Improved EMI performance by use of a three-terminal-capacitor applied to an IC power line

As the electronics market moves towards higher clock speeds and increased functionality, EMI countermeasures are becoming more necessary and also more complicated. This is especially the case in digital circuits, where higher signal speed and increased component density causes greater susceptibility to coupling noise. In such cases EMI countermeasures applied only to the signal line are often inadequate. An effective solution is to apply conditioning of the IC power supply line. This paper details improved EMI performance by use of a three-terminal-capacitor applied to an IC power supply line versus the 'standard' cap approach.