IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - April 2017 - 127

Book Reviews

EMC Made Simple: Printed
Circuit Board and System Design
Reviewed by Elya Joffe

MC Made Simple: Printed Circuit Board and System Design,
authored by internationally recognized electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) consultant and expert
Mark Montrose, uses a unique style of
presentation along with visual concepts
to simplify both theory and application
of electromagnetics and electromagnetic compatibility.
Many authors attempt to describe
field propagation and applied EMC
engineering using Maxwell's equations
at an academic level. These authors
usually forget that there is a large engineering population trying to design
products with minimal exposure to
EMC or even the field of electromagnetics. What Montrose recognized as a
consultant was that a publication for
engineers who never studied electromagnetics or took a university course in
EMC was missing from the bookshelf.
His approach was not to preach to the
(EMC) choir but to educate everyone on
what the field of EMC is in a simplified
manner. There are very few books that
focus on applied EMC engineering in
an easy-to-read format, with every item
discussed fully justified with sound theory and physics.
The basic concept regarding EMC
Made Simple is understanding transmission line theory in the time domain
and not focusing on solving complex
mathematical equations. Montrose
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCE.2016.2640634
Date of publication: 15 March 2017

What Montrose recognized
as a consultant was that
missing from the bookshelf
was a publication for engineers who never studied
electromagnetics or took a
university course in EMC.
clearly states that when he has an EMI
problem, he solves it using an oscilloscope, not a spectrum analyzer. A spectrum analyzer only alerts us to the
presence of an electromagnetic field. It
does not tell us what caused the field to
be created; that information is easily
determined with an oscilloscope or
through computational analysis. He
illustrates that, for most engineers, it is
easier to solve problems in the time
domain instead of frequency.
The book is divided into six chapters, each focusing on a particular
aspect of printed circuit board and
system-level design. Chapter 1, "EMC
or Maxwell Made Simple," is the most
exciting section. In this chapter, Montrose simplifies the field of electromagnetics in a manner that has never been
presented in any other book of which
I am aware, with a unique twist. He
guides the reader through field theory
using a visual approach by converting
the calculus of Maxwell into five simplified algebraic equations. What engineers need to understand is "[what]

Maxwell's equations tell us, not how to
manipulate mathematical formulas."
Montrose figured out an exotic way
to explain what each equation represents using a single simple sentence. If
we understand how to translate complex
equations into simple transmission line
theory, it becomes easy to work with
electromagnetics. He also explains how
common-mode current is created with
sound physics, instead of simply citing
the well-known fact that common-mode
current flows in a return path in the
same direction as the signal path.
Chapter 2 is the shortest chapter.
"Inductance Made Simple" is an elegant
discussion on one of the most important
physical aspects of signal propagation,
without heavy math. This chapter illustrates that every transmission line contains inductance, a significant contributor
to the creation of common-mode current.
One must minimize loop inductance on a
printed circuit board, cable interconnects, and interfaces. Designers need to
understand inductance in a simplified
manner and how to design transmission
lines quickly and at low cost.
Chapter 3 is "Transmission Line
Theory Made Simple." Electrical engineering involves sending an electro magnetic field from source to load using
a transmission line. Montrose elegantly
explains the difference between lossy
and lossless transmission lines. If there
is any loss of propagated electromagnetic field energy in a transmission line, the
magnitude of this loss becomes an undesired common-mode current that will
april 2017

IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

127

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - April 2017