Benchtop scanners allow real-time near-field testing of PCBs and antennas

Designers of antennas and high-speed printed circuit boards can cut testing times drastically by using scanners introduced by MDL Technologies. The benchtop scanners from EMSCAN provide real-time images of EMI and antenna emissions, enabling designs to be evaluated in seconds, says the company. The EHX scanner can be used for testing PCBs at frequencies as high as 8GHz, allowing engineers to visualise the root causes of potential EMC and EMI problems. It is ideal for boards designed for high speed, high power and high density or complexity. Being able to resolve even intermittent problems early in the design process helps optimise designs and avoid unexpected EMC compliance test results. Emission, immunity, filtering, EMI shielding, broadband noise and common mode testing are some of the applications that can be addressed in seconds. For antenna testing, the RFX scanner can show far-field patterns, bisections, EIRP and TRP. Novel near-field results, including amplitude, polarity and phase, can give insights into the root causes of antenna performance problems and help troubleshoot far-field radiation patterns. It allows real-time analysis of embedded antenna designs, giving the possibility of multiple design iterations at each stage of the design process. This provides wireless engineers with the freedom to carry out rapid prototyping and explore new designs, forms and materials. "These scanners are unique. They can really slash development times and shorten time-to-market," said MDL's managing director Mark Lucock. The scanners are expected to prove invaluable for manufacturers of mobile, Wi-Fi, RFID, defence, automotive, semiconductor, medical and consumer electronics devices.