Built-In Test for Electromagnetic Shielding

Both commercial and military aircraft require certification to electromagnetic environments that are becoming increasingly more severe. In addition, modern aircraft increasingly employ lightweight composite panels, which have lower EM shielding properties and more sensitive electronics-making them more susceptable to EM environments. The time-tested method of verifying shielding integrity, the CW radiation test, is generally manpower intensive, costly, and has environmental problems (e.g., interference with airport communications). There is a need to develop a built-in-test (BIT) system which can, on demand, readily evaluate the electromagnetic hardness of the aircraft, compare to pre-determined "safe" levels, and report all problems requiring maintenance. We propose to design and develop a BIT system for monitoring aircraft shielding effectivensss using the Stochastic Process Test Technique (SPTT) developed under an earlier proof of concept program. Coupled with the emerging technologies such as micro-sensors, miniature breakout boxes, inexpensive high speed fiber optic data lines (FOL) and analog to digital converters (A/D), we believe that the proposed BIT system can be fully developed and productized within 3-5 years.