Courtesy of ETS Lindgren
The EE-Evaluation Engineering title describes the type of work done by many of the magazine’s initial readers. Reliability could not be assumed in the 1960s and 1970s but rather needed to be verified by component engineers. As ICs proliferated, EMC and in particular ESD occupied a great deal of these engineers’ time. ESD could silently damage or destroy sensitive circuits at many stages of the manufacturing process.
As related in April’s 50th anniversary interview with Vern Nelson, the magazine’s founder, early in the 1970s, ESD had been identified as a hot topic. EE began providing extensive coverage, served as a clearinghouse distributing training films, and was instrumental in initiating and supporting ESD-related industry events. Nelson was a founding member of the EOS/ESD Association in 1982.
Handling precautions that today are commonplace were just being developed in the 1980s as evidenced by the 1982 article “Charge Drainage vs. Voltage Suppression by Static-Control Tabletops” and the 1983 story “The Room Ionization System: An Alternative to 40% RH.”
EE reported on the extended pink vs. black bag debate and ran several ads for antistatic floor coatings and ESD-safe workstations and clothing. Stepped-up ESD coverage was initiated with the multipart Coping With Static Electricity series in 1977. By the late 1980s, the series had grown to 90 installments presented in nine volumes. Reprints were available for $7.50 per volume or $60 for the entire series. Article count peaked during the 1990s with ESD continuing as a monthly feature into the early 2000s.
EMC coverage was increased and editorially separated from ESD with publication of the EMC/EMI/RFI Directory in May 1986. At the time, the FCC was changing emphasis from strict emission enforcement to requiring more general EMC compliance. Article topics were grouped under the Dealing With EMI/RFI heading and in the late 1980s included Tempest and EMP testing.
In 1990, 13 EMC articles were published as well as an additional 13 on ESD. The time and cost involved in formal EMC testing can be considerable, so precompliance testing became a practical necessity, and a wide range of test equipment and software to automate testing was discussed. Extensive buyers guides were published once a year for both EMC and ESD.
A balance of staff and contributed articles provided a good mix of unbiased broad industry information as well as authoritative in-depth material about more specific topics. For example, the 1992 article “Exploring the New FCC Test Standard” was written by Michael Violette of Washington Laboratories, which today remains a leading EMC test lab.
CE marking was a big deal in the mid-1990s with several articles addressing various aspects. Two of the 14 published in 1996 give the general idea: “CE Marking: A Midterm Report” and “EMC Compliance Testing for CE Marking.” Harmonization of testing standards was the focus of a few of the 23 EMI/RFI articles in 1998, as typified by “EN 61000-3-2 and EN 61000-3-3: Harmony at Last?” The theme continued through some of the 23 articles in 2000 but in more detail with publication of “Reviewing EU EMC Generic Standards” and “An Introduction to EN 61000-61-2: 1999,” both from Intertek Testing Services.
Partly because of economic uncertainty after 9/11, and partly because the emphasis on wireless communications test was increasing, the number of ESD articles published in 2002 was about half of the peak 1996-98 period. By 2004, ESD-related material became limited to a buyers guide, symposium coverage, and a couple of articles, but at least 12 EMC articles ran each year of that decade.
Periodically adjusting EE’s content to reflect changing test requirements ensures we are relevant to our readers. The underlying EMC fundamentals have remained constant, but today’s emphasis is on the new applications they affect.