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TUGrazX: Electromagnetic Compatibility Essentials

4.9 stars
9 ratings

Advance your career by learning the basics of EMC. Explore all the different aspects and challenges every electronics engineer must be aware of.

4 weeks
5–7 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Nov 20

About this course

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Why can’t I connect to WiFi? Why does my Bluetooth stop working when I use USB 3.0? Oh! I just sparked into my computer after sitting down; is it damaged now? All of these issues have to do with electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). International EMC experts David Pommerenke and Bernd Deutschmann break down situations that seem highly complex in order to highlight the causes of interference.

This course is designed to gain essential know-how in today’s world of very high frequencies. For instance, smartphone CPUs already work with clock frequencies above 3 GHz. But did you know that such fast switching disturbs other devices nearby? Such disturbances are either simply annoying or can become a real problem. As a consequence, international regulations exist which demand for emission and immunity tests before selling an electronic device.

The topic of EMC must be considered in all aspects of circuit design in order to reduce the number of prototypes. We would like you to gain an intuition for EMC with the help of lab examples. We emphasize basic physical principles and avoid highly complex mathematical derivations instead. After completion, a certificate will be awarded. We are already working on three follow-up courses to obtain a professional EMC certificate, backed by Graz University of Technology.

TU Graz offers more than 10 on-campus lectures on the subject of EMC, most of them in small laboratory groups. More than 10 full-time employees investigate electromagnetism in a variety of applications just in our research group only. We would like to share this expertise with the community, since EMC must be considered by all electronics engineers and project managers.

The FREE version of this course includes all material except final exam questions and the certificate. This is a self-paced course, so there are no weekly deadlines. You can join this class completely free of charge and purchase the certificate later in case you liked it. Give it a try and dive into the fascinating world of EMC.

At a glance

  • Institution: TUGrazX
  • Subject: Electronics
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:

    Graduation from high school and fundamental knowledge of electrical engineering. Completion of bachelor's level lectures equivalent to 6.002x (circuit analysis and electromagnetics) is very helpful.

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Bluetooth, Electronic Engineering, Selling Techniques, Electromagnetism, Research, USB, Basic Math, Electromagnetic Interference And Compatibility (EMC/EMI), Lecturing, Smartphone Operation

What you'll learn

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  • Learn where these electromagnetic interferences (EMI) come from.
  • Fundamental knowledge on how to keep them under control.
  • Techniques such as the analysis in time and frequency domain.
  • Noise travels in two modes: differential and common. Knowing in which mode the noise occurs opens doors to suppression (EMI filtering).
  • Not only radiating fields matter, but electrostatic discharge (ESD) as well. How large are the voltages after walking on a carpet? How stressful are the discharges to my computer?
  • And much more! (e.g. EMI receiver, lumped-element models, most important EMC standards)

Week 1 (Introduction): Learn what EMC is and why we should bother with it. Understand the theory of galvanic, capacitive, inductive, and radiated coupling. Time and frequency domain awareness. Spectrum analysis.

Week 2 (EMC Design): Learn the most common EMI filtering methods. Understand that an EMC-aware PCB design makes a tremendous difference. Consider parasitic elements of components and create simple lumped element models.

Week 3 (EMC Testing): Learn the purpose of international regulations. Understand basic laboratory equipment. ESD testing. Emission measurements. Procedure with an accredited test house.

Learner testimonials

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“I didn't realize that EMC must be considered in all electronics. This exciting and entertaining class was eye-opening.” - Nina H., beta tester, 2022.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Is this a difficult class? I’m not sure if I meet the prerequisites for this course...

No. EMC isn’t an easy topic, sure, but we try to explain everything as simply as possible without a lot of math. This introductory course can be attended by everyone, but basic knowledge of electrical engineering is highly recommended. When you already know how capacitor and frequency are related, then give it a try!

Do I have to be online at certain times? WebEx? Zoom? Teams? What about the exam?

No. This is a true self-paced online course, i.e. the tests will take place online as well. However, you never have to be online at any particular time. There are also no joint meetings or due dates.

Do I need to buy anything like books?

No. You don't need to buy anything extra for this class. In case you are enrolled as an on-campus student at TU Graz, you already have access to certain books and standards. But these are not necessary to keep up with the course.

As an on-campus student of TU Graz: do I receive ECTS by attending this online course?

No. This course has been completely redesigned for the online format. Finishing this class cannot be counted for on-campus credits but will definitely help you in order to pass your EMC exams.

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