Computer-aided Design (CAD) Tool for Modeling of High-Power Electromagnetic Interference (HPEMI) Effects on Conductive Paths

ABSTRACT: Data integrity is essential for accurate and deterministic decision making in diverse military and commercial digital systems, and the most common cause of electronic data corruption for many of these systems is electromagnetic interference (EMI). Unexpected and unmitigated EMI, especially from high power systems (HPEMI) can cause deleterious effects ranging from subtly incorrect calculations to catastrophic systems failures. To reduce overall design cost due to re-spins, design tools are required to support EMI/HPEMI immunity studies at the initial stages of the design. We propose to develop the first flexible, fast multi-transmission line (MTL) simulation and analysis tool to model the effect of HPEMI in standard circuit simulation tools, and perform this analysis within a graphical computer-aided design (CAD) tool to provide near-real-time interactive EMI feedback during the design process. Coupling fast MTL analysis tools with an interactive graphical interface will reduce the time spent in design while increasing the overall accuracy of the resulting model. BENEFIT: This project will develop a fast high power electromagnetic interference (HPEMI) multi-transmission line (MTL) simulator with a seamless interface to the Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE). The system will include a computer-aided design (CAD) interface capable of editing the design"s mechanical properties and displaying simulation results in near real time. This tool will benefit the military by enabling accurate prediction of EMI/HPEMI effects on foreign or domestic electronics systems, and will benefit military as well as civilian system designers by guiding them to appropriate levels of shielding and protection to avoid undesired EMI/HPEMI effects. Having an interactive design tool to predict effects in near real time will shorten development times and reduce the costs of the resulting systems.