PCB Design for EMC

There are several key challenges in

designing a cost effective printed
circuit board, PCB.
While the initial aim may be to get as small a printed circuit board as
possible, this may not be the most cost effective route for the whole
system. Reducing the size of the board is possible with a more
complex, multi-layer board that brings with it electromagnetic issues
that can cost thousands further down the project.

The electromagnetic interference, EMI or electromagnetic

compatibility, EMC performance is a key factor in the design of the
board. Making sure the end equipment conforms to local EMC and
interference requirements can be a costly process if corners have
been cut in the design and manufacture of the PCB, so some of the
cost saving approaches can be short sighted. If the components are
coupling or radiating there may need to be costly fixes later on to get
the system through the EMC conformance testing.
While a four-layer board is regarded the optimum balance of EMI
protection and board layout, it is often possible to design a two-layer
board with the same performance using online PCB tools such as
DesignSpark PCB. This provides a significant reduction in the cost of
the board production but has to be done without impacting on the
testing further down the line.
Signal return paths are the most difficult design problem to tackle in
PCB layout. It would be difficult to route a ground return underneath
each trace connected to a signal pin on the controller but this is
exactly what the ground plane of a four-layer board does. No matter
where the traces run, there is always a ground return path running
underneath it.
The closest approximation to having a ground plane in a two-layer
board comes from gridding the ground to reduce EMI radiation from
the signal traces. Reducing the loop area by routing the return for the
signal underneath the signal trace is the most effective way of dealing
with this problem so creating a ground grid is the most important
thing to do (after floor planning) in laying out the PCB.

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Gridding to Create Planes
Gridding is the most critical design technique for EMC in two-layer
boards. Much like a power utility grid, this is a network of orthogonal
connections between traces carrying ground. It effectively creates a
ground plane, which provides the same noise reduction as on
four-layer boards. This emulates the ground plane that is used to
provide EMC improvements of a four-layer board by providing a
ground return path under each of the signal traces and lowers the
impedance between the microcontroller and the voltage regulation.
Gridding is done by expanding any ground traces and using
ground-fill patterns to create a network of connections to ground
across the PCB. For example, a PCB has most of the topside traces
running vertically and most of the bottom traces running horizontally.
This already is working against having the return run directly under
signal. First, every ground trace is expanded to fill up as much of the
empty PCB space as possible. Then, all the remaining empty space is
filled with ground.
The aim is to grid as much as possible on a two-layer board. Small
changes in the layout can allow another connection to be made to
expand the grid.

Board Zoning

Board zoning is another technique that can be used to reduce the

noise and EMI of a board and so reduce the need for the extra PCB
layers. It has the same basic meaning as board floor planning, which
is the process of defining the general location of components on the
blank PCB before drawing in any traces. Board zoning goes a little bit
further in that it includes the process of placing like functions on a
board in the same general area, as opposed to mixing them together.
High-speed logic, including microcontrollers, is placed close to the
power supply, with slower components located further away, and
analogue components even further still. This can have a major impact
on the EMC performance of the PCB.
With this arrangement, the high-speed logic has less chance to
pollute other signal traces. It is especially important that oscillator
tank loops be located away from analogue circuits, low-speed signals,
and connectors. This applies both to the board, and to the space
inside the box containing the board. Do not design in cable
assemblies that fold over the oscillator or the microcomputer after
final assembly, because they can pick up noise and carry it elsewhere.
This has an impact on where the connector head will be placed on the
PCB design.

pcb/pcba design and assembly,welcome contac

t sally, Skype:raypcb15 email
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le,see more at

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cb-rigid-flex-circuit-pcb
PCB design tools
There are many tools that are available that are able to provide PCB
design with EMC in mind. One is the DesignSpark PCB tool and the
latest version includes online design rule checking, DRC to eliminate
problems during the design process rather than waiting to do a batch
check. This is particularly helpful in optimising the board for low cost,
as any conflicts or errors are immediately flagged and can be
countered. Of course the checking is only as good as the design file,
and more input from the engineer on possible problems is vital, but
this helps speed up the process so more time can be spent on the key
areas.
In Version 5 of DesignSpark PCB the online DRC will check any items
that have been added or moved as a result of interactive editing
operations. This includes, for example, all tracks attached to a
component that has moved or all the tracks and vias that were added
when manually routing.
Version 5 of also adds bus support so that common tracks can be
grouped together and easily routed. Instead of drawing all the
connections across the design and connecting them to every pin
required, the designer can make the design less cluttered by using
buses. The designer adds connections from a component pin to the
bus that carries the signal.

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Figure 1: Adding schematic buses in DesignSpark PCB

Version 5
Buses can be Open or Closed. A Closed Bus is a collection of net
names running along the bus, predefined within the bus where only
those nets can be used when connecting to the bus, while an Open
Bus can carry any net.
While this of course makes sense for routing buses, it can also be
used for routing other sets of lines around the board. This can help to
make the design simpler and clearer by grouping a number of noisy
traces together surrounded by ground traces using the bus schematic
feature, and can help reduce the noise across the board. A good tip is
never to run noisy traces on the outside edge of the board, which may
be difficult with a smaller two-layer board. Keeping non-noisy traces
away from areas on the board were they could pick up noise, such as
connectors, oscillator circuits, relays, and relay drivers also helps
reduce the problem.

Conclusion
Designing a board with the simplicity required for low cost is
probably harder than having the luxury of multiple layers.

Some EMI issues can be addressed with decoupling capacitors and

ferrite beads to dampen any signals that are likely to radiate, but this
adds to the complexity of the design and to the cost of the
manufacturing. If the EMI / EMC can be minimised through good
design using zoning and awareness of cross talk, then a grid approach
to the power and ground lines can provide the same level of shielding
in a two-layer board that is possible with four- or six-layer designs.
This both reduces the cost of making the board but should also
improve the yield and the reliability including that of the PCB EMC
performance, further reducing the costs over the lifetime of the
equipment.
pcb/pcba design and assembly,welcome contact sally, Skype:raypcb15
email
[email protected] just show me the gerber file and BOM,will quote
price to you ASAP.

Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing

Pcb Design

Circuit Design

Written by

Sally Fang