Analysis of system-level electromagnetic interference from electronic packages and boards

We describe an approach for evaluating the system-level effects of electromagnetic interference produced by electronic packages and printed circuit boards. This problem is computationally challenging due to the high complexity of modern boards and packages and the 3D nature of the system enclosures surrounding them. We address this problem by using a decoupled approach: a specialized 2D finite element method (FEM) solver is used to compute the full-wave electrical behavior of the board and package. The radiated emissions from these planar structures are then computed in a free-space environment using the method of moments. Finally these emissions are imposed as an excitation in a 3D FEM model of the system enclosure allowing the actual system level emissions to be found. We present numerical examples that demonstrate the efficacy of the procedure.