Design for multinational EMC compliance

Successful competition for global markets depends in part on corporations such as AT&T competing effectively in a world of diminished trade barriers, competitive pricing, and — the subject of the present discussion — complying with a variety of multinational electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards and regulations. (See Panel 1 for acronyms used in this paper.) We present a successful design process for EMC regulatory compliance that may be used as a model for developing new products. The EMC design process, testing for ensuring compliance, and appropriate quality metrics will be discussed from the perspectives of the circuit designer, printed wiring board (PWB) layout designer, and compliance test engineer.