A Simple and Economical System for Automatic Near-Field Scanning for Power Electronics Converters

Electromagnetic compatibility issues must be considered from the early steps in the design of electronic devices. A specific topic is the near-field emission generated by the device due to the traces on a printed circuit board and the specific routing. The analysis of near-field emission is essential to detect potential electromagnetic interference with nearby devices. This problem is crucial in high power density applications. Therefore, especially in these applications, it is necessary to optimize the circuit and the layout to minimize the generated noise. The design and construction of systems able to scan volumes to determine the spatial distribution of electrical E and/or magnetic B fields in the near-field region of a device under test is a very complex process. The realization of equipment that explores a given surface at a given distance from the device is easier. The main purpose of this paper is to show how it is possible to build a cheap two-dimensional scanner, starting from simple hardware not explicitly designed for near-field scan operations. The presented firmware and software solution can map, with good accuracy, the spatial distribution of fields B and E on a fixed plan close to the board. Finally, the developed system has been used in a GaN-based bi-directional DC/DC Converter.