The Future of EMC Instrumentation

The paper reviews the broad field of EMC Instrumentation as it has evolved today, and attempts to outline the equipment which will be required to meet the fast growing needs of present and future systems. The functional requirements are reviewed, and key performance characteristics outlined in terms of measurement instrument parameters. In some cases, the performance characteristics require very significant improvement. This would be considered normal were it not for the simultaneous great increase required in degree of automation and operating speed, or data rate. The resulting dichotomy is unusually sharp and requires careful planning. Traditionally, EMC phenomena have been approached on a frequency domain basis, including transient effects. This was valid since almost all systems operated on a frequency domain basis, and will be valid for most systems for a considerable time to come. Increasing use of digital communications and control systems has shown the frequency domain approach to be inadequate for the treatment of such systems. It appears that a more efficient direct time domain approach will be required for an increasing number of systems. This will call for establishment of new standards, specifications, measurement equipment, and techniques.