ROHM’s EMC Measurement Site

ROHM’s Yokohama Technology Center as seen from the Shinkansen at the Shin-Yokohama Station. The door at the end of the first floor of the open-plan building filled with glass surfaces opens up to an entrance to what seems to be an independent facility, with several rooms located at the end of the corridor.
This facility, which is visited daily by many engineers, including in-house device designers and customers, is an EMC measurement site that supports ROHM’s analog IC development.

EMC measurement sites, which include facilities accredited and operated by the Japan Quality Assurance Organization (JQA) as well as laboratories owned by major electrical manufacturers and specialized companies located throughout Japan, were established for the purpose of measuring and testing the effects of electromagnetic noise emitted from a wide variety of electrical and electronic equipment, wireless devices, and information communication systems. However, it is rare in Japan for a semiconductor manufacturer to establish and continue to operate its own testing facility.

Increased noise sources/Associated development person-hour

In 2009 ROHM created a unique facility with two anechoic chambers designed and constructed to be unaffected by external electromagnetic waves while also preventing electromagnetic waves from leaking to the outside.
We asked Mr. Ogawa, who has been involved at the site from that time, about how it all began.

Noise problems are beginning to cast a shadow as a major destabilizing factor for the development departments of various electrical and electronics manufacturers.
The background to this coincided with discovery of the noise issue.

To avoid an increase in person-hour and scheduling conflicts this entails, there is a growing need for high accuracy EMC measurements at an early stage during development.

2 EMC Measures and Measurement Support

Noise measurements are also performed in the automotive anechoic chamber by reproducing both the placement and mounting distance in the vehicle, including the wiring harnesses. Using multifaceted methods allow us to achieve high accuracy measurement results that take into account the mounting environment.

By having IC designers and engineers at our in-house EMC measurement site work together on a single issue, a unique virtuous cycle is created that allows us to reach the desired results in the shortest possible time.
Now, let’s talk specifically about the process from the perspective of a design and development engineer that led to the commercialization of an ‘ultra-high EMI tolerance op amp’ born through close collaboration.

Automotive Op Amps that Pursue a Completely Noiseless Design

The latest cars are being controlled by several ECUs that use sensors to detect environmental changes such as temperature, pressure, and brightness. With the addition of automated driving and mobile communications, all types of electronic components are being miniaturized and densely packed, making the radio wave and noise environments inside the car quite severe.

Under these conditions, Mr. Makimoto’s challenge to develop an op amp that doesn’t malfunction even when subjected to noise was quite bold.

Tests conducted during the development of ultra-high EMI immunity op amps.
This has become a powerful backbone for products that can handle all types of noise.

▶Click to magnify

Mr. Kurokawa, the engineer who actually conducted this series of tests, recalls his conversation with IC designer Mr. Makimoto as follows.

Of course, this was only possible due to a thorough review of the circuitry, layout, element, size, and other factors, but it was also surprising how it seemed to be guided by the ‘good luck’ of Mr. Makimoto and members of the EMC measurement site.
This circuit proposal resulted in the EMARMOUR™ series of op amps featuring the industry’s highest class noise immunity, which are still active in market, where they have been adopted by numerous manufacturers.

Combatting switching noise

At the same time, many engineers are making steady efforts on a daily basis to prevent EMI=self-generated noise.

Here, we will focus on DC-DC converter ICs for use as automotive components.
The continuing proliferation of EVs/HEVs and integration of peripheral equipment that includes communication devices and sensors have led to an increasingly diverse range of voltage conversion in vehicles. What’s more, higher performance resulting from improved conversion efficiency and high-speed response is required, while reducing both the size and weight of components themselves have become a significant challenge.

In addition to product development under such harsh conditions, a major safety concern for design engineers is high frequency noise generated during switching.
The higher the switching frequency, the easier it is to achieve faster response and smaller element size, but how can we overcome the trade-off where more noise is generated as switching speed increases? This has become a major mission for design engineers.

Mr. Oshita, a design engineer whose main focus is power supply ICs, speaks in a calm tone.
The effects of noise in vehicles can range from interference and desensitization of communication equipment such as radios and GPS to impacting speakers when issuing danger alerts and even motor malfunctions.

In the latter half of the 2010s, we reflected on our predicament as we faced the demand from customers wanting to drive ICs at a high frequency of 2MHz and the introduction of the new automotive standard CISPR25.

Members of the EMC measurement site don’t just stop with measurement and analysis in the anechoic chamber, but also play the role of a designer by engaging in the frequent exchange of opinions with design engineers from the stage of creating boards to be tested.
As a specialist who is required to have not only expertise about noise but also an in-depth knowledge of IC characteristics and industry trends, he is considered to be indispensable in the development of semiconductor devices today.

Simulation development supported by extensive expertise

In recent years, expectations for simulation of noise countermeasure designs have been increasing.
The prevailing trend in the manufacturing industry is undoubtedly one that promotes speedy product development and cost reduction by solving various issues early in the development process.
In addition, as many semiconductor manufacturers are seeking a future where noise suppression is completed through simulation, ROHM envisions a transitional approach involving partial and incremental steps.

The expectations for EMC countermeasure design, one of the key technologies driving the next generation of manufacturing, will continue to rise in the future.
Where do we at ROHM stand in the context of this, and what kind of world are we hoping to see?
The answer lies in the ongoing daily struggle against invisible noise, where the quiet determination of EMC design engineers and electronic device designers brightly illuminates the path to the future.