Improved statistical and self-adaptive method for EMC-immunity testing of computerized equipment

The testing of the immunity of devices against impulsive electromagnetic noise, i.e. electrostatic discharges (ESD) or electrical fast transients/bursts (EFT), depends for its effectiveness on the coincidence of the impulse stressing of the device and the device exhibiting a susceptible time window. In this paper a new method for testing equipment against impulsive noise is described which allows effectively to isolate the most susceptible time windows in the operational cycle of the EUT and to determine their susceptibility in terms of probability of malfunctions in accordance with statistical estimation methods. The proposed method is based on the synchronization between the operational cycle of the EUT and the pulse stressing the device. An adaptive algorithm which is based on modified reinforcement schemes is used to concentrate the pulses into time windows which are most susceptible