice the definition of EMC encompasses all frequencies and coupling paths, from DC through mains supply frequencies to radio frequencies and microwaves.