Dallas Chapter - IEEE EMC Society

“0.1 Horsepower and 0 to 5 GHz in 50 Picoseconds: The Challenges in Delivering Power to Tomorrow's Microelectronics”

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Program Summary:

The continued increase in power and speed requirements of microprocessors and other ASICs presents new challenges for delivering power. While power integrity often brings images to mind of in-depth decoupling schemes, resistance and inductance also play an increasingly significant role. Besides the concern of efficiency in the power distribution system (PDS), resistance must be controlled to ensure the compensation circuitry of the voltage regulator can adequately maintain the voltage within specified limits. Parasitic inductance limits the ability to draw current from various locations in the PDS, resulting in the need not only for choosing the values of decoupling capacitors, but also for judiciously placing the capacitors so they can be effective. This presentation will facilitate a discussion of the various parts of the PDS, and how decisions can be made to ensure the smooth operation of power delivery. After the complete power distribution system is discussed, a brief discussion on how various parts may play a role in EMI will follow.

Our Speaker: David Hockanson, Ph.D. is a Senior Staff Engineer with the EMC Design group of Sun Microsystems, Inc. He is responsible for developing novel solutions to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues that can be implemented confidently in early design stages to ensure compliance to worldwide EMC regulations without costly late-stage system changes. He also serves as a troubleshooter for Sun and OEM designs should EMC issues arise.
David received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. He was a National Science Foundation Fellow during his tenure as a graduate student, and came to Sun as a Member of Technical Staff after completing his doctoral program in 1997. Early responsibilities were centered around ensuring that Sun's products met the requirements set by worldwide regulatory agencies. In 2003, he began focusing on determining more effective means of complying through physics-based design techniques employed on chips, boards, and chassis.

Minutes: IEEE/EMC Society Monthly Meeting, October 17, 2006:

The October 2006 meeting of the Dallas IEEE/EMC Society was held at the Holiday Inn Select, Richardson, Texas on October 17th.

An opportunity for networking was provided while refreshments were served from 6 to 7 PM, following which, the meeting was opened by Bill Paschetag, chapter chairman. The minutes from the September 2006 meeting were read by chapter chairman Bill Paschetag.

After attendees introduced themselves, Bill introduced the speaker, Dr. David Hockanson, EMC Society Distinguished Lecturer, and Senior Staff Engineer with the EMC Design Group of Sun Microsystems, Menlo Park, CA. His topic was “Power Quality”. In his presentation, David discussed the significance of resistance and inductance in the power distribution system and the proper placement of decoupling capacitors and other factors which might affect the power distribution system impedance.

There were 17 attendees, including 13 IEEE members and 4 non-members.

Refreshments -- pizza, salad and soft drinks -- were provided by Dallas EMC Chapter with financial assistance from Chapter Sponsor – Advance Test Equipment..

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM. The next meeting to be held on November 17th, 2006 at the Richardson TX Holiday Inn Select was announced.

Respectfully submitted –
Bill Paschetag, Dallas IEEE.EMC Chapter Chairman

For more information, contact Bill Paschetag, (972) 530-7853,