Estimation of the electromagnetic field radiating by electrostatic discharges using artificial neural networks

An artificial neural network (ANN) model and more specifically a feedforward multilayer network, which uses the powerful backpropagation learning rule, is addressed in order to estimate the electric and magnetic field radiating by electrostatic discharges (ESDs). Plenty of actual measurements, carried out in the High Voltage Laboratory of the National Technical University of Athens are used in training, validation and testing processes. The developed ANN can be a necessary tool for laboratories involved in ESD tests, either facing a lack of suitable measuring equipment or for laboratories which want to compare their own measurements. This is extremely useful for the laboratories involved in the ESD tests according to the current IEC Standard [International Standard IEC 61000-4-2: Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC), Part 4: Testing and measurement techniques, Section 2: Electrostatic discharge immunity test, Basic EMC Publication, 1995.], since the forthcoming revised version of this Standard will almost certainly include measurements of the radiating electromagnetic field during the verification of the ESD generators. The authors believe that the proposed ANN will be extensively used, since the produced electromagnetic field radiating by electrostatic discharges, can be calculated very easily and accurately by simply measuring the discharge current.