Analysis on the effectiveness of high speed printed circuit board edge radiated emissions based on stimulus source location

With increasing demand for higher operating frequencies, designers are faced with numerous obstacles during the design and layout of printed circuit boards (PCBs). One area of concern that a designer may not think about, or recognize during the analysis stage, is the effects of RF wave propagation between the power and return planes caused by digital circuits switching logic states while consuming a large amount of inrush surge current. This is becoming an important design issue that should be considered prior to final PCB layout. The placement of components on a PCB and their physical distance to the edge of the assembly is the area of concern addressed, along with RF emissions that may propagate from the edge of the PCB causing potentially harmful effects under specific operating conditions and configurations.