Statistical Prediction and Measurement of Induced Voltages on Components Within Complicated Enclosures: A Wave-Chaotic Approach

We consider induced voltages on electronic components housed inside complicated enclosures and subjected to high-frequency radiation. The enclosure is assumed to be large compared to the wavelength in which case there is strong dependence of wave properties (eigenvalues, eigenfunctions, scattering, and impedance matrices, etc.) on small perturbations. The source(s) and sink(s) of radiation are treated as generalized ports and their coupling to the enclosure is quantified by an appropriate nonstatistical radiation impedance matrix. The field fluctuations within the enclosure are described in a statistical sense using random matrix theory. The random matrix theory approach implies that the wave fluctuations have “universal” properties in the sense that the statistical description of these properties depends only upon the value of a single, experimentally accessible, dimensionless loss parameter. We formulate a statistical prediction algorithm for the induced voltages at specific points within complicated enclosures when subjected to short-wavelength electromagnetic (EM) energy from either external or internal sources. The algorithm is tested and verified by measurements on a computer box. The insights gained from this model suggest design guidelines for enclosures to make them more resistant to disruptive effects produced by a short-wavelength EM radiation.