Using near-field scanning to predict radiated fields

Near-field scanning has often been used to measure and characterize magnetic fields surrounding individual integrated circuits (IC) and high speed digital electronic circuits. The paper describes the use of near-field scanning data, performed in a typical laboratory bench top environment, to predict radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) in a typical product environment. The product environment may include enclosures and apertures. The approach begins by acquiring sufficient near-field scanning data to allow representation of an unintentional radiating source by an equivalent surface current distribution. The equivalent current distribution is used as a source in numerical full wave modeling. The agreement between direct full wave simulation results and full wave simulation results using equivalent sources works well under certain assumptions.