Need for an integrated approach to mitigate EMX-problems

The term EMX refers to the electromagnetic energy released from natural sources (solar flares, lightning, electrostatic charging), intentional manmade sources (transmitters), unintentional manmade sources (power systems, consumer electronics, ignition system, ISM equipment, ESD) and war time nuclear weapons and RF weapons. The frequency spectrum of these sources of electromagnetic energy is from power frequencies to tens of GHz. The peak electric field varies from a few /spl mu/V/m to tens of kV/m. Concurrently, the proliferation of sophisticated electronics has completely revolutionized the philosophy of modern system design. Systems have to perform without degradation in their performance in the operational EMX-environment, which is very complicated. Thus to mitigate the EMX problems in either simple or complex systems requires an integrated approach, which has to be thought of from the concept level of a system design. This paper highlights some of these issues and also suggests simplified approach to be adopted for the successful design of a system to meet the requirements of EMX as per desired standards.