Experimental and FDTD study of the EMI performance of an open-pin-field connector for modules-on-backplanes

Experimental measurements and numerical modeling were used to study the EMI performance of a module-on-backplane connector for various configurations of signal-return pin-outs. A commercially available open-pin-field connector was used in these results to connect between the mother-board and the daughter-card. The experimental techniques, based on measuring |S₂₁|, included both common-mode current measurements and monopole near-field probe measurements. The FDTD method was used to provide numerical support of the near-field measurements and generally agreed with the measured results for frequencies up to 3 GHz. The FDTD method was also used to investigate the relationship between the radiated EMI at 3 m and the connector pin-out configurations