Radiated EMI Reduction by Layout
2020 IEEE 9th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference (IPEMC2020-ECCE Asia) | 978-1-7281-5301-8/20/$31.00 ©2020 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/IPEMC-ECCEAsia48364.2020.9367662
Improvement in Power Converters in
Automotive Applications
Juntao Yao and Shuo Wang
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Abstract— Power converter layout is a critical factor for the
radiated EMI. Because the radiation excitation is generated by the
power converter and it is significantly influenced by the layout.
The power converter layout includes the component location and
the PCB trace layout. This paper develops noise modeling
techniques to reveal the mechanisms of the layout’s influences.
And based on the modeling researches, layout improvement
guidelines for reducing the radiated EMI are produced, including
the component location improvement, and the PCB layout
improvement. Experimental verifications including the semi-
anechoic chamber testing are conducted on a buck-boost power
converter and on a buck power converter in automotive
applications.
Index Terms— Radiated emission, electromagnetic interference
(EMI), radiated EMI, common mode, non-isolated power
converter
I. INTRODUCTION
Radiated EMI in power converters are regulated by
international EMI standards [1, 2]. Modeling and reduction of
radiated EMI in power converters are important topics.
Regarding the radiated EMI in power converter systems,
usually the attached power cables can act as antennas to
generate electromagnetic waves when they are driven by
radiation excitations. And the radiation excitations are usually
generated by power converters.
To characterize the radiated EMI’s relation with the antenna
and the current distribution though the antenna, existing
researches can develop models for characterizing the cable
antenna’s radiation [3, 4]. Based on current scanning and phase
extraction techniques [3, 5], the measurements can characterize
the distribution of the CM current through the power cables.
The CM current can feed as the excitations to the cable antenna
model consisting of multiple dipoles. And the multiple dipole
models can be integrated for the prediction of the radiated EMI.
The relation between the CM current and the resulted radiated
EMI is characterized.
But since the power cables are universally specified and
usually cannot be changed in the radiated EMI testing, the focus
of developing noise reduction techniques usually should not be
put on changing the cable antenna but on improving the power
converter design. Because in automotive applications, the EMI
standards, for example CISPR 25，usually specify the length
and the location of the power cables attached to the power
This research was supported by Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
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Zheng Luo
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc.
San Jose, CA, USA
converters. The improved power converter design can reduce
the radiation excitation and hereby can reduce the radiated EMI,
which needs to be researched thoroughly.
To characterize the noise generation mechanisms in power
converters, existing researches develop models to reveals the
mechanisms of radiation excitation generation. In some
situations, the coupling between the pulsating node and the
reference plane can act as the radiation excitation [6]. Some
researches base on the extraction of the couplings between the
pulsating node and the reference ground plane and estimates the
coupled current flowing from the reference plane to the attached
power cable [6]. The coupled current feeds as the excitation to
the attached power cable causing the radiated EMI. The
researchers characterize the conversion from the switching
noise and the radiated EMI, with the coupling parasitics
identified as the important influential factor. Though capable of
predicting the radiated EMI, the first and the second approaches
lack of in-depth investigation of the generation mechanisms of
the radiation excitation noise.
While in some complex situations, for example, in the
radiated EMI testing setup specified by the standard CISPR25,
it is not the switching voltage but the voltage difference
between the input and the output terminals of the power
converters that acts as the radiation excitation. Some
researchers base on the identified radiation excitation of the
voltage across the input and output terminals and develop
models for characterizing radiation excitation generation in the
power converter. The radiation system is split into two stages
consisting of the radiation excitation generation in the power
converter as the first stage and the cable antenna’s excitation
voltage to radiated EMI conversion as the second stage. The
developed model of the first stage can characterize the noise
voltage conversion from the switching noise to the radiation
excitation. The developed models can predict the radiated EMI
and identify influential factors [7-9]. Further work to produce
guidelines for improving the power converter layout is needed.
In isolated power converters, switching noises transform
through the isolation transformer’s interwinding parasitics and
cause the radiation excitation [10-18]. The improved
transformer design, including the shielding and winding
structure, can effectively reduce the radiated. However, the
mechanism of the radiation excitation generation in non-
isolated power converters has significant differences from that
in the isolated power converters. where
In non-isolated power converters attached with long cables _ = (6)
in automotive applications, the radiation excitation usually is and
the voltage difference across the input and output terminals [7, _ = (7)
8]. The generation of the radiation excitation is the With (6) and (7) substituted to (5), derives
transformation from the switching noises through the passive − =( − )+( − ) (8)
components and the PCB layout. The power converter layout where
consisting of the passive component location and the PCB = − = _ + _ (9)
layout, therefore, plays an important role influential to the The voltages _ and are in the sub-circuit loop
radiated EMI. It is essential to develop guidelines for improving / . The voltage ratio of _ over is proportional
the power converter layout for reducing the radiated EMI. to the impedance ratio / . And the voltages _
This paper is organized as follows. The second section will and are in the sub-circuit loop / . The voltage ratio of
develop models for revealing the layout’s influences on over is proportional to the impedance ratio
_
parasitics and the radiated EMI. The third section will develop / . There are two cases depending on whether the
guidelines for improving the layout for reducing the radiated impedance ratios are big or not. For case 1), when the
EMI. In the third section, experimental verifications will be impedance ratios are big (>>1), the voltages of and can
provided based on a buck-boost power converter in automotive be neglected in (8), therefore
LED driver applications. − (10)
II. MODELING OF LAYOUT’S INFLUENCE ON PARASITICS AND Hereby, in case 1)
ON RADIATED EMI (11)
But in case 2), when the impedance ratios are not big, the
Fig. 1 shows a buck-boost converter applied as automotive voltages on the decoupling capacitors can impact the CM noise
LED drivers. The attached input/output power cables (specified and the radiated EMI.
by CISPR 25 and the LED driver application scenario) act as Detailed analyses for the cases will be presented in the
the arms of the antenna. With a radiation excitation added to the subsections A and B. Case 1): when the distances between the
power cables, the antenna can generate electromagnetic waves terminals of the decoupling capacitors and the inductor are big,
causing the radiated EMI. The radiation excitation is the ground layer’s parasitic impedances are much larger than
transformed from the switching noise through the passive that of the decoupling capacitors, the ground layer’s parasitic
components and the PCB. impedances can predominate the generation of the radiation
excitation. Case 2): when the ground layers’ parasitic
impedances are not big or reduced significantly by layout
improvements, the decoupling capacitors can emerge as an
influential factor to the radiation excitation generation and to
the radiated EMI.
A. Case 1), with big ground layer impedances
In case 1), as shown in Fig. 2 (a) and (b), the ground layer’s
impedances are much larger than those of the decoupling
capacitors. The radiation excitation is predominantly caused by
Fig. 1. Non-isolated power converters applied as automotive LED drivers, with
ground layer parasitics considered the voltage drops on the ground layer impedances.
The radiation excitation is the voltage difference between the
input and the output terminals. Since both the input and the
output ports have a pair of L/N terminals, the radiation
excitation of the CM noise is defined as
= − (1)
where
= (2)
and
= (3)
Note that, in (2) and (3), the reference voltage potential of the
voltages , , , and is the earth ground.
With (2) and (3) substituted to (1), derives
= 12 ( − )+( 3− 1) (4)
where (a)
− = _ + − + _ (5)

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 frequencies. The ESL of the flat wire can be calculated as
102 2⋅ℓ +
= 2 ⋅ ℓ ln + 0.5 + 0.2235 ⋅
101 + ℓ
( ) ⋅ℓ
100
= 2 ⋅ ℓ ⋅ ln + ℓ + 0.447 ⋅ ( + ) nH (14)
30 100 500
Where ℓ is the length in cm, is the width in cm, is the
thickness in cm
100 = 2⋅( + )+1
ℓ
(15)
0 1
-100 = −( + ) ⋅ 2 ⋅ ℓ ⋅ + 0.447
( + )2
30 100 500 = −2 ⋅ ℓ ⋅ + 0.447 (16)
The thickness is in the order of 10 cm,
(b)
Δ Δℓ (17)
Fig. 2. Parasitic impedances of the ground layer and the decoupling capacitors ℓ
(a) ground layer nodes on the physical power converter (b) extracted in practical dimension parameters, with ℓ ~10 cm, ~10
impedances cm and ~10 cm. Given the practical dimension parameters,
Based on the substitution theorem, the switching devices are is more sensitive to the trace length than to the thickness.
replaced by voltage/current sources, as shown in Fig. 3. Based Therefore, to improve the layout, it is important to reduce the
on the superposition theorem, the noise circuit analyses can trace length.
derive the expression of the voltage difference between the The inductor’s location is improved, rotated
terminals of the ground layer counterclockwise by 90° , as shown in Fig. 4 (a). This
=− ⋅ 1
− ⋅ ( 1 || ) + 2 (12) improvement reduces the length between the inductor terminals
+ 1
and the decoupling capacitors. When the lengths are reduced by
75%, the inductances and the impedances are reduced
significantly by around 86.6% (reduced by around -17.4 dB), as
+
−

shown in Fig. x (b).

− +

Fig. 3. Noise circuit of the buck-boost power converter with the switching
devices replaced by voltage/current sources

B. Case 2), with small ground layer impedances

When the ground layer’s parasitic impedances are small,
different from case 1), the terms and cannot be
neglected in (8). And since in sub-interval stages, _
(a)
and _ are out of phase, there is no cancellation effect
in (8) regarding the two terms. And with (8) substituted to (4),
derives
= + ( − ) (13)
The reduction of the voltage drops on the decoupling
capacitors can help to reduce the common mode voltage and as
a result, that can reduce the radiated EMI.
Section III will investigate noise reduction techniques by
improving the layout including the component location and the
PCB layout, and by improving the decoupling capacitor
packing type and the layout.

III. LAYOUT IMPROVEMENT FOR REDUCING RADIATED EMI (b)

IN A BUCK-BOOST CONVERTER AND IN A BUCK CONVERTER
Fig. 4. After the inductor’s location improved, parasitic impedances of the
A. Improvement of layout in a buck-boost converter ground layer (a) ground layer nodes on the physical power converter (b)
extracted impedances
The parasitic impedance of the ground layer/trace is
With the ground layer impedances reduced, the voltage drops
predominantly the equivalent series inductance (ESL) at high
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on the ground layer are reduced effectively, as shown in Fig. 5.

Original

Inductor location improved (a)

Fig. 5. Comparison of before and after the inductor’s location improved

The radiated EMI is measured in a semi-anechoic chamber,
with the CISPR 25 testing setup. The comparison of the radiated
EMI is shown in Fig. 6. The reduction of the radiated EMI
(around -15 dB reduction) verifies the effect of improving the
inductor location (equivalently the layout) for reducing the
radiated EMI.
(b)
Original

Inductor location improved

Fig. 6. Comparison of radiated EMI before and after the inductor’s location
improved
The improvement of the inductor location is equivalently the
(c)
improvement of the layout. And the physical PCB layout
improvement will be further investigated and will be presented Fig. 7. Buck-boost power converter with small form factor decoupling
capacitors applied (a) schematic (b) extracted impedances (C) implementation
in the full paper. on the physical board
B. Improvement of decoupling capacitors in a buck-boost
converter
Based on the improved inductor location, the ground layer’s
parasitic impedances are reduced, not much bigger than that of
the decoupling capacitor. This inductor location improvement
leads the case 1) into case 2). And according to the analyses of
case 2), the parasitic impedance and voltage drops on the
decoupling capacitors can impact the CM noise.
To reduce the parasitic impedances of the decoupling
capacitors, small form factor capacitors are applied, as shown
in Fig. 7 (a) and (b), including the capacitors and in the
packaging type SMD 0603 (smaller than the original capacitors
and in SMD 1210). To reduce the parasitic impedances of
the traces connecting the implemented decoupling capacitors,
the small form factor capacitors are placed as shown in Fig. 7(a) Fig. 8. Comparison of radiated EMI before and after the inductor location
and on the physical board as shown in Fig. 7(c). improved, further with small form factor (SFF) capacitor applied
The comparison of the radiated EMI is shown in Fig.8. After
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the inductor’s location improved, further with the small form boost converter case, which can verify the previous analyses
factor capacitors applied, the radiated EMI is reduced about the layout and the parasitic impedances.
effectively. Note that, the application of the small form factor
capacitors can reduce the radiated EMI only based on the case
with the ground layer’s parasitic impedances reduced by the
improved inductor location or the improved layout.
C. Investigation of layout improvement in a buck converter
The previous power converter board has another operating
mode, the buck-mode. Note that some pin connections in the
power converter are changed. The fundamental mechanisms of
the noise circuit analyses using the substitution theory and the
substitution theory can still apply, as shown in Fig. 9.

+ −
Fig. 10. The buck converter layout

Buck-boost

(a) Buck
+
−

Fig. 11. Comparison of the switching noises ( ) in the buck converter case
and in the buck-boost converter case
(b)
Fig. 9. Noise circuit of the buck power converter with the switching devices Buck-boost
replaced by voltage/current sources (a) buck converter schematic (b) noise
circuit
Based on the superposition theory,
| |= − ⋅ 1+ 2 − ⋅(
+ 2 ⋅
+ +
1 2 1+ + 2

1 − 1
⋅ 2) (18) Buck
1+ + 2
When the impedance ≫ (also ≫ ), (18)
can be approximately simplified as
|= − 1+ (19)
| ⋅ 2
− ⋅ 1
The parameters of the parastics are determined by the power (a)
converter layout. The layout of the buck converter case is
shown in Fig. 10. As compared with the buck-boost power Buck-boost
converter, the lengths of the traces causing and
both are reduced by around 75%. As a result, the inductances
are reduced by 86.6% (reduction -17.4 dB).
Therefore, though the power rating and switching noise of
the buck converter case is the same with the buck-boost
converter case, as shown in Fig. 11, the radiation excitation and
Buck
the radiated EMI are much lower, as shown in Fig. 12. The
switching noises are almost the same, but due to different
ground layer impedances, the radiation excitation of the buck
converter case is significantly reduced from the buck-boost (b)
converter case. And as shown in Fig. 12 (b), the buck converter Fig. 12. Comparison of the radiation excitation and the radiated EMI in the buck
case has a smaller radiated EMI as compared with the buck- converter case and in the buck-boost converter case (a) radiation excitation (b)
radiated EMI

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 To further investigate the improvement of the decoupling
capacitor, the decoupling capacitor’s location is improved, with
the SFF capacitor applied. The results are shown in Fig. 13.
(a)
Buck
Buck, with applied
(b)
Fig. 13. Comparison of radiated EMI W/o and W/ , in the buck converter
case
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The proposed techniques of improving the layout,
component location, and the SFF capacitors are verified
effective for reducing the radiated EMI. The analyses about the
noise circuit are verified for reducing the impedances and the
voltage drops on the ground layer. Several improvement
guidelines are produced, 1) when the ground layers’ size is large
and the ESL big, the comparatively small ESLs of the
decoupling capacitors are negligible regarding the impact on
the radiated EMI, 2) when the ground layers’ size and the ESL
are small, the decoupling capacitors can impact the radiated
excitation and the radiated EMI, 3) based on case 2), the
application of small form factor decoupling capacitors and the
improved layout can reduce the radiated EMI.
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