Conducted Immunity Test System for BCI and TWC Methods of Automotive, Military and Commercial Test Standards from 10 kHz to 3 GHz

AR RF/Microwave Instrumentation provides systems that are among the most reliable in the industry. These systems take the guesswork out of mixing and matching various hardware components from different vendors and hoping that they can work together as desired. This is accomplished through careful consideration of test system component specifications and applicable test standard requirements. The addition of emcware, a user-friendly test software tool, further increases end user success.

This application note specifically gives a description of a Conducted Immunity (CI) system configuration that will satisfy many standards’ conducted immunity requirements over a range of 10 kHz to 3 GHz and can generate levels up to 500 mA, providing capability for testing to all of the standards listed in Table 1 below. Since this system covers a wide frequency band, both bulk cable injection (BCI) and tubular wave coupler (TWC) injection methods can be used. As examples, see Figures 1 and 2 for achievable automotive BCI and TWC limits. Note that these requirements may differ based on specific automotive manufacturer requirements and that limits will be different for other Military and Commercial standards. In addition, Table 2 provides an equipment list and indications of equipment required for each injection method.

The appropriate usage of these AR products is determined by the required frequency range of the test. Depending on which injection method is intended, the equipment will be configured as per the appropriate BCI or TWC method described in the applicable standards. General automotive test setups are provided for both BCI and TWC in Figure 3 as examples.

The CI system discussed herein is, as with all AR systems, is fully tested prior to delivery and arrives at the customer’s destination as one complete unit, capable of automated testing and report generation.