EMC Peak vs Average Detection: What's the Difference?

[senmeis]

Hi,

I’ve read military EMC standard (such as MIL 461) requires peak detection while consumer standard requiers average detection. Does it mean the peak detection is stricter than the average one?

 

[Svein]

No, but the peaks create the top RF noise.

 

[DaveE]

Hi,

I’ve read military EMC standard (such as MIL 461) requires peak detection while consumer standard requiers average detection. Does it mean the peak detection is stricter than the average one?

But... In addition to different spectrum analyzer configurations, the limits required are also different. So whether you meet your applicable standard can depend both on the sort of emissions you have, the test methods, and the limits.

However, in my experience (mostly commercial products), peak detection is a fairly good "worst case" screening setup. It's a quick and easy way to check. If you pass the levels required for averaging detectors with your peak detector, your usually in good shape. Then you can focus your work on the high emission frequencies you see. The average detectors will seldom give more signal than peak detectors.