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Pre-compliance radiated noise measurements

1. Introduction

It is relatively simple to carry out pre-compliance conducted noise measurements using LISN or RF current
monitoring probes and achieve an accuracy with less than 3dB deviation to test house results.
However, it is far more difficult to carry out pre-compliance radiated noise measurements with similarly simple
means. The main obstacle is unavailability of an anechoic chamber. Carrying out measurements in the
laboratory or an open space environment is severely degraded by ambient noise. Simple EMI-spectrum
analyzers lack pre-selector filters, which causes ambient interferers with high levels create intermodulation
and further mess up the measured spectrum.

This application note will try to give some hints on how to overcome this issues, when carrying out radiated
noise measurements to check and improve DUT performance, before going to the test house.

2. Equipment for pre-compliance radiated noise testing

Measurement antennas:

Most standards specify radiated noise limits as maximum permitted electric field strength in dBµV/m. CISPR
16 specifies which antennas have to be used for which frequency bands:

Below 30 MHz: magnetic loop antennas, active monopole antennas

30 MHz – 300 MHz: biconical antenna
300 MHz – 1 GHz: logarithmic periodic antenna
Above 1 GHz: horn antenna

Every measurement antenna is characterized with respect to its antenna factor, basically a value which has
to be added to the measurement amplitude in dBµV in order to obtain the electric field strength in dBµV/m.
Adding the antenna factor to the spectrum analyzer base noise may shift the base noise already to a level,
where it crosses the limit line. Consequently pre-amplifiers have to be used, which may also create serious
intermodulation issues and may not be a solution outside an anechoic chamber.
Antenna - disadvantage:
Difficult measuring outside an anechoic chamber, as the antenna picks up a lot of ambient noise which makes
it hard to figure out which emissions come from the DUT. Less sensitive, compared to a TEM cell. In many
cases, a pre-amplifier is required, which on the other hand worsens the ambient noise issue. Different
antennas required, in order to cover the entire frequency range.
Antenna - advantage:
Standard compliant measurement; value can be directly applied with respect to standard limits.

TEM cells:
You have to be aware, that the TEM cell is measuring the emissions in the near field. The measurement
result is in dBµV, whereas radiated noise limits are specified for far field measurements in an anechoic
chamber in dBµV/m units. There are a few standards which specify TEM cell limits, however the majority of
the standards give limits for antenna measurements. There is no simple and reliable method that can be
applied for converting TEM cell results to far field levels. You can do some ball park figure approximations,
however there is always some uncertainty. As a very rough figure, you can assume that the TEM cell result
is within a +/- 10 dB window around the 10m distance far field result in dBµV/m. Also note that the
conversion is depending on DUT size and frequency.
The standard IEC 61000-4-20 describes procedures for near field to far field conversion, however it
requires at least 6 measurement scans with the DUT placement covering all orthogonal positions. The
conversion needs to be carried out for every individual DUT. It doesn´t deliver a “general” conversion
formula that can be applied to any DUT. Furthermore, the procedure requires the DUT to be relatively

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Pre-compliance radiated noise measurements

small compared to the septum height. Consequently, depending on DUT size, it is often restricted to set
ups in larger GTEM cells.
In this application method, further down, we try to describe another approach, which is easier to
implement under typical pre-compliance conditions.
To get a rough idea, below an example where we investigated the root cause of emissions of a car USB
module, after it failed compliance testing. Below a comparison, looking at the critical frequencies, where
the device failed:
220 MHz test house: 37 dBµV/m TBTC2 TEM cell: 35 dBµV
312 MHz test house: 18.6 dBµV/m TBTC2 TEM cell: 20.64 dBµV
399.96 MHz test house: 41.6 dBµV/m TBTC2 TEM cell: 47.9 dBµV

In fact, the CISPR 14 standard gives exactly same limit values for the TEM cell in dBµV as for the 10m limits
in dBµV/m.

TEM cell disadvantages:

Near field measurement, no simple and perfectly reliable method to convert the result into values
equivalent to an antenna measurement. Open TEM cells also pick up some ambient noise, though they are
less susceptible to ambient noise than antennas. Open TEM cells can however be placed in a low cost
shielded tent or shielded bag to eliminate or at least significantly reduce ambient noise issues.
TEM cell advantages:
Open TEM cells can be shielded at low cost and deliver a clear picture on the frequencies emitted by a
DUT. TEM cells are far more wideband than most antennas. TEM cells are more sensitive than antennas.
TEM cells are very convenient to use in a laboratory with space constraints and TEM cells are excellent to
monitor and document relative improvements with respect to emissions during HW optimization /
modification.

3. Pre-compliance radiated noise testing procedure

The procedure describes how we carry out pre-compliance testing at Tekbox. We combine the advantages
of TEM cells and antennas in order to overcome the challenges of testing in an unshielded environment.

3.1 TEM cell measurement

We place the DUT in an open TEM cell inside a shielded tent. First we carry out a measurement run with
the DUT unpowered, in order to ensure that the shielded tent is set up correctly.
The EMCview screenshot below shows the measurement result of a TBTC2 TEM cell placed in a shielded 80
cm tent and with the DUT, a DIN rail controller of unclear origin, not yet powered. The spectrum in the
range around 100 MHz originates from a very close, powerful FM transmitter. It is not completely
suppressed, however far below limit lines:

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The next screenshot shows the output of the TEM cell, with the DUT powered.
We now have a clear picture of the emissions of the DUT (pretty bad device in terms of emissions...). The
displayed limits are those for CISPR 22 Class A, 3m measurement distance. In fact there are many spurious
which fall into a 10 dB window around the limit line, which should be investigated.

3.2 Antenna measurement

The TEM cell measurement delivered a clear overview of the DUT emissions. In the next step we will
measure using an antenna. Most of the time we do it on the roof of our factory, but sometimes we are in a
hurry or handicapped by rainfall and we simply set up the antenna in the laboratory. CISPR 16 specifies,
that the frequency range 30 MHz – 300 MHz has to be measured using a large biconical antenna, the
frequency range 300 MHz - 1 GHz has to be measured using a logarithmic periodic antenna and the
frequency range above 1 GHz has to be measured using a horn antenna. To simplify the measurement in
the lab, I used our small biconical antenna TBMA1. This antenna is characterized from 30 MHz to 1 GHz.
However, its small size comes at the cost of less gain / higher antenna factor. The antenna factor is added
to the measurement value of the analyzer in dBµV to get the level in dBµV/m. This also lifts the base noise
of the analyzer and even can cause the base noise already cross the limit line of the standard. It could be
counter-acted by using a low noise amplifier. However this also could create intermodulation of strong
ambient signals. Instead, we apply another trick. We translate the limit line to a lower measurement
distance. I took the CISPR 22 Class A limits given for 10m and translated it to 1m by adding 20 dB. The
TBMA1 manual gives more details on how to calculate such translations. It has one disadvantage though:
With decreasing frequency, the antenna moves closer to the near field / far field transmission zone and
below 300 MHz, an antenna is no more in the far field at 1m distance. Means, the measurement results
below 300 MHz are not perfectly related to the limit any more. However still closer, compared to the TEM
cell.
Below see the spectrum of the DUT in 1m distance mixed up with ambient noise:

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3.3 Comparison

There are so many spectral lines, that we need to overlay the TEM cell spectrum to be able to figure out
what comes from ambient interferers and what comes from the DUT. Here is where EMCview comes very
handy. The green graph shows the measurement result with the TBMA1 antenna and the purple graph
shows the TEM cell measurement result loaded into the same window:

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In the next step I zoom in and compare high TEM cell spurious against the levels measured with the antenna.
Below the range 150 – 200 MHz. Nearly all spurious in this frequency range originate from the DUT.
The levels measured with the antenna are above limit, however it has to be considered, that there is some
inaccuracy in the frequency range below 300 MHz, as 1m distance between the DUT and antenna is no more
sufficient to be in the far field.

Next I look above 300 MHz, where I am sure that 1m antenna to DUT spacing is sufficient to be in the far field.
It does not look too bad from 300 MHz to 500 MHz. However in the area around 430 MHz it needs a closer
look.

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Pre-compliance radiated noise measurements

And here closer zoomed in. It clearly reveals the advantage of combining a TEM cell measurement with an
antenna measurement. You can be 100% sure which spurious originate from the DUT and which are ambient.

Here some more examples of spurious exceeding the limits. By comparison with the TEM cell results, they
can be clearly identified as ambient noise:

Comparing TEM-cell measurement and antenna measurement shows whether the emissions of the DUT will
pass the limits of the standards. In the example above, there will definitely be issues passing the limits below
250 MHz. It would be most efficient to focus on three worst spurious then, such as 175 MHz, 200 MHz, 225
MHz. It seems obvious that those are harmonics of a 25 MHz source. The next step is to take the near field
probe set and try to locate the source on the PCBA. Next consider suitable modifications to reduce this
emissions and after modifying the hardware, test it in the TEM cell again. The antenna measurements show
the spurious exceeding the limits up to 15 dB. Consequently, optimize the design, and re-measure the DUT
in the TEM cell, until the spurious levels in the TEM cell are reduced at least 15 dB.
Next, repeat the antenna measurement and validate the improvement in the far field. If it passes, there is a
far more realistic chance to pass in the test house, than with the initial DUT design.

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4. Summary

This application note gave an example of a simple method to carry out pre-compliance radiated emission
measurements:
1) TEM cell measurement
2) Antenna measurement
3) Overlaying results to differentiate between DUT spurious and ambient noise
4) Near field probe investigation to locate the source of the emissions on the PCBA
5) Hardware modification / optimization
6) Monitor effects of HW optimization with TEM cell measurements until a sufficient improvement with
respect to emissions can be achieved
7) Continue with step 2) until the results of the antenna measurement are below limits

The equipment we typically use is the TBTC2 or TBTC3 TEM cell, a shielded tent (TBTC0...TBTC2 can be
used in the 80 cm tent, the TBTC3 needs the 120cm tent to fit), The most simple antenna to cover the 30 MHz
to 1 GHz range is a wideband biconical antenna such as the TBMA1.
In order to be able to accurately measure below 300 MHz, the antenna to DUT spacing should be at least 3m.
In this case, a large biconical antenna such as the TBMA2 should be used. The antenna factor of the TBMA2
in the range 30 MHz to 300 MHz is significantly lower than the antenna factor of the TBMA1, resulting in lower
base noise / higher dynamic range, which is necessary when comparing against 3m limits.

5. History

Version Date Author Changes

V 1.0 5.10.2020 Mayerhofer Creation of the document

Author: Mayerhofer 7 of 7 TekBox Digital Solutions 28-Oct-20