EMC of Integrated Circuits versus Distortion

Abstract

This chapter introduces the common EMC problems which are occurring in integrated circuits using basic distortion concepts and four case studies. First, it is illustrated that EMI which is injected on nonlinear circuit nodes introduces nonlinear distortion. The worst EMI effect that appears is the EMI induced DC shift, which stems from an accumulation of even-order distortion components. EMI induced DC shift forms a potential threat to any electronic circuit confronted to EMI, since it varies the operating point conditions and since it may even debias the full circuit completely if the injected disturbance level is sufficiently large. Following this theoretical explanation, four case studies, describing the NMOS diode, the NMOS source follower, the MOS current mirror and the basic diode clipping ESD protection illustrate the appearing EMC problems from a practical point of view.