Electromagnetic Compatibility for System Engineers

Spurious electromagnetic interactions within and between systems endanger and may disturb their proper functional performance. The prevention, elimination, or suppression of such electromagnetic interference (EMI) to a satisfactory level constitutes the engineering discipline electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Its objective is preservation or recovery of expected performance of electronic systems at minimal cost and minimal disturbance of the systems′ development process. The need to provide timely solutions, commensurate with the system state of development, binds EMC tools, methodology, and management to efficient approximations, modeling, and predictions relying on incomplete knowledge of the system, and efficient measurement sequences. Lessons learned on EMC effort management, and insights gained are reviewed in perspective of 50 years of development of EMC.