Optimum positioning of inductive components on PCB designs for EMI reduction using a 3D finite elements and genetic algorithms

Electromagnetic emission produced by high frequency switching current of inductive components has an adverse effect on sensitive devices in power converters. This paper investigates the effect of components placement on the radiated emissions in printed circuit board (PCB). The goal of this research is to minimize the electromagnetic interference (EMI) on susceptible devices. The optimum design for the location and orientation of the components on the PCB was achieved by a 3D-FE analysis and Genetic Algorithms (GA). A comparison between the optimum and non-optimum PCB designs were simulated and experimentally tested.