Dipoles, Unintentional Antennas and EMC

Abstract

Radiated emissions from equipment commonly originate from electronic circuits that act as electric dipoles created by the signal voltage between the signal conductors or as magnetic dipoles formed by the signal current flowing in a loop. Direct emission is mostly small, but circuits often couple to long conductors or large wiring loops which act as antennas and are efficient radiators. A comparable situation exists when short dipole antennas or small wiring loops receive ambient noise (susceptibility). Usually the amplitude of noise sources or the susceptibility of circuits is an invariable. The dipole strength increases with the distance between the conductors and the area. Shielding and proper grounding decreases the interaction via unintentional antennas. Short-circuiting and the insertion of lossy ferrite cores reduce the efficiency of unintentional antennas.