Picor Corporation picorpower.com
QPI-6
Rev 2.6, Page 4 of 13
QPI-6
QUIETPOWER
EMI Management
The more effectively EMI is managed at the source, namely
the power converter, the less EMI attenuation the filter will
have to do. The addition of “Y” capacitors to the input and
output power nodes of the converter will help to limit the
amount of EMI that will propagate to the input source.
Figure 4 – An unfiltered converter’s response to “open-frame”
(light blue) and “base-plate” (purple) EMI configurations.
There are two basic topologies for the connection of the re-
circulating “Y” capacitors, referred to as “open-frame” and
“base-plate”.
Figure 4 illustrates how a converter can
favor one topology versus another. The EMI generated by
the “base-plate” configuration is much greater than that
generated by the “open-frame”. Selecting the right topology
will greatly reduce the amount of EMI signal that needs to be
filtered.
Figure 2 shows the base-plate topology of re-circulating “Y”
caps. Here, CY1 to CY4 are connected to each power node of
the dc-dc converter, and then are commoned together on a
copper shield plane created under the converter.
The
addition of the copper shield plane helps in the containment
of the radiated EMI, converting it back to conducted EMI and
shunting it back to its source.
The RY resistor, connected between the shield plane and the
QPI’s shield pin, provides an impedance that makes the QPI’s
common mode noise cancelation signal more effective at
removing the common mode noise that would normally
return to the shield/earth connection. It is important when
laying out the QPI that the RY resistor connects to the QPI’s
shield pin before making the connection to earth ground.
In
Figure 5, the open-frame topology is shown where the “Y”
capacitors (CY1 and CY2) re-circulate the EMI signals between
the positive input and output, and the negative input and
output nodes of the power conversion stage.
Figure 5 - Typical 'open-frame" application.