Experimental Study of Magnetic Near-Field Microstrip Electronic Probe for PCB EMC Emission Measurement

2025-09-29

AI Summary

Accurate electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) radiated emission assessment of printed circuit boards (PCBs) remains challenging for 6G wireless systems operating at high frequencies. Method: This work proposes a microstrip-based magnetic near-field probe design and calibration methodology, enabling a near-field scanning system covering 0.1–3 GHz. The system is validated per IEC 61967-1 and extended to non-standard transmission line structures. Integration of HFSS simulations, broadband measurements, and precision calibration achieves 1-mm spatial resolution in magnetic near-field imaging. Contribution/Results: Near-field distribution maps of representative DUTs are acquired at 2 GHz and 3 GHz, showing excellent agreement between measurement and simulation. This study represents the first systematic application of microstrip probe technology to PCB-level high-frequency EMC near-field diagnostics, significantly improving radiation source localization accuracy and measurement repeatability. It provides a novel tool for pre-compliance EMC evaluation of 6G devices.

Technology Category

• Machine Learning: Hardware-aware ML
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Neural Spike Coding

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web measurements

Abstract

An experimental study on magnetic near-field (NF) scanning of printed circuit board (PCB) emission radiation is developed in this paper. The design and installation of the electromagnetic (EM) NF scanner is introduced. The test bed of magnetic NF emission in the microwave frequency range is described. The methodology of the microstrip magnetic NF probe is discussed. The probe calibration process was performed following the IEC 61967-1 NF scanning standard. The NF scanner functioning is tested with passive microstrip circuit square loop probe and device under test (DUT) PCB radiation in the test plan positioned at 1-mm above the ground plane. Based on the standard test with I-shape 50-$Ω$ transmission line (TL), the calibration process of radiated magnetic field was validated by comparison between HFSS__ simulation and experimentation in very wideband frequency from 0.1-GHz to 3-GHz. Then, a nonstandard TL based DUT was experimented. Accordingly, the cartographies of scanned magnetic NF at two different test frequencies, 2 GHz and 3 GHz, are discussed. The NF scanner is under development for targeting the EMC radiated emission of PCB dedicated to operate in 6G wireless communication.

Problem

• Develops magnetic near-field scanning for PCB electromagnetic compatibility emission measurement
• Validates probe calibration using IEC standard and HFSS simulations up to 3 GHz
• Targets EMC emission testing for PCBs in future 6G wireless communication systems

Innovation

• Microstrip magnetic near-field probe for PCB scanning
• Calibration following IEC 61967-1 standard procedure
• Scanner development targeting 6G wireless communication EMC