Chapter 13
Conducted Emission
Electromagnetic Compatibility
Engineering
by Henry W. Ott
Foreword
Conducted emission regulations are intended to control the radiation
from the public alternating current (ac) power distribution system, which
results from noise currents conducted back onto the power line.
These noise currents are large enough to cause the power line to radiate
and possibly become a source of interference.
The conducted emission limits exist below 30 MHz, where most products
themselves are not large enough to be very efficient radiators, but
where the ac power distribution system can be an efficient antenna.
The European Union has regulations limiting the harmonic emission from
electronic products.
The design of the power supply and the power-line filter has a large
influence on the conducted and harmonic emissions.
JHLin, AppEMC; Conducted Emission 2
Foreword
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Foreword
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Power Line Impedance
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Power Line Impedance
Because of this wide variability of power line impedances, it would be
difficult to obtain repeatable conducted emission test results.
LISN (Line Impedance Stabilization Network)
1. It is placed between the product and the actual power line in order to
present a known impedance to the product’s power line terminals over
the frequency range of 150 kHz to 30 MHz.
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Power Line Impedance
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Switched-Mode Power Supplies
The switched-mode power supplies are a major source of both
conducted and radiated emissions.
They conduct large noise currents (both common-and differential-mode)
back onto the power line at harmonics of the switching frequency.
Flyback Converter SMPS
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Switched-Mode Power Supplies
Because the transformer operates at the switching frequency of the
power supply (typically 50 kHz to 1 MHz), it can be made much smaller
and lighter than a 50- or 60-Hz transformer.
Because the transistor is switching a square wave (with typically a 25- to
100-ns rise time), it spends little time in the linear region, which
minimizes its power dissipation and thereby accounts for the high
efficiency of the design.
The power supply generates both common-mode and differential-mode
noise currents at harmonics of the switching frequency.
The operating signal within the power supply must be suppressed by
more than 110 dB to comply with the regulatory limit.
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Common-Mode Emissions
The major contributor to common-mode emission is the primary side
parasitic capacitance to ground.
The three contributors to this capacitance: switching transistor to
heat sink capacitance, transformer interwinding capacitance, and
stray primary side wiring capacitance
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Common-Mode Emissions
can be reduced by
(1) using an insulating thermal washer containing a Faraday shield
between the transistor and heat sink
A Faraday shield thermal insulating washer consists of a copper shield
between two thin layers of insulating materials.
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Common-Mode Emissions
(2) using a thicker ceramic washer (such as beryllium oxide) or
(3) not grounding the heat sink.
If the heat sink is electrically floated from ground, for safety reasons the
heat sink must be protected from the possibility of anyone touching it.
can be reduced by using a transformer that separates the windings
further or one that contains a Faraday shield.
can be minimized by careful component placement, with careful
wiring and/or printed circuit board (PCB) layout.
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Common-Mode Emissions
Adding the LISN
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Common-Mode Emissions
The simplified common-mode equivalent circuit
The power supply has a high source impedance, which is equal to the
magnitude of the capacitive reactance of CP . Typical values for CP
range from about 50 pF to as much as 500 pF.
n tr
sin( )
sin(n d ) T
Vn 2VP d
n d n tr
T
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15
Common-Mode Emissions
Once a fundamental frequency for the switching power supply is
selected, the only remaining parameter under the designer’s control, to
reduce the common-mode conducted emission, is the parasitic
capacitance CP .
We also observe that slowing down the rise time of the switching
transistor, which has the undesirable effect of increasing its power
dissipation, does not reduce the maximum amplitude of the common-
mode conducted emission.
Example 13-1
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Differential-Mode Emissions
In Fig. 13-5, the primary purpose of the
capacitor CF , however, is to filter the full-wave
rectified ac line voltage. The filter capacitor is
therefore a large-value, high-voltage capacitor
(typically 250 to 1000 mF with a voltage rating of
250 V or more), and it is far from an ideal
capacitor.
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Differential-Mode Emissions
The simplified differential-mode equivalent circuit
The differential-mode current, and therefore the LISN voltage, are both
determined primarily by the parasitics ( LF and RF ) and the mounting
of the filter capacitance CF .
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Effect of the Filter Capacitor’s ESL (Neglecting RF and
assuming Z CF 0. )
19
Once a fundamental frequency for the power supply is chosen, the only
parameter under the designer’s control, to reduce the maximum value of
the differential-mode conducted emission, is the parasitic inductance LF
of the input ripple filter capacitor.
Example 13-2
Comparisons of Example 13-1 and 13-2.
In high-voltage low-current supplies, the common mode emission will
predominate, but in low-voltage high-current supplies the differential
mode emission will predominate.
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The criteria for the common-mode emission to be predominate is
Effect of the Filter Capacitor’s ESR
At power line frequency (50 or 60 Hz), the capacitance reactance is the
dominant impedance of this capacitor. Above about 1 MHz, the inductive
reactance becomes the dominant impedance of the capacitor. At
frequencies somewhere in between, the resistance will be the dominant
impedance.
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Differential-Mode Emissions
The criteria for this break point to be equal to or less than 500 kHz is
that
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Differential-Mode Emissions
Some power converter designs use two filter capacitors in series for the
input ripple filter capacitor. This is done to increase the voltage rating of
the capacitor or to create a voltage doubler configuration so that the
supply can work off of either a 115 V or 230 V ac power line.
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Differential-Mode Emissions
Notice also that, in this case, the common-mode and differential-mode
currents add together when flowing through the LISN impedance that is
connected to the phase (hot) conductor and subtract from each other
when flowing through the LISN impedance connected to the neutral
conductor.
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Rectifier Diode Noise
When a diode is forward biased, charge is stored in its junction
capacitance. When the diode is turned off (reverse biased), this charge
must be removed.
This is referred to as diode reverse recovery; it produces a sharp
negative spike on the voltage waveform when the diode turns off, which
can produce substantial ringing and be a source of high frequency,
differential-mode noise.
Fast-recover diodes are usually preferred by power supply designers
because they dissipate less power and are therefore more efficient. Fast-
recovery diodes, however, produce higher frequency noise spectra than
soft-recovery diodes.
The primary offenders in this respect are the secondary side rectifiers,
because these diodes operate at a much higher current level than the
primary rectifiers.
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Rectifier Diode Noise
These noise pulses can be conducted out of the power supply secondary
and/or can be coupled back through the switching transformer to the
primary side of the supply.
In both cases, the diode noise manifests itself as a differential-mode
conducted emission.
The snubber network consists of a
series R–C circuit. Typical values
might be 470 pF and 10 .
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Rectifier Diode Noise
Another approach is to add a small ferrite bead in series with each
rectifier diode.
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