Effects of gapped groundplanes and guard traces on radiated EMI

Designers sometimes employ gapped reference planes to isolate analog and digital signals, and separate "quiet" and "noisy" ground structures by providing a series impedance. Guard traces are also used to reduce unwanted coupling to adjacent traces, which can lead to signal integrity or EMI problems. This study investigates the impact of gaps and guard traces on radiated EMI. A simple microstrip circuit was constructed to experimentally analyze the effects of groundplane gaps and guard traces.